From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776

1054 Pages·2008·3.28 MB·English

by  George C. Herring

From Colony to Superpower
The Oxford History of the United States
David M. Kennedy,General Editor
robert middlekauff
THE GLORIOUS CAUSE
The American Revolution, 1763–1789
daniel walker howe
WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT
The Transformation of America, 1815–1848
james m. mcpherson
BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM
The Civil War Era
david m. kennedy
FREEDOM FROM FEAR
The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945
james t. patterson
GRAND EXPECTATIONS
The United States, 1945–1974
james t. patterson
RESTLESS GIANT
The United States from Watergate to Bush v. Gore
george c. herring
FROM COLONY TO SUPERPOWER
U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776
FROM COLONY
TO SUPERPOWER
U.S. Foreign Relations
since 1776
GEORGE C. HERRING
1
2008
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Herring, George C., 1936–.
From colony to superpower : U.S. foreign relations since 1776
/ George C. Herring.
p. cm. — (The Oxford history of the United States)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-507822-0
1. United States–Foreign relations. I. Title.
E183.7.H44 2008 327.73–dc22 2008007996
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Dottie
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Acknowledgments
One of the great pleasures of completing a project like this is to be able to
thank publicly the many institutions and people who helped along the
way. The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation provided the financial
support that, combined with a University of Kentucky sabbatical, enabled
me to get started. The Rockefeller Foundation funded a month’s stay in
the incomparably beautiful and uniquely stimulating environment of
Bellagio, Italy, a sojourn that allowed me to shape the final chapter and
gain interesting feedback from people in numerous fields of intellectual
inquiry. Deans Rick Edwards and Steve Hoch of UK’s College of Arts and
Sciences provided encouragement and funds for research, as did chairs
Jeremy Popkin and David Hamilton of the History Department, my pro-
fessional home for thirty-six years. Bob Flynn, Keely Jones Green, Shelby
Lynn Marshall, and Stephanie May assisted with the research.
Many colleagues and friends gave generously of their time and expert-
ise. John Behlolavek, Jerald Combs, William Freehling, Daniel Walker
Howe, Howard Jones, Lawrence Kaplan, Warren Kimball, Thomas
Knock, Jeffrey Matthews, Robert McMahon, Melvin Small, Mark Stoler,
and Randall Woods read individual chapters covering periods of their spe-
cialties and offered invaluable suggestions. Andy Fry shared with me his
vast knowledge of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century U.S. foreign
policy by reading and commenting on the first half of the manuscript.
Steve Wrinn, director of the University Press of Kentucky, cast his sharp
editorial eye on numerous chapters. Former Transylvania University En-
glish professor Charlie Holmes read the entire manuscript, and the com-
ments provided by this non-specialist keenly interested in international
viii acknowledgments
relations were very useful. Robert Divine, Walter LaFeber, Fredrik Lo-
gevall, and Jeremi Suri evaluated the manuscript for Oxford University
Press and sent me detailed commentary and invaluable criticism and
suggestions.
The Boone Seminar furnished weekly diversion in the form of highly
competitive tennis and spirited trash talk as well as stimulating conversa-
tion about world affairs. After more than ten years on this project, I appre-
ciate more than ever the outstanding work being done by my colleagues in
the history of U.S. foreign relations. Their productivity made my task
daunting. The quality of their work also made it exciting. It was great fun
to continue to learn new things after more than forty years in the field.
Vicki Vaughn of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International
Commerce, where I spent my last semester, arranged for copying, pack-
ing up, and mailing out an early draft to various readers. Patiently and
with all good humor, Peter Harris bailed his Luddite father-in-law out of
computer foul-ups.
I have had the good fortune with this project to work with the best edi-
tors an author could hope for. I was enormously flattered when the late
Sheldon Meyer, the dean of history editors, invited me to write this vol-
ume. I would like to think that he would be pleased with the result. The
late C. Vann Woodward read one chapter and offered warm encourage-
ment. Peter Ginna at Oxford helped plan the book. Series editor David
M. Kennedy read chapters promptly and thoroughly. His excitement
about the project gave me a huge boost. He offered countless suggestions
on style and substance, especially in framing the arguments. Susan Fer-
ber has been a wonderful editor, keenly interested in the project, atten-
tive, helpful in every possible way, a superb critic. India Cooper is simply
the best of copy editors—and a delight to work with. Caitlin Craven se-
cured the photographs and permissions. Joellyn Ausanka skillfully man-
aged the production process.
Finally, above all, and for so many reasons, I thank Dottie Leathers, my
co-worker of nearly forty years, my wife of thirteen. This book is dedicated
to her with all my love.
George C. Herring
Lexington, Kentucky
Contents
List of Maps, xi
Editor’s Introduction, xiii
Introduction, 1
1. “To Begin the World Over Again”: Foreign Policy
and the Birth of the Republic, 1776–1788, 11
2. “None Who Can Make Us Afraid”: The New Republic
in a Hostile World, 1789–1801, 56
3. “Purified, as by Fire”: Republicanism Imperiled and Reaffirmed,
1801–1815, 93
4. “Leave the Rest to Us”: The Assertive Republic, 1815–1837, 134
5. A Dose of Arsenic: Slavery, Expansion, and the Road to
Disunion, 1837–1861, 176
6. “Last Best Hope”: The Union, the Confederacy,
and Civil War Diplomacy, 1861–1877, 224
7. “A Good Enough England”: Foreign Relations in the
Gilded Age, 1877–1893, 265
8. The War of 1898, the New Empire, and the Dawn of the
American Century, 1893–1901, 299
9. “Bursting with Good Intentions”: The United States in
World Affairs, 1901–1913, 337