Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

ChangingtheParadigms 87

democraticprocessandensuresthatmostofthetimethecountryendsup
adoptingpoliciesthatadvanceitsbasicinterests.Theseapproaches-call
themschools-appearveryearly inAmericanhistory,andwhilethey
haveeachevolvedinresponsetochangesintheinternationalorderandin
Americansociety,theyhavealsoremainedidentifiableoverthecenturies.
Thusourdebatesaswellasourconcernshavemuchincommonacross
generations,andmanyoftheideasandalternativespresentincontempo-
rarydiscussionswouldhavebeenfamiliartoAmericanpoliticiansand
thinkersthroughoutourhistory.
Theseschoolsoperateonmanydifferentlevels.Theyreflectdeep-
seatedregional,economic,social,andclassinterests;theyembodyvisions
fordomesticaswellasforeignpolicy;theyexpressmoralandpolitical
valuesaswellassocioeconomicandpoliticalinterests.
AllfOl,lrschoolsaredeeplyrootedintheAmericanexperience.To
somedegreeonecantracetheirrootstothefourfolkwaysthathistorian
DavidHackettFischeridentifiesincolonialAmerica,wherethecultural,
ideological,andpoliticaldifferencesamongthecolonistsappeartohave
arisenfromthedifferencesintheregionalculturesoutofwhichthey
emergedintheBritishIsles."
Thefourschoolsarenotbloodtypeswitheveryindividualtypedby
oneandonlyonelabel;itis rareforstatesmenorordinarycitizenstobe
whollywrappedupintheideasandvaluesofjustoneoftheschools.
MostAmericanscombinedifferentelementsofdifferentschoolsintheir
makeup.
I havenamedthefourschoolsafterfourfiguresinAmericanhistory.
AlexanderHamilton'snamehas beengiven totheschool offoreign
policythatseesthefirsttaskoftheAmericangovernmentaspromot-
ingthehealthofAmericanenterpriseathomeandabroad. Hamilto-
nians have historically attemptedto ensure that the United States
governmentsupportedtherightsofAmericanmerchantsandinvestors
andhavebeenquicktounderstandtheimportanceoftheBritishworld
orderforAmericaninterests. Hamiltonianshave generallysupported
cooperationwithBritainand,whentheBritishEmpirefell,wereamong
theearliestandstrongestbackersofthe ideathattheUnitedStates
shouldtakeuptheBritishburden.ApartiallistofprominentHamilto-
niansinAmericanhistorywouldincludeHenryClay;DanielWebster;
JohnHay;TheodoreRoosevelt;HenryCabotLodgeSr.,whoopposed
WoodrowWilsonovertheTreatyofVersailles;DeanAcheson;andthe
seniorGeorgeBush.
ThesecondschoolincludesthosewhobelievethattheUnitedStates