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

ChangingtheParadigms 89

figures. The list stretches from Washington,Jackson, and William
Henry Harrison(theOldTippecanoewhodefeated Tecumsehandhis
Indianconfederationatthe 1811 BattleofTippecanoeandransuccess-
fullyagainstMartinVanBurenin1840)throughMexicanWarheroes
Zachary Taylor and FranklinPierce and Civil Wargenerals Grant,
RutherfordB.Hayes,andJamesGarfield.Alltold,tenformergenerals
havebecomepresidentoftheUnitedStates;andseveralotherpresidents,
includingTheodoreRoosevelt,JohnFitzgeraldKennedy,andtheelder
George Bush, weremightily assisted in theircareers by heroicwar
records.Jacksonianattitudesandideashaveplayedandstilldoplayan
immenseroleinshapingtheAmericandebateoverforeignpolicy.
Whiletheinterestgroups,regions,andtosomedegreetheeconomic
intereststhateachschoolreflectshaveremainedmoreorlessconstant
throughthegenerations,thepolicyproposalsandprioritiesofthefour
schoolshavedevelopedovertimeinresponsetohistorical,social,and
economicchangesbothwithintheUnitedStatesandbeyonditsborders.
Intheearlytwentiethcenturyallfourschoolswereseverelytestedbythe
problemsposedbythedeclineoftheBritishEmpire.Yetwithina gen-
erationallfourhadmadeanadjustment.Thecommerce-andfinance-
basedHamiltoniansdroppedtheirhistoricsupportforprotectionand
supportedfree tradeas a necessaryeconomic policyfor a hegemonic
power.Jeffersoniansmodifiedtheirhistoricaversiontogreat-powerpoli-
ticstoprovidecriticalsupportfortheColdWar.Wilsonianslinkedtheir
visionofa universalmoralorderonearthtotheconcreteneedsofthe
American hegemony.Jacksoniansprovided fortyyears ofbroad,and
unwaveringpopularsupportforthebloodyanddangerousColdWar.
I willsoondescribeeachofthesevisionsorschoolsingreaterdetail,
showhoweachhasevolvedinresponsetochangesinAmericansociety
andtheworld,andoutlinethestrengthsandchallengesthateachschool
facesaftertheturnofthetwenty-firstcentury.I willalsolookmorecare-
fullyathowtheyrelatetooneanother-howtheyformcoalitionsand
howeachofthemhasplayeda roleintheforeignpolicycontroversiesof
therecentpast.
Itisnotmyintentto"prove"fromdocumentsorothersourcesthat
thesevisionsexistedthroughoutAmericanhistory,orthattheygaverise
toschoolsofthoughtortoself-consciouspoliticalmovements.NordoI
intendtobuilda fullyfortifiedandelaboratedtheoryofstateactionand
foreignrelationsthatcaneasilyaccommodatethefour-schooltheoryasa
"casestudy."