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

TheSerpentandtheDove I 13

thesortsofmoralandeconomicquestionswearefamiliarwithtoday.On
theonehand,mercantileopinionfavoredtradewithoutregardformoral
andsocialconsiderations.Americanmissionariesfortheirpartloathed
theopiumtrade.TheysupportedtheeffortsoftheChinesegovernment
tosuppressit,andtheirAmericansupportersattackedthecynicismof
merchantswhoseloveofprofitrecognizednolimits.
AmericancommercialactivityinthePacificsoared.Muchofthiswas
attheexpense ofmarinemammals. Sealers andfur trapperscombed
islandsandbaysfromsouthernChiletotheArcticOcean;atthepeak
ofthePacificwhalingindustry,morethansixhundredAmericanships
cruisedits waterwaysinsearchofspermaceti,whaleoil,and baleen.
Bythe middleofthenineteenthcentury, theHawaiianislandswere
alreadypartofanAmericansphereofinfluence;missionaries,whalers,
merchants,andplantationownersweresteadilychangingthenatureof
islandsocietyandmakingthearchipelagoa baseforAmericaninfluence
andtrade.
The Hamiltonian and mercantile tradition in American foreign
policyhasalwaysregardedPacifictradeasa naturalandnecessarypartof
Americancommerce,and theprotectionandfurtheringofthatcom-
mercehasbeena constantthemeinHamiltoniandiplomacyandactivity
throughoutAmericanhistory. Thishas not beensimplya historyof
trade;theAmericanmilitarypresenceinthePacificdatesbacktothe
Warof1812.
Foralmostallofthathistory,HamiltonianthinkingaboutAmerican
policyintheFarEastwasguidedbyprinciplesthatchangedverylittle
untilthecataclysmthatsweptthroughAsiainthe1940s.Eventhenthe
changesweresuperficial;AmericanthinkingabouttheFarEasttodayis
visiblydescendedfromtheviewsofmenlikeAdamsandPerry.
Trade-and,later,investment-weretheparamountconsiderations
inrelationswithAsia,andthepoliticalandmilitaryinvolvementofthe
Americangovernmentwasalwaystobecloselyrelatedtothesegoals.
Freedomoftheseasandtheopendoor hadspecialapplicationsinAsia.
Freedomoftheseasclearlyimpliessuchthingsashumanetreatmentof
shipwreckedsailorsandthesuppressionofpiracy.Asearlyasthe1830S
AmericannavalshipsregularlypatrolledFarEasternwatersintheserv-
iceofboththeseinterests.Anationalpolicyofestablishingcommercial
agreementswithAsiangovernmentsalsodatesfromthisera.Asianmar-
ketsweretobeopenedtoAmericangoodsatgunpointifneedbe;inthe
relationsbetweenPerryandthereluctantJapaneseonecanperhapssee