TheSerpentandtheDove I I 5powerhasdominatedAmericanforeignpolicythinkingasBritainhas
done;thenationalpreoccupationwiththeSovietUnionduringtheCold
Warwas neitherasintenseorasfocusedasthenationalconcernwith
GreatBritainduringmostofourhistory.
Britainwasaninescapablefactforourancestors. Americantraders
andmissionariesinthefarthest-flungcornersoftheglobealternately
competedagainstandcooperatedwiththeirBritishcounterparts.British
financedominatedAmericancommerce,anditstentaclesextendedeven
intoremoteagriculturalandminingcommunities.Fromtheinvention
ofthetelegraphuntilthedevelopmentofradio,GreatBritaincontrolled
theworld'ssystemsofcommunication.Fordecadesitsindustrialtech-
nologywaswithoutrivalorpeer.Itsmightyfleetsweretheonlyforeign
forcecapableofattackingtheUnitedStatesathome.GreatBritainwas
tothenineteenthcenturysomethinglikewhattheUnitedStatesbecame
tothetwentieth;theUnitedStatesinthenineteenthcenturywassome-
thingakintowhatBrazilistoday.Theexistenceofaneconomicallypow-
erful,potentiallyhostilesuperpower-apowerthatalternatedbetween
friendlysupportfortheUnitedStatesanddesignsagainstitsindepen-
d~nceandprosperity-wasthegreatfactofAmericanforeignpolicyfor
almost 150 yearsaftertheRevolution, justasitsdisappearanceis the
greatfactwithwhichwemustlivetoday.
Britainhasoccupieda special,centralplaceinHamiltonianthinking
sincetheFederalistperiod.AteverycrisisinAmericanforeignpolicyfrom
theTreatyofParis,whichestablishedourindependence,totheKosovo
war, Hamiltonianshave seenGreatBritainasthekeytoa successful
Americanpolicy,andtheyhavedonetheirbest-inearlytimeswithlit-
tlecooperationfrompigheadedandshortsightedBritishdiplomacy-to
preservecloserelationsbetweenthetwogreatEnglish-speakingnations.
ThispolicyisnotsimplytheproductofsentimentalAnglophilia.In
termsofpowerpoliticstheUnitedStatesandGreatBritainhavea special
relationship thatgoes beyondtheircommonlanguage,heritage,and
democraticvalues.IftheinhabitantsoftheBritishIsleshadspoken]apa-
nese andpracticedZoroastrianismunder thedirectionofanabsolute
monarch,Hamiltonianswouldstillhavebuilta closerelationshipwith
Britain.Thisdoesnotmean,however,thatthecommonheritagemeans
nothingtothetwocountries.Americanbusinessmeninthenineteenth
century,andtheirBritishcounterpartsinthetwentieth,benefitedenor-
mouslyfromsharingthelanguageandthelegalsystemoftheworld's
hegemonicpower.