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

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neverfullysucceededinconvertingtheU.S.governmentintoanentirely
eleemosynaryorganization,theyhavehadandcontinuetohavea sub-
stantialamountofsuccessininfluencingandshapingtheforeignpolicy
oftheUnitedStates.

T

hosewhosawanAmericandutytoremaketheworldinitsimage
spentthenineteenthcenturyseeking actionfromtheUnited
Statesgovernmentonthreedifferentlevels.Onthefirstlevelcamethe
demandforanactiverolebytheAmericangovernmentingivingAmeri-
canmissionariestherightofentryintoothercountries,providingthem
withlegalprotectiononcethere,protectingtheirproperty,and,Iflti-
mately,asconvertsweremade,protectingtheChristianminorityagainst
privatepogromsorgovernmentdiscriminationand/orpersecution.
Atthislevelthemissionariesenjoyeda substantialdegreeofsuccess.
ArguingthattheAmericancitizenspreadingthewordofGoddeserved
atleastthesamedegreeofsupportfromhishomegovernmentthatan
Americanmerchantshippingopiumcouldexpect,missionariesrapidly
establishedtheprinciplethattheUnitedStatesgovernmentwoulduse
itsgoodofficeswhereverpossibleintheinterestofmissionaryendeavors.
EarlytreatieswithChina,Japan,Siam(nowThailand)andtheOttoman
EmpiregaveAmericanmissionariestherighttotakeupresidence,hold
property,andproselytizewithoutpersecution.Missionaries,likeother
foreigners,soughtandusually receivedextraterritorialstatusinnon-
Europeancountries.Exemptfromthelawsofthelandinwhichthey
lived,theyweresubjectonlytothejurisdictionoftheirowncountry's
officials.
Asthemissionarymovementgrew,andgrewmoresuccessful,mis-
sionariesandtheiralliesmovedtoa secondlevelofpoliticalactivism.It
becameincreasinglyimportanttoprotectthelives,property,andother
interestsofAmericanmissionaries, andtheefforttodosoconsumed
moreoftheenergyandtimeoftheAmericandiplomaticcommunity.
Thebreakdownoforder,andthesubsequentdestructionofmissionary
propertyincountrieslikeChina,involvedtheUnitedStatesgovernment
inforcefulnegotiationstoobtaincompensation.Thethreattomission-
aryandChineseconvertlivesatthetimeoftheBoxerRebellion helped
buildtheAmericandomesticconsensusforparticipation inthe five-
nationforcethatmarchedtothereliefoftheforeigncontingentinBei-
jing.Afterward,however,missionaryopinionledtheUnitedStatesto