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

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countrieswoulddevelopinwhatWilsoniansconsideredtobepromising
directions.Theresultsweresometimesverymixed,buttheintentwas
alwaysclear:ThemissionariesandtheirfriendsbelievedthatAmerican
foreignpolicyshouldsupportthesocialandpoliticalobjectivesofthe
missionarymovement.
Oneconspicuousexampleofmissionariesplayinga major,andcon-
troversial,rolewasinshapingAmericanpolicy toward·thethenKing-
domofHawaii.Thearchipelago'slocationhadalwaysmadeitamatterof
concerntotheUnitedStatesgovernment;possessionofPearlHarborwas
inmanywaysthekeytothecontrolofthemostimportantsealanesof
thePacific.DenialofHawaiitoothercountrieswasessentialtokeeping
thewestcoastoftheUnitedStatessecureagainstattack.AsAmerican
missionariesandtheirconvertsbecameincreasinglyinfluential,theU.S.
governmentwas increasinglylobbied-usuallywithsubstantialifnot
totalsuccess-tosupportmissionary-backed"reforms"aimedatweaken-
ingtheinstitutionofthetraditionalmonarchyandmakingHawaiimore
ofa democracy.Thatthesereformsacceleratedthedeclineoftraditional
HawaiiansocietyandmadethecountrymorevulnerabletoAmerican
annexationdidnottroublethemissionariesunduly;thenasnow,Wilso-
niansdonotgrowexcessivelysentimentalabout"culturaldifferences"
whenthoseareusedtolegitimatenondemocraticformsofgovernment.
ThefirsttreatiesbetweentheUnitedStatesgovernmentandboth
ChinaandSiamwerelargelytheworkofmissionaries,andmissionaries
werevaluedadviserstotheSiamesegovernmentduringitslongandulti-
matelysuccessfulattemptstofendoffEuropeanimperialists.
Missionariesandtheiralliesalsoexerted considerableinfluenceover
bothpublicopinionandAmericanforeignpolicywithrespectbothto
greatpowerslikeRussiaandJapanandtomuchofwhat,inthetwenti-
ethcentury,wouldbecomeknownasthethirdworld.Anopenletterto
Belgium's odious King Leopold II written by George Washington
Williams,a well-respectedAfricanAmericanforeigncorrespondentwith
stronglinkstothemissionarycommunity,helpedfantheworldwide
stormofoutrageagainstthebrutalitytakingplaceintheCongoFree
State.Williamswasattackedbya Belgiannewspaperas"anunbalanced
negro,"buthiswritingshelpedforceLeopoldtogiveuphispersonal
controlovertheCongoFreeState.^9 Inexplaininghisdecisiontoannex
thePhilippines,PresidentMcKinleyreliedonmissionaryratherthan
mercantilelogicwhenhetoldtheAmericanpeoplethattheyhadan
obligationto"Christianize"the(Catholic)Filipinos.IOJapan'sconcessions