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

"VindicatorOnlyofHerOwn" 189

warhaveseenthenationaldebtrisefrom$40.4billion^18 (withannual
interestpaymentsof$Ibillion)in 1939 topeakat$5.5trillionearly
intheClintonadministration(withannualinterestpaymentsof$362
billion). 19
TheUnitedStateswonmostofthewarsfoughtintheseyears,butthe
governmentandthepeopleweremuchfartherapartattheendofthe
experiencethantheywereatthebeginning.Itwasnot.onlymisguided
militiamembersstockpilingcannedgoodsandreadinguponsecretgov-
ernmentmissionsinfearfulblackhelicopterswhodistrustedthegovern-
ment;tensofmillionsofotherwiseperfectlysensibleAmericansbelieved
invastgovernmentconspiraciesandcoverupsregardingeverythingfrom
theKennedyassassinationtoallegedcontactswithaliens.Thecorrosive
effectsofsecrecy onpublictrustand democraticgovernmentarean
importantreasonwhyJeffersoniansareledsoreluctantlyevenintojust
wars.
FormostofAmericanhistoryJeffersonianopinionhasseenwarasa
lastandveryundesirableresort.InstinctivelyJeffersoniansareslowto
reacttoprovocations.SecretaryofStateCyrusVance'srefusa,ltoresortto
forceduringtheIranianhostagecrisisof1979-80parallelsJefferson's
resolutedeterminationtoavoidinterventionintheNapoleonicWars
despiteprovocationsfrombothBritainandFrance.Thiswasthepolicy
thatanotherJeffersonian,WilliamJenningsBryan,hopedtofollowwith
respecttoGermanprovocationsduringWorldWarI.
Whenitbecomespoliticallyormorallyimpossibletoignoreprovoca-
tions,ortorespondtothemwithnothingmorethanverbalprotests,Jef-
fersonianswillstillnot turntowar.Theyseeeconomicsanctions,for
example,asfarpreferable.Notonlydosanctionsnotembroilthecountry
inalliancesanddebt,buttheystrikeattheverycommercialinterests
thatJeffersonianswishtocontainathome.FromthedaysofJefferson's
economicsanctionsintendedtoforceBritainandFrancetorecognize
Americanrightstotheattemptstouseeconomicsanctionsasa toolto
improvehumanrightsconditionsincontemporaryChina,Jeffersonian
opinionhasbeenquicktodisruptcommercetoservenationalpolitical
objectivesandslowtoresorttooutrightwar.
Wilsonianshatewar,too,butfordifferentreasons. TheWilsonian
hatredofwarstandsmoreonhumanitarianthanonpoliticalgrounds.As
we know, Wilsonians do not share the Jeffersonian fear ofcentral
authority.Nevertheless,fromthenineteenthcenturythroughtheCold
War,JeffersoniansworkedwithWilsonianstomakewarslesslikelyor