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

"VindicatorOnlyofHerOwn" 199

totheBritishfleetandnation.AtothertimesBritishprovocations,espe-

ciallytoAmericanshipping,grewsooutrageousthatitwasdifficultto

crafta responseshortofwar.

Whilepuzzlingoverthesealternatives,jeffersoninhisdiplomacy

concentratedonkeepingtheUnitedStatesoutoftheNapoleonicWars

and, hopefully, on luringBritainandFranceintoa biddingwarfor

Americansupport.

Itworked, sortof. NeitherBritainnorFranceoffered theUnited

Statestheassurancesitwantedforfreedomoftheseas,butFrancesoldus

LouisianaandBritainrecognizedthetransfer.Inthelongrunthepeace-

fulacquisitionof828,000squaremilescomprisingsomeofthemostfer-

tilesoilintheworldfaroutweighedanytemporaryproblemswiththe

impressmentofseamenandtheseizureofcargoes. 38

Someofhisdiplomaticmovesweremoresuccessfulthanothers-the

LouisianaPurchaseisconsideredoneofthegreatstrokesinAmerican,

orindeed,worldhistory;theembargoprohibitingallAmericantrade

withEuropewasseenevenatthetimetobea dismalfailure-butin

success or in failure,jefferson stoodby hiscore principles: Almost

anythingisbetterthanwar,andthefirstdutyofthegovernmentisto

protectlibertyratherthancommerce.

TheMonroeSystem

Thisperiodofstrategicuncertaintycametoanendunderthepresi-
dencyofjamesMonroe,ashestruckupwhatjefferson,ina congratula-
toryletterwrittenfromMonticello,calleda "cordialfriendshipwith
England." Therapprochement withBritainthatthe Monroe system
entailedwas,jeffersonagreed,thebestpossiblepolicyfortheUnited
States."GreatBritain,"hewrote,"isthenationwhichcandousthemost
harmofanyone,orallonearth;andwithheronoursideweneednotfear
thewholeworld."39AlthoughtheUnitedStatesandBritainwouldmove
repeatedlytothebrinkofwarinthenextseventyyears,neithercountry
everbrokewiththelogicofthearrangementproposedbyBritishforeign
secretaryGeorgeCanningandshrewdlymodifiedbySecretaryofState
johnQuincyAdams.
LaterjeffersonianmythmakerswouldrecasttheMonroeDoctrineasa
unilateralAmericandeclarationofprincipledisolationfromEuropean
affairs,butasthosewhodevelopedtheideawellknew,thedoctrinein