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

260 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

withoutJacksoniansupport;onceengaged,politicianscannotsafelyend
thewarexceptonJacksonianterms.Fromtheperspectiveofmembersof
otherschoolsandmanyforeignobservers,whenJacksoniansentiment
favorsa givencourseofaction,theUnitedStateswillmovetoofar,too
fast,andtoounilaterallyinpursuitofitsgoals.WhenJacksoniansenti-
mentisstronglyopposed,theUnitedStateswillbeseentomovetoo
slowlyornotatall.Forbothforeignanddomesticobservers,toantici-
patethecourseofAmericanpolicyitis importanttounderstandthe
structureofJacksonianbeliefsandvalues.
ItwouldbeanunderstatementtosaythattheJacksonianapproachto
foreignpolicyiscontroversial.Thisapproachhascertainlycontributed
itssharetotheheadachesofAmericanpolicy makersthroughouthistory.
Ithasalsoplayeda roleincreatinga constiruencyfortheideathatthe
UnitedStat~sisaddictedto crudecowboydiplomacy,anideathat-by
reducinginternationalfaithinthejudgmentandpredictabilityofthe
U ni tedStates-representsa seriousandrealliabilityforAmericanfor-
eignpolicy.
However,despitetheirundoubtedlimitationsandliabilities,Jackson-
ianpolicyandpoliticsareindispensableelementsofAmericanstrength.
AlthoughWilsonians,Jeffersonians,andthemoredelicatelyconstructed
Hamiltoniansdon'tliketoadmitit,everyAmericanschoolneedsJack-
sonianstogetwhatitwants.IftheAmericanpeoplehadexhibitedthe
fightingqualitiesof,say,theFrench,inWorldWarII,neitherHamilto-
nians,Jeffersonians,norWilsonianswouldhavehadmuchtodowith
shapingthepostwarinternationalorder.
Moreover,asfolkculruresgo,JacksonianAmericais actuallyopen
andliberal.Non-Jacksoniansathomeandabroadarefondofsneeringat
whatmustbe acknowledgedtobe thedeeplyregrettableJacksonian
recordofracism,anditscommitmenttoformsofChristianbeliefthat
strikemanyasbothunorthodoxandbigoted.AndcertainlyJacksonian
Americahasnotbeenintheforefrontofthefightforminorityrights,nor
isitnecessarilytheplacetogosearchingforavant-gardeartisticstylesor
cutting-edgephilosophicalreflectionsonthedeathofGod.Butfolkcul-
turalchangeismeasuredindecadesandgenerations,notelectoralcycles,
andonthisclock,JacksonianAmericais movingveryrapidly.Themili-
taryinstitutionshavemovedfromstrictsegregationtoa seriousattack
onracisminfiftyyears.Incivilianlifethebeliefthatcolorisnobarto
membershipintheJacksoniancommunityofhonorisrapidlyreplacing
earlierbeliefs.Just assoutherners whosegrandfathersburnedcrosses