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

r6 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

oftheWest.One-thirdoftheinvestmentforthegreatAmericancanals
camefromoverseas;foreignerspouredbetween$2.5billionand$3bil-
lionintoAmericanrailroads,andbytheearlyr880sforeigncattlebarons
ownedmorethantwentymillionacresoftheAmericanWest.^25 The
largestshareholderwhentheNewYorkCentralRailroadwasformedin
r853wasBenjaminIngham,a British-borninvestorwhohelddualciti-
zenshipintheUnitedKingdomandtheKingdomoftheTwoSicilies.^26
Otherpre-CivilWarBritishinvestorsinAmericanrailroadsincluded
WilliamMakepeaceThackeray,Josiah Wedgwood,andManchesterSchool
thinkerandpoliticianRichardCobden.^27 LikemanyEnglishmen,the
distinguishedessayist andclergymanSydneySmithhadan unhappy
experiencewithhisAmericaninvestments.AfteranumberofAmerican
states,includingPennsylvania,defaultedontheirbondsfollowingthe
panicofr837,hewrote:"Inevermeeta Pennsylvanianata London
dinnerwithoutfeelinga dispositiontoseizeanddividehim;toallot
hisbeavertoonesuffererandhiscoattoanother;andtoappropriatehis
pocket-handkerchieftotheorphan,andtocomfortthewidowwithhis
silverwatch,Broadwayrings,andtheLondonGuide,whichhealways
carriesinhispockets...hehasnomorerighttoeatwithhonestpeople
thana leperhastositwithcleanmen."28
ThoseforeigninvestorshadpoliticalpowerintheUnitedStates,and
Americansresenteditbutcoulddolittleaboutit.Notthattheydidn't
try.Jackson'smessageannouncinghisvetooftherenewalofthecharter
fortheBankoftheUnitedStatescitedasaprimereasonforhisopposi-
tionthewindfallprofitstothenon-Americaninvestorswhocontrolledso
muchofthebank'sstock.^29 SixtyyearslaterthePopulistPartyplatform
calledfortheexpropriationoffarmlandsownedbyaliens. 3 DDiscrimina-
torylegislationagainstforeignersproliferatedinthelatenineteenthcen-
tury,withtwelvestatespassinglawsrestrictingforeign ownershipof
landY
AngeragainstBritishcontrolwasnotrestrictedtothepopulistWest.
Inr884theNewYork-basedBanker'sMagazinelookedforwardtothe
happyday"whennota singlegoodAmericansecurityisownedabroad
andwhentheUnitedStatesshallceasetobeanexploitinggroundfor
European bankersand moneylenders.Thetributepaidtoforeigners
is ...odious."3^2 CharlesFrancisAdams,sonoftheCharles Francis
AdamswhorepresentedtheUnitedStatesinBritainduringtheCivil
War,andbrotherofHenry,comparedBritishinvestmentintheUnited
Stateswiththerapacioustacticsanddevastatingconsequencesofthe