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

TheKaleidoscopeof AmericanForeignPolicy 43

wagestatewithaneconomyorientedtoward theproductionofraw
materialsandfarmcommodities,isveryoftenbadforMassachusetts,a
higher-wagestatethatconsumeswhatTexasproduces.Inthe1970Sthe
soaringpriceofoilcreatedaboominTexasandabustinMassachusetts.
"Drive 75 andFreezea Yankee!"exultedbumperstickersintheOil
Patch.Tenyearslater,oilpricesslumped;Massachusettsenjoyedwhatits
politicianscalledaneconomic"miracle,"whileTexaslanguishedina
near-depression.
Thestatesalsodifferontheregionsoftheworldthataremostimpor-
tanttothem.TexasinevitablylookstoMexico;opportunitiesfortrade
andproblemsofimmigrationinvolveTexaninterestslikenootherques-
tionsinforeignpolicy.MichiganlookstoCanada.Californiaisinterested
inMexicoandfascinatedbythePacificRim.Culturally,geographically,
andeconomically,EuropeisalongwayfromLosAngeles.Oregonand
WashingtonarerivetedbyJapan,andconsiderMexicotobeaminor
concern.OutsidetheconfinesofWallStreet,NewYorkcareslessabout
JapanandmoreaboutEurope.FloridaismoreconcernedwithCubathan
withanyothercountry,andwithLatinAmericagenerallytothenear-
exclusionofotherconcerns.TheSourhand theagriculturalMidwest
thinkoftherestoftheworldlargelyaspotentialmarketsfortheiragri-
culturalproducts.TheindustrialMidwestseessourcesofcompetitionas
wellaspotentialmarketseverywhere.
ThestrangearithmeticoftheSenateensuresthatalternativeand
regionalviews ofthenationalinterestwillbewellrepresentedinthe
process.In 1998 morethan 50 percentoftotalAmericanexportscame
fromsevenstatesaccountingforonlyfourteenoutoftheonehundred
seatsintheSenate.Twenty-sixstates,however,commandinga majority
intheSenate,wereresponsibleforacombinedtotaloflessthan 10 per-
centofAmericanexports.Underthesecircumstances,itisnotsurpris-
ingthat thepolitics oftrade policyshouldsometimestakestrange
directions.
Votingpatternsfoundedontheseregionalrealitieshaveoftenshaped
Americanforeignpolicyinthepast.AttheoutbreakofWorldWarI,the
MidwestwasdominatedbyopponentsofUnitedStatesparticipation;
NewEnglandfavoredintervention.MothersinNebraskadidnotwant
theirsonstodieinwhattheyfeltwasa wartosafeguardtherightof
Anglo-American bankers to travel unmolested on luxury liners to
England.NewEnglandersfeltthattheprotectionofAmericanshipping
andEuropeantradewasa vitalinterestthatcouldnotbeneglected.This