58 SPECIALPROVIDENCEMoreover,ata timestill-just-withinliving memory,American
attitudes towardourtraditional foreignpolicy were similartopub-
licattitudestowardothertime-honoredand-testedelementsofnational
life.Aslateasthe1930s,theMonroeDoctrinewasnota historicalcuri-
osity buta living andactive principlewhose terms were frequently
invokedbystatesmen to justify theirpoliciesin thesame way that
ReaganorMadeleineAlbrightmighthavereferredto"thelessonsof
Munich"indefendinga particularstandoverseas.Washington'sFarewell
Addresswasstillmemorizedbyschoolchildrenandrecitedonceremo-
nialoccasions;Washington'swarningsabout"entanglingalliances,"and
hisenunciationofprinciplesforAmericandiplomacy,enjoyedthesame
popularvenerationasJefferson'ssentimentsintheDeclarationofInde-
pendence.Hamilton'sAmericanSystem-industrialprotectiontopro-
tect"sunriseindustries"andAmericanwages-wasfirmly andwidely
believedtobethelastwordinpoliticaleconomy.
Indeed,duringtheColdWarandintothepresent,theattitudes'of
Americanpolicy-makersandopinionleadersonforeignpolicyremain
largelyshapedbya reactionagainsttheuncriticalvenerationofhiswric
Americanstands.Sopowerfulweretheseolderhistoricaltraditionsthat
theirholdontheAmericanpublicimaginationposedthegreatestsingle
obstacletothegenerationofstatesmenchargedwiththedevelopmentof
anAmericanforeignpolicyforthe1940s.TheMonroeDoctrine,under-
stoodtoopposeUnitedStatesinvolvementinEurope,andWashington's
FarewellAddress,understoodtoopposeparticipationinpartnershipsof
anykind,werepotentsourcesofoppositiontoUnitedStatesentryinto
WorldWarII andthesubsequentcreationoftheColdWarsecuritysys-
tem.Hamilton'stheoryofprotectionism,howeverapplicableitmayhave
been whentheUnitedStateswas a relativelyminorparticipantina
globaltradingsystemshapedinmercantilistLondon,wasa poorguide
foranAmericangenerationthatneededtoreplaceBritainasthecenterof
aninternationaltradingsystembasedonfreetrade.
Unfortunately,thepublicimaginationofthetimehadbeencaptured
bya peculiarlyliteral-mindedandunhelpfulsimplificationofa complex
tradition.Thissimplificationcombinedideasaboutforeignpolicythat
hadlongbeenheldbymuchofpublicopinionwithother,morerecent
ideasgenerallytraceabletowidespreadAmericandisillusionmentwith
theresultsofWorldWarI.
InfacttheUnitedStatesinthe1920Sand1930Slayunderthespell
ofa historicalmyth-callitthemythofvirtuousisolation.Itwasinfact