ChangingtheParadigms 65"openedup"a reluctantUnitedStatesbybombingPearlHarbor;itwas
PresidentMillardFillmorewhosentComm.MatthewPerrytenthou-
sandmilestoopenupJapaninMarch1852-andhe,andthepolitical
communityaroundhim,hadsolidreasonsforsendingthelong-suffering
commodoreonthiswearyinganddangerousvoyage.Aswehavealready
seen,theAmericanstatesmenoftheeighteenthandnineteenthcenturies
hadcompileda distinguishedrecordininternationalrelations,andthe
politicsofforeignpolicyhadbeenintimatelylinkedtothegreatparty
strugglesofAmericanhistory.Furthermore,alongwithGreatBritain,
the United Statesespoused a distinctiveapproach toworld politics
whichhadconsistentlyproducedbetterresultsthantherealpolitikofthe
oldcontinent.
NooneknewallthisbetterthanthegenerationofAmericanstates·
menwholaidthefoundationsofthepostwarworldinthe1940Sand
constructedthenewmyth.TheAmericanleadersofthatgenerationwere
steeped in the traditionsofAmericanforeign policy andofAnglo-
Americanrealism.MostifnotallofthemhadreadRearAdm.Alfred
ThayerMahan'sworksonseapowerinearlyyouth.TheodoreRoosevelt's
globalpoliticshadelectrifiedthem-andlefthiscousinFranklinwitha
lifelong desire toemulateand surpasshis achievements. A working
knowledgeofBritishhistorywasoneofthechiefsubjectsofliberaledu-
cationinthosedays,andanyoneoccupyingseniorgovernmentorbusi-
ness positions inthe 1940Shadextensivefirsthandexperienceofthe
BritishEmpireandits"specialrelationship"withtheAmericans.Men
likeRooseveltandAcheson-nottomentionEisenhower,JohnFoster
Dulles,andGeorgeC.Marshall-grewupina worldinwhichtheirBrit-
ishcounterpartswereatoncetheirrivalsandtheironlyrealpeers.But
timewasshort,andtheneedwas urgent;theearlyColdWarriorsdid
whattheycouldwithwhattheyhad,andtheysuccessfullybuiltstrong
popularsupportforfortyyearsofColdWarandlaidthefoundationfor
theultimateAmericanvictoryoverperhapsthemostdestructiveand
dangeroustyrannyinthehistoryofmankind.
Atthesametime,however,theirsuccessinrelegatingAmericantra-
ditionsofstatesmanshiptotheashheapofhistoryhadunintendedcon-
sequences.Inparticular,closingthedoorontheAmericanpastopened
thedoortoanothersetofhistoricaltraditionsandstrategicthought:
theideas,values,andunconsciousassumptionsofContinentalrealism.
Paradoxically,evenastheUnitedStatesmovedtodefeatthelatestand
mostdangerousoftheContinentalrealistempires,andevenasWestern