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

82 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

presidentswerepreparedtostepintokeepGermanyand theSoviet
UnionfromoverturningtheEuropeanpowerbalanceandspreadingtheir
powerthroughtherestoftheworld.Ifanotherantidemocraticpower
shouldthreatentouniteall Europeunderitsdominiontomorrow,we
wouldstepinandresistitagain.WewoulddothesamethinginAsia,
andforthesamereason.Ourpolicieshavechangedoverthedecadesand
centuriestoreflectchangingcircumstances;ourbasicstrategicposture
hasnotchangedsince1823.
TheseconderainAmericanforeignpolicylastedfrom 1823 through
1914.DuringthistimetheUnitedStatesexistedina Britain-centered
globalorder.Britain'spower,andthereforetheworldorder,weresecure
duringmostoftheseyears.Therewasnoneedtothinkabouthelpingto
propupthesystem;Britainseemedperfectlycapableofhandlingthaton
itsown.InsteadtheUnitedStatesconcentratedongettingthebestdeal
foritselfwithintheBritishsystem,whilestayingonguardagainstthe
dangerthatBritainmightbetemptedbyitsstrengthtocrushordivide
it.TheRepublicwantedtoensurethattheeconomicstructureofthe
emerginganddevelopingeconomicsystemwouldbefavorabletoboth
itslong-anditsshort-termeconomicdevelopment.TheUnitedStates
believedthatovertimeAmericanpowerandinfluencewithintheBritish
systemwouldgrow,andlookedforwardtothedaywhenitwouldsurpass
GreatBritainaswhattodayiscalleda globalsuperpower.
TheuneasybalancebetweenthetwopowerswaslargelyinBritain's
favorearlyintheperiod.TheUnionvictoryintheCivilWarmarkedthe
beginningofa periodwhentheUnitedStatesmovedsteadilytoward
equality,andmore,withBritain,increasinglyassertinginfluenceover
Britain'sglobalpoliciesasBritain'sawarenessgrewofitsdependenceon
goodrelationswiththeUnitedStates.Perhapsthe 187 ITreatyofWash-
ingtonmarkedthetrueturningpoint:Itprovidedforinternationalarbi-
trationofalloutstanding issuesbetweenthetwonations,and under
ittheUnitedStateswasultimatelyawarded$15.5millionfordamage
toUnionshippingduringtheCivilWarbyBritish-builtConfederate
raiders. It was the first treaty betweenthe two nations thatclearly
favoredtheAmericanside.
DuringthisperiodtheUnitedStatesfirstbegantothinkseriously
aboutitsfuturewhenandifthePaxBritannicaended.Oneresponsewas
Americanimperialism; ifBritainfell, it wouldbe necessaryfor the
UnitedStatestofollowa moreactiveworldstrategy.Theacquisitionof
basesandcoalingstations(fueldepotstoallowthecoal-firednaviesofthe
daytoprojectpowerindistantwaters)throughoutthePacificwaspartof