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

4 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

interposition."3Notcontentwithforcing theBritishtoacknowledge
theirsecondarystatusintheWesternHemisphere,theUnitedStateswas
exertingincreasinginfluenceinAsia.ItwasSecretaryofStateJohnHay
whoproclaimedtheOpenDoorpolicytowardChina,and,rathersur-
prisingly,theothergreatpowersacceptedAmericanoppositiontofur-
ther partitionofa weakChineseempire. UnderLordBryce's friend
TheodoreRoosevelt,theUnitedStateswouldhumiliateBritainthree
timesintheWesternHemisphere:First,theHay-PauncefoteTreatyof
1900 sawBritaingiveupitslong-standinginsistenceonequalrightsin
anyCentralAmericancanal.WhentheSenaterejectedthisagreementas
toogeneroustoBritain,theunhappyLordPauncefote,Britain'sambassa-
dortotheUnitedStates,hadtoconcedeevenmoreIsthmianrightsand
puthis nametoa secondandevenmorehumiliatingagreementwith
Hay. ThethirdhumiliationcamewhenBritain,increasinglyanxious
nottooffendtheUnitedStatesatatimewhentensionsweregrowing
withGermany,agreedtosettlea boundarydisputebetweenAlaskaand
CanadaonAmericanterms.
TheenergeticRoosevelt'sforeignpolicydidnotstopwiththesesuc-
cesses.Hewouldsendthefamous"WhiteFleet"oftheU.S.Navyona
round-the-worldtourtodemonstratethenation'snewandmodernbattle
fleet; arbitratethe Russo-Japanese War; send delegatesto the 1906
AlgecirasConferenceinSpain,convenedtosettledifferencesamongthe
EuropeanpowersoverMorocco;andgenerallydemonstratea levelofdip-
lomaticactivityentirelyincommensuratewiththenumberofHibernian
snakes.
Theclosingyearsofthenineteenthcenturyandtheopeningyearsof
thetwentiethsawAmericanpoliticsroiledbya seriesofforeignpolicy
debates. Should Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippines, orPuerto Rico be
annexed,andifso,onwhatterms?ShouldtheUnitedStatescontinueto
participateinitsdefactocurrencyunionwithBritain(thegoldstan-
dard),ornot?Howhighshouldtariffsonforeigngoodsbe-shouldthe
UnitedStatesconfineitselftoa "revenuetariff'setatlevelstosupport
thecountry'sbudgetaryneeds,orshoulditcontinueorevenincreasethe
practiceofprotectivetariffs?

L

ordBryceknewallthisverywell,buthehadreasonsformaking

thestatementhedid.LikemanyBritishdiplomatsofhisday,he

wantedtheUnitedStatestoremainpartoftheBritishinternationalsys-