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

216 SPECIAL PROVIDENCE

conditions,butalsoeagertoleavethemastheyare,ispeculiarlycon-
ducivetotheintellectualformationofbrilliantregionalstudents.Ofthe
fourschoolsJeffersoniansaremostoftenmovedbya disinterestedappre-
ciationandrespectforforeign cultures.Jeffersoniansarelesseagerto
makesalesthanHamiltoniansare,andlesspreoccupiedwitheithersecu-
larorreligiousproselytizationthanWilsoniansare-buttheyareinter-
estedinunderstandingforeignculturesandpeoplesontheirownterms.
VeryoftenJeffersonianregionalspecialistshavetalkedpolicy makersout
ofwhatwouldhaveprovedrashandill-foundedinitiativesandfound
waysofachievingimportantAmericanobjectiveswithlessfrictionand
troublethanwemightotherwiseface.
Thegreatest advantagethecountry derives fromtheJeffersonian
traditionemergesoutoftheJeffersoniandesiretodefine thenational
interestastightlyaspossibleandthentodevelopthemostelegantpossi-
blestrategyforsecuringthatinterest.Itis a traditionthataddsintellec-
tualrigorand,often,greatpracticalvaluetotheforeignpolicydebate.
Itis arguablythenaturalhomeforAmericangrandstrategy.Thecombi-
nationofa realisticgraspoftheproblemsoftheexternalworldwitha
passionatedesiretosecurethenation'svitalinterestatthelowestpossi-
blecostmaybethemind-setbestsuitedtoconceiveandpromulgate
nationalstrategicinitiatives.
Furthermore,theJeffersoniantraditionsuppliessomethingoccasion-
allylackingintheotherthreeschools:a criticaltraditionthatseekssys-
tematicallytoinvestigate,andinsomecasescontrovert,theclaimsmade
byproponentsofHamiltonianandWilsonianactivism.Ifnothingelse,
Jeffersonianskepticism keepsWilsonians andHamiltonianson their
toes,forcingthemtothinkthroughtheirpoliciesmorethoroughlythan
theyotherwisemight,andtobeabletodefendtheirprogramsinpublic
debate.
Paradoxically, Jeffersonian pacifism and skepticism tendto unite
Americanopiniononcewarhasfinallycome.InthecaseofWorldWarII,
thelargeandwell-organizedisolationistmovementcameoutopenlyin
supportofthewareffortafterPearlHarbor.Withoneexception(Mon-
tanarepresentativeJeannetteRankin,thefirstwomanelectedtoCon-
gress[I916},whoalsovotedagainstAmerica'sentryintoWorldWarI),
theeloquentcongressionalandsenatorialcriticsofinterventionvotedfor
thedeclarationofwaronJapan.Theexistenceandvisibilityofahigh-
poweredantiwarlobbycanmobilizepublicopinionforwar:Ifeventhese
peoplethinkwehavetofight,thenmaybewarisreallyinevitable.