TheFutureof AmericanForeignPolicy 3 I 5Hamiltonianswereina positiontopursuetheireconomicgoalseven
thoughLodge'sversionofthetreatyfailed.InparticularMellonandNew
York Fed chairman BenjaminStrong systematically committedthe
UnitedStatestoa newandcentralroleintheglobaleconomicsystem.
Althoughtheglobalfinancialdisruptionwasnotasgreatin 1919 as
itwouldbeafter1945,stilltheUnitedStateshadnewopporrunitiesand
newresponsibilitiesinthepostwarworld.Britainhadbeenforcedoffthe
goldstandardduringWorldWarIandneededAmericanhelptoreturn
tothatstandardin1925.Thereturnwasnota success,butitwasclassi-
callyHamiltoniantobelieveinsoundmoney,andtoactincooperation
withothercountriestorestorethegoldstandardasquicklyaspossible
afterthewar.
Meanwhile Hamiltoniansaddressedthemselves totheproblemsof
postwarfinancialreconstructioninGermany.Noothernationcoulddo
thiseffectivelybecausetheAlliedwardebtstotheUnitedStateswerean
essentialpartoftheGermanreparationspuzzle:Britain,Belgium,and
FranceneededreparationsfromGermanytoservicetheirwardebtsto
theUnitedStates.Thetworeparationsplansthatsetthestageforthe
economicrecoveryofthe1920SweredesignedbyAmericansandimple-
mentedwiththehelpofAmericanbanksandtheFederalReserve;this
wasa degreeofAmericanparticipationinEuropeanfinancialmatters
thatwouldhaveastoundedearliergenerations,andcanhardlybecalled
isolationist.ThroughouttheworldAmericanfinancialleadershipwas
stronglyfeltafter1919;nolongeranindebted,developingnation,the
UnitedStateshadtheworld'slargesteconomyandtheworld'slargest
goldreserves,andhadbecometheworld'smostimportantnetcreditor.
YetthisHamiltonianpolicy,accompaniedbythetraditionalHamil-
tonianhightariffs,didnotamounttoeffectivenationalstrategy.The
Americandiplomatsandfinancierswhowereactiveinfosteringinterna-
tional economiccooperation, hadonly very limitedauthority. What
Europereallyneeded,asmanycontemporaryfinancialexpertsfullyunder-
stood,wasa complete write-downofthewartimedebts. TheUnited
StatesneededtowriteoffthedebtsoweditbyBritain,France,andthe
minorAlliedpowers;Germanyinturnneededreleasefromtheintolera-
bleburdenofreparations.
BritishandFrenchstatesmenmadeclearthattheseproblemswere
linked,butit waspoliticallyimpossibleintheUnitedStatestoconsider
debtforgiveness. "Theyhiredthemoney, didn'tthey?"askedCalvin
Coolidge.Jacksonianopinionwasnotabouttowriteoffnearly$13bil-