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The United States has looked inward throughout most of its history,
preferring to avoid "foreign entanglements," as George Washington
famously advised. After World War II, however, Americans became
more inclined to break with the past and take a prominent place on
the world stage. Much has been written about the influential
figures who stood at the center of this transformation, but
remarkably little attention has been paid to Arthur H. Vandenberg
(1884--1951), who played a crucial role in moving the nation from
its isolationist past to an internationalist future. Vandenberg
served as a U.S. senator from Michigan from 1928 to 1951 and was
known in his early career for his fervent anti-interventionism.
After 1945, he became heavily involved in the establishment of the
United Nations and was a key player in the development of NATO. As
chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during 1947 and
1948, Vandenberg helped rally support for President Truman's
foreign policy -- including the Marshall Plan -- and his leadership
contributed to a short-lived era of congressional bipartisanship
regarding international relations. In The Conversion of Senator
Arthur H. Vandenberg, Lawrence S. Kaplan offers the first critical
biography of the distinguished statesman. He demonstrates how
Vandenberg's story provides a window on the political and cultural
changes taking place in America as the country assumed a radically
different role in the world, and makes a seminal contribution to
the history of U.S. foreign policy during the initial years of the
Cold War.
Originally published in 2006, this volume from the History Office
of the Office of the Secretary of Defense provides a narrative
history and assessment of the early years of Robert McNamara's
tenure as Secretary of Defense, including McNamara's relationship
with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, the transformation of the
Department of Defense as a part of Kennedy's New Frontier, and the
Pentagon's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs
episode, and onset of the Vietnam War along with other major
national security events and developments during a turbulent and
momentous period of the Cold War.
The creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was one of
the most important accomplishments of American diplomacy in
countering the Soviet threat during the early days of the Cold War.
Why and how such a reversal of a 150-year nonalignment policy by
the United States was brought about, and how the goals of the
treaty became a reality, are questions addressed here by a leading
scholar of NATO. The importance of restoring Europe to strength and
stability in the post-World War II years was as obvious to America
as to its allies, but the means of achieving that goal were far
from clear. The problem for European statesmen was how to secure
much- needed American economic and military aid without sacrificing
political independence. For American policymakers, in contrast, a
degree of American control was seen as an essential quid pro quo.
As Mr. Kaplan shows, the lengthy negotiations of 1947 and 1948 were
chiefly concerned with reconciling these opposing views.For the
Truman administration, the difficulties of achieving a treaty
acceptable to the allies were matched by those of winning its
acceptance by Congress and the public. Many Americans saw such an
"entangling alliance" as a threat not only to American security but
to the viability of the United Nations. Mr. Kaplan demonstrates the
tortuous course of the debate on the treaty and the pivotal role of
the communist invasion of South Korea in its ultimate approval.
This authoritative study offers a timely reevaluation of the
origins of an alliance that continues to play a critical role in
the balance of power and in the prospects for world peace.
The unexpected end of the protracted conflict has been a sobering
experience for scholars. No theory had anticipated how the Cold War
would be terminated, and none should also be relied upon to
explicate its legacy. But instead of relying on preconceived
formulas to project past developments, taking a historical
perspective to explain their causes and consequences allows one to
better understand trends and their long-term significance. The
present book takes such perspective, focusing on the evolution of
security, its substance as well as its perception, the concurrent
development of alliances and other cooperative structures for
security, and their effectiveness in managing conflicts. In The
Legacy of the Cold War Vojtech Mastny and Zhu Liqun bring together
scholars to examine the worldwide effects of the Cold War on
international security. Focusing on regions where the Cold War made
the most enduring impact the Euro-Atlantic area and East Asia
historians, political scientists, and international relations
scholars explore alliances and other security measures during the
Cold War and how they carry over into the twenty-first century.
The unexpected end of the protracted conflict has been a sobering
experience for scholars. No theory had anticipated how the Cold War
would be terminated, and none should also be relied upon to
explicate its legacy. But instead of relying on preconceived
formulas to project past developments, taking a historical
perspective to explain their causes and consequences allows one to
better understand trends and their long-term significance. The
present book takes such perspective, focusing on the evolution of
security, its substance as well as its perception, the concurrent
development of alliances and other cooperative structures for
security, and their effectiveness in managing conflicts. In The
Legacy of the Cold War Vojtech Mastny and Zhu Liqun bring together
scholars to examine the worldwide effects of the Cold War on
international security. Focusing on regions where the Cold War made
the most enduring impact the Euro-Atlantic area and East Asia
historians, political scientists, and international relations
scholars explore alliances and other security measures during the
Cold War and how they carry over into the twenty-first century."
This compelling history brings to life the watershed year of 1948,
when the United States reversed its long-standing position of
political and military isolation from Europe and agreed to an
'entangling alliance' with ten European nations. Not since 1800,
when the United States ended its alliance with France, had the
nation made such a commitment. The historic North Atlantic Treaty
was signed on April 4, 1949, but the often-contentious negotiations
stretched throughout the preceding year. Lawrence S. Kaplan, the
leading historian of NATO, traces the tortuous and dramatic
process, which struggled to reconcile the conflicting concerns on
the part of the future partners. Although the allies could agree on
the need to cope with the threat of Soviet-led Communism and on the
vital importance of an American association with a unified Europe,
they differed over the means of achieving these ends. The United
States had to contend with domestic isolationist suspicions of Old
World intentions, the military's worries about over extension of
the nation's resources, and the apparent incompatibility of the
projected treaty with the UN charter. For their part, Europeans had
to be convinced that American demands to abandon their traditions
would provide the sense of security that economic and political
recovery from World War II required. Kaplan brings to life the
colorful diplomats and politicians arrayed on both sides of the
debate. The end result was a remarkably durable treaty and alliance
that has linked the fortunes of America and Europe for over fifty
years. Despite differences that have persisted and occasionally
flared over the past fifty years, NATO continues to bind America
and Europe in the twenty-first century. Kaplan's detailed and
lively account draws on a wealth of primary sources-newspapers,
memoirs, and diplomatic documents-to illuminate how the United
States came to assume international obligations it had scrupulously
avoided for the previous 150 years.
This compelling history brings to life the watershed year of 1948,
when the United States reversed its long-standing position of
political and military isolation from Europe and agreed to an
"entangling alliance" with ten European nations. Not since 1800,
when the United States ended its alliance with France, had the
nation made such a commitment. The historic North Atlantic Treaty
was signed on April 4, 1949, but the often-contentious negotiations
stretched throughout the preceding year. Lawrence S. Kaplan, the
leading historian of NATO, traces the tortuous and dramatic
process, which struggled to reconcile the conflicting concerns on
the part of the future partners. Although the allies could agree on
the need to cope with the threat of Soviet-led Communism and on the
vital importance of an American association with a unified Europe,
they differed over the means of achieving these ends. The United
States had to contend with domestic isolationist suspicions of Old
World intentions, the military's worries about over extension of
the nation's resources, and the apparent incompatibility of the
projected treaty with the UN charter. For their part, Europeans had
to be convinced that American demands to abandon their traditions
would provide the sense of security that economic and political
recovery from World War II required. Kaplan brings to life the
colorful diplomats and politicians arrayed on both sides of the
debate. The end result was a remarkably durable treaty and alliance
that has linked the fortunes of America and Europe for over fifty
years. Despite differences that have persisted and occasionally
flared over the past fifty years, NATO continues to bind America
and Europe in the twenty-first century. Kaplan's detailed and
lively account draws on a wealth of primary sources-newspapers,
memoirs, and diplomatic documents-to illuminate how the United
States came to assume international obligations it had scrupulously
avoided for the previous 150 years.
This biography of one of America's greatest political figures
focuses on Thomas Jefferson's role as a maker of foreign policy.
Although he was not the sole formulator of American diplomacy,
Jefferson's voice was the most pervasive in the first generation of
the republic's history. This text explores how the concept of the
United States' westward expansion worked as the moving force in
forming Jefferson's judgments and actions in foreign relations.
Although much has been written about Jefferson, this volume is one
of the few that explores the full range of his positions on foreign
relations. Readable and authoritative, Thomas Jefferson: Westward
the Course of Empire offers new insight into the man who shaped
American foreign policy.
Harold Stassen (1907--2001) garnered accolades as the
thirty-one-year-old "boy wonder" governor of Minnesota and quickly
assumed a national role as aide to Admiral William Halsey Jr.
during World War II. When Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected in 1952,
Stassen was named director of the Mutual Security Administration
and then became the president's special assistant for disarmament.
In this position, Stassen had the power to profoundly shape the
country's foreign policy and became influential in early Cold War
policy discussions about the limits and uses of conventional and
nuclear weapons. In this nuanced biography, Lawrence S. Kaplan
demonstrates that Stassen's role in Eisenhower's White House
deserves more analysis than it has received from scholars. Stassen
came to Washington advocating the total elimination of nuclear
weapons, but he quickly came to recognize that this would not
happen. He refocused his efforts, working for greater international
transparency and communication. The liberal internationalism that
Stassen espoused became embedded in Cold War policy for decades,
and he consistently provided a voice for peace in an increasingly
hawkish national security establishment. Stassen, in many ways, was
his own worst enemy; his ambition and ego undermined his efforts
and clouded his vision. His feuds with Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles were legendary, and while Dulles often prevailed in
the meeting room, Stassen's vision of nuclear restraint was one
that Eisenhower shared. Kaplan's study provides a new perspective
on nuclear disarmament during a critical period in US history and
sheds light on Eisenhower's approach to international relations.
For more than 40 years, the Atlantic Alliance has been the major
U.S. foreign policy commitment of every administration. Through
political and military commitments to 11, and ultimately 15, other
nations, the United States through NATO had abandoned an
isolationist tradition of more than 150 years. However, important
as this step was, few historians of American foreign relations have
given prominence to the alliance in their studies. In this volume,
produced from a conference sponsored by the U.S. delegation to NATO
in 1989, seven American diplomatic historians focus their attention
(some for the first time) on the role of NATO in periods of their
specialization in the post-World War II years. In almost all these
essays, newly released materials in presidential libraries and in
the National Archives have been used. The result is a history of
the past 40 years of NATO from an American perspective, placing the
alliance within the larger frame of America's foreign policy as a
superpower. The historians' interpretations benefit from their
intimacy with cognate issues on which each has written over the
years. Whatever their individual interpretations, each reveals the
important role. NATO has played in fashioning the "American
Century."
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