Amid a warring world : American foreign relations, 1775-1815 / Robert W. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Robert W., 1967-

Series:

Issues in the history of American foreign relations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Foreign relations--1775-1783.

United States.

United States--Foreign relations--1783-1815.

Diplomatic relations.

Physical Description:

xviii, 221 pages ; 24 cm.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Potomac Books, ©2012.

Summary:

The period between 1775 and 1815 could be called the critical period of American foreign relations. At no time in American history was the existence of the republic in greater physical peril. Questions of foreign policy dominated American public life in a way unequalled until World War II. From the American Revolution through the War of 1812, the United States was a small power confronted by great powers hostile to each other and to the United States. Furthermore, the era was dominated by two great revolutions that reshaped the Atlantic world. The problem for American diplomats and foreign policymakers was to preserve the United States, both as an independent nation and as a republic, in a decidedly unequal contest with the great powers. According to the author, the question of American power lay at the heart of the debate over independence. The radicals believed that the American spirit and market were enough, and favored rapid independence and an aggressive promotion of neutral rights. The moderates doubted American power, and were inclined to move slowly and only with assured French assistance. By the end of the American Revolution, the moderates had won the debate. But their victory masked the defects of the confederation, until the diplomatic humiliations of the 1780s forced the United States to create a government that could properly harness American economic and military power. The debate over the power of the United States to reshape a hostile world remains as central today as in 1776.

Contents:

The diplomacy of independence

The failure of the confederation

American foreign relations in the Federalist era

The Jeffersonian revolution in foreign affairs

Mr. Madison's wars

Conclusion: The significance of the founding era

Appendix: Excerpts from related documents. Joseph Ward to John Adams, October 23, 1775 ; Robert Morris to Charles Lee, February 17,1776 ; Chevalier de la Luzerne to Comte de Vergennes, June 14, 1781 ; Richard Oswald to Thomas Townshend, November 30, 1782 ; Robert R. Livingston to the American Peace Commissioners, March 25, 1783 ; Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, August 23, 1785 ; Francisco Rendón to Don José de Gálvez, February 12,1785 ; James Wilson's Speech at the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, December 11, 1787 ; Samuel Shaw to John Jay, December 21, 1787 ; Proclamation of Neutrality, April 22, 1793 ; Thomas Jefferson's description of a Cabinet Meeting on Edmond Genet, August 20, 1793 ; Alexander Hamilton, "Americanus No.1," January 31, 1794 ; Alexander Hamilton, "The Defence No. II," July 25, 1795 ; James Madison's petition to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, October 12, 1795 ; John Adams to Elbridge Gerry, July 8, 1797 ; Alexander Hamilton to James McHenry, June 27, 1799 ; James Madison to Charles Pinckney, November 27, 1802 ; Thomas Jefferson's account of Cabinet Meetings, November 12 and 19,1805 ; Berlin Decree, November 21, 1806 ; Order-in-Council, January 7, 1807 ; Milan Decree, December 17, 1807 ; James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, April 24, 1809 ; Henry Clay's speech, February 22, 1810 ; The Cadore Letter (Duc de Cadore to John Armstrong), August 5, 1810 ; John Quincy Adams to John Adams, December 26,1814.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-212) and index.

Local Notes:

HSP credit line: "Intercourse of Impartial Dealings" (DAMS #4531), 1809 by Peter Pencil; HSP Cartoons and Caricatures collection [3133; box 10, folder

ISBN:

9781597975216

1597975214

9781597975223

1597975222

9781612341323

1612341322

OCLC:

650217389

Publisher Number:

40021346866