Empire for Liberty

A History of American Imperialism from Benjamin Franklin to Paul Wolfowitz
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-0-691-15607-1
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 288 Seiten, Format (B × H): 150 mm x 224 mm, Gewicht: 402 g

How could the United States, a nation founded on the principles of liberty and equality, have produced Abu Ghraib, torture memos, Plamegate, and warrantless wiretaps? Did America set out to become an empire? And if so, how has it reconciled its imperialism--and in some cases, its crimes--with the idea of liberty so forcefully expressed in the Declaration of Independence? Empire for Liberty tells the story of men who used the rhetoric of liberty to further their imperial ambitions, and reveals that the quest for empire has guided the nation's architects from the very beginning--and continues to do so today. Historian Richard Immerman paints nuanced portraits of six exceptional public figures who manifestly influenced the course of American empire: Benjamin Franklin, John Quincy Adams, William Henry Seward, Henry Cabot Lodge, John Foster Dulles, and Paul Wolfowitz. Each played a pivotal role as empire builder and, with the exception of Adams, did so without occupying the presidency. Taking readers from the founding of the republic to the Global War on Terror, Immerman shows how each individual's influence arose from a keen sensitivity to the concerns of his times; how the trajectory of American empire was relentless if not straight; and how these shrewd and powerful individuals shaped their rhetoric about liberty to suit their needs. But as Immerman demonstrates in this timely and provocative book, liberty and empire were on a collision course. And in the Global War on Terror and the occupation of Iraq, they violently collided.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Immerman, Richard H.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Kolonialismus, Imperialismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Geopolitik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kolonialgeschichte, Geschichte des Imperialismus

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments ix

INTRODUCTION

Contending with the American Empire 1

CHAPTER 1: Benjamin Franklin and America's Imperial Vision 20

CHAPTER 2: John Quincy Adams and America's Tortured Empire 59

CHAPTER 3: William Henry Seward Reimagines the American Empire 98

CHAPTER 4: Henry Cabot Lodge and the New American Empire 128

CHAPTER 5: John Foster Dulles and the Conflicted Empire 163

CHAPTER 6: Paul Wolfowitz and the Lonely Empire 196

POSTSCRIPT: The Dark Side 232

Notes 239

Index 257

Über Autor(innen)

Immerman, Richard H.
Richard H. Immerman is the Edward J. Buthusiem Family Distinguished Faculty Fellow in History and the Marvin Wachman Director of the Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy at Temple University. His books include "John Foster Dulles: Piety, Pragmatism, and Power in U.S. Foreign Policy" and "The CIA in Guatemala: The Foreign Policy of Intervention".