This book provides a succinct and accessible interpretation of the major event and ideas that have shaped U.S. foreign relations since the American Revolution-historical factors that now affect our current debates and commitments in the Middle East as well as Europe and Asia.American Foreign Relations since Independence explores the relationship of American policies to national interest and the limits of the nation's power, reinterpreting the nature and history of American foreign relations.The book brings together the collective knowledge of three generations of diplomatic historians to create a readily accessible introduction to the subject. The authors explicitly challenge and reject the perennial debates about isolationism versus internationalism, instead asserting that American foreign relations have been characterized by the permanent tension inherent in America's desire to engage with the world and its equally powerful determination to avoid "entanglement" in the world's troubles. This work is ideally suited as a resource for students of politics, international affairs, and history, and it will provide compelling insights for informed general readers.

Preface1 The Diplomacy of the Revolution2 The New Republic in a World at War3 The War of 1812: Reestablishing American Independence4 The Monroe Doctrine and Latin American Independence5 Manifest Destiny Triumphant: Oregon, Texas, and California6 A House Divided: Diplomacy during the Civil War7 Territorial and Commercial Expansionism: Alaska, the Caribbean, and the Far East8 War with Spain and the New Manifest Destiny9 The United States Adjusts to Its New Status10 Woodrow Wilson and a World at War11 The Slow Death of Versailles12 World War II: The Grand Alliance13 A New Global Struggle: Founding of the UN to the Cold War14 Crises, Conflicts, and Coexistence15 The United States and Southeast Asia: Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam16 Reagan, Bush, Gorbachev, and the End of the Cold War17 The United States and the Middle East: Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq18 Twenty-First-Century ChallengesNotesSelected BibliographyIndex