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278 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. vii (1951)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0278 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD THE emergence of the United States from isolation has brought about drastic changes in American programs, both international and domestic. For more than a century and a half Americans sought to avoid the destructive wars of Europe. The policy was not fully successful, since this country was involved in three major wars of European origin, entering each, however, at a considerable period after the outbreak. During most of this long period the United States sought not only to keep out of European conflicts but to evade political relationships which were con- nected with the struggles of the major military powers. When the Franco-Prussian War began in 1870, this country refused an invitation to join with European neu- trals to mediate the conflict. It is not the policy of the United States, said Secretary of State Fish, to act jointly with European powers in European ques- tions. In 1870 rapidly rising Germany seemed to be no threat to American se- curity. Except on a relatively few occasions of great crisis which created anxiety regarding national security, isolationism was part and parcel of American thinking. Usually freedom from the fear of great military danger made this doctrine possible and permitted the growth of domestic institutions of a liberal character, protected from the stress of intensive peacetime preparations for war as well as from the suspicions of hostile espionage. Now, since the momentous transition from isolation to participation has taken place, one great disappointment must be admitted. The United States has come into a world in which the urge toward power politics is stronger than the will to achieve international organization. Many Americans who foresaw the-end of isolation hoped and expected that, in a dawning era of reason, disputes between na- tions would be settled around a discussion table. The United States was to take a prominent part in the new machinery for peaceful settlement. The effort to uti- lize the United Nations as an instrumentality to avert world catastrophe should be pressed in every practicable way. The failure thus far to establish an effective sys- tem of organized security has, however, thrown the emphasis upon American na- tional policies, and these have been projected into situations far beyond our borders. Apprehensions of danger have caused the United States to feel a vital interest in all quarters of the globe in which there exists the reality or the possibility of participa- tion by Communist or Communist-controlled governments in a coalition organized and propagandized against this country. The attempt to attain national security under these conditions has brought about the development of new international and domestic policies, some of which are elaborated in this volume. New international activities of the United States are primarily directed toward seeking friendship and support throughout the world. The instrumentalities of the American appeal are: (1) the communication of the democratic ideology and point of view of this country to peoples abroad through the information program of the Department of State, the agencies of military occupation, and other means, public and private; (2) the export of material assistance, including economic, technical, medical, and military aid; and (3) the presentation of American views and policies in the United Nations. It is natural to expect that there will be difficulties and mistakes. A formerly isolated nation suddenly enters the battle for the opinion of the world. A highly vii

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