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What Americans Can Learn From Their Isolationist Past
Excavating the tension between isolationism and internationalism can help restore prudence to U.S. statecraft.
Kupchan seeks to do just that in his new book. We present here two timely excerpts.
- Charles A. Kupchan
- The National Interest
That it took from the nation’s birth until 1941 for Americans to abandon their isolationist roots speaks to its long dominance of American politics and statecraft…
From its founding until 1898, the United States refused to take on strategic commitments outside North America.
Between 1898 and 1941, it defended hemispheric hegemony, but strayed beyond the Western Hemisphere only on a…