Lawrence S. Kaplan

Of all of the Founding Fathers of the American republic none, with the possible exception of Thomas Jefferson, has evoked more passions and aroused more controversy than Alexander Hamilton. In this absorbing new biography, eminent historian Lawrence Kaplan examines Hamilton's conception of America's role in the world and the foreign policies that followed from his vision. Kaplan looks at how Hamilton acted upon his views in shaping the course of American foreign relations. The author provides a focused, accessible biography of Hamilton and a nuanced assessment of his impact on Federalist Era foreign policy. In the Jefferson-Jackson era Hamilton's persona as an elitist urban aristocrat condemned him as an enemy of an expanding democratic America-an Anglophile at a time when Great Britain was the major adversary. Such was his reputation as an enemy of the common man that his deep-seated opposition to the institution of slavery won little recognition from northern abolitionists. This book will fascinate readers with its insights into Hamilton and the formative years of the United States of America.

Ambivalent Anglophile

Alexander Hamilton

Written over a thirty-year period, the essays included in this volume develop one central theme: the completion of American isolationism in the formative years of the nation. Isolationism, in Kaplan's view, is not to be taken as economic or cultural independence but as abstention from political or military obligations to Europe, from alliances or from purposeful entanglement in the European balance of power. This study focuses on the assertion that Thomas Jefferson was central to the making of American foreign policy from the Revolution to 1803. But Kaplan's view is not always supportive of Jefferson. In fact, Kaplan believes the collection has a "Hamiltonian flavor," although he does not necessarily consider himself a Hamiltonian either. Kaplan is critical of Jefferson and points clearly to the error of his belief that France could be a counterweight to British power. In the short run Hamilton appears more realistic, but in the long run Jefferson's vision for the country proved wiser and sounder.

American Foreign Policy in the Age of Jefferson

Entangling Alliances with None

Drea

Ronald D. Landa

Edward J Drea

Originally published in 2006, this volume from the History Office of the Office of the Secretary of Defense provides a narrative history and assessment of the early years of Robert McNamara's tenure as Secretary of Defense, including McNamara's relationship with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, the transformation of the Department of Defense as a part of Kennedy's New Frontier, and the Pentagon's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs episode, and onset of the Vietnam War along with other major national security events and developments during a turbulent and momentous period of the Cold War.

The McNamara Ascendancy

History of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Volume V

Edward J. Drea

Ronald Dean Landa

A narrative history and assessment of the early years of Robert McNamara's tenure as Secretary of Defense, including McNamara's relationship with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, the transformation of the Department of Defense as a part of Kennedy's New Frontier, and the Pentagon's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs episode, and onset of the Vietnam War along with other major national security events and developments during a turbulent and momentous period of the Cold War. (Fuller description is on the dust jacket flaps.)

The McNamara Ascendancy, 1961-1965

Morris Honick

This compelling history brings to life the watershed year of 1948, when the United States reversed its long-standing position of political and military isolation from Europe and agreed to an entangling alliance with ten European nations. Not since 1800, when the United States ended its alliance with France, had the nation made such a commitment. The historic North Atlantic Treaty was signed on April 4, 1949, but the often-contentious negotiations stretched throughout the preceding year. Lawrence S. Kaplan, the leading historian of NATO, traces the tortuous and dramatic process, which struggled to reconcile the conflicting concerns on the part of the future partners. Although the allies could agree on the need to cope with the threat of Soviet-led Communism and on the vital importance of an American association with a unified Europe, they differed over the means of achieving these ends. The United States had to contend with domestic isolationist suspicions of Old World intentions, the military's worries about over extension of the nation's resources, and the apparent incompatibility of the projected treaty with the UN charter. For their part, Europeans had to be convinced that American demands to abandon their traditions would provide the sense of security that economic and political recovery from World War II required. Kaplan brings to life the colorful diplomats and politicians arrayed on both sides of the debate. The end result was a remarkably durable treaty and alliance that has linked the fortunes of America and Europe for over fifty years. Despite differences that have persisted and occasionally flared over the past fifty years, NATO continues to bind America and Europe in the twenty-first century. Kaplan's detailed and lively account draws on a wealth of primary sources--newspapers, memoirs, and diplomatic documents--to illuminate how the United States came to assume international obligations it had scrupulously avoided for the previous 150 years.

The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance

NATO 1948

The creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was one of the most important accomplishments of American diplomacy in countering the Soviet threat during the early days of the Cold War. Why and how such a reversal of a 150-year nonalignment policy by the United States was brought about, and how the goals of the treaty became a reality, are questions addressed here by a leading scholar of NATO. The importance of restoring Europe to strength and stability in the post-World War II years was as obvious to America as to its allies, but the means of achieving that goal were far from clear. The problem for European statesmen was how to secure much- needed American economic and military aid without sacrificing political independence. For American policymakers, in contrast, a degree of American control was seen as an essential quid pro quo. As Mr. Kaplan shows, the lengthy negotiations of 1947 and 1948 were chiefly concerned with reconciling these opposing views. For the Truman administration, the difficulties of achieving a treaty acceptable to the allies were matched by those of winning its acceptance by Congress and the public. Many Americans saw such an "entangling alliance" as a threat not only to American security but to the viability of the United Nations. Mr. Kaplan demonstrates the tortuous course of the debate on the treaty and the pivotal role of the communist invasion of South Korea in its ultimate approval. This authoritative study offers a timely reevaluation of the origins of an alliance that continues to play a critical role in the balance of power and in the prospects for world peace.

The Formative Years

The United States and NATO

Denise Artaud

Mark R. Rubin

Dien Bien Phu and the Crisis of Franco-American Relations, 1954-1955

Lawrence J. Kaplan

Although Jefferson was not the sole formulator of American diplomacy, his voice was the most pervasive in the first generation of the republic's history. It may also have been the most paradoxical. In this volume, Kaplan reconciles the contradictions in Jefferson's views and positions over a period of almost half a century. He also explores how the concept of the United States' westward expansion worked as the moving force in forming Jefferson's judgments and actions in foreign relations. Readable and authoritative, Thomas Jefferson: Westward the Course of Empire offers new insight into the man who shaped American foreign policy.

Westward the Course of Empire

Thomas Jefferson

Professor Lawrence Kaplan

Concentrates on the differences within the alliance, particularly between the United States and its European partners.

The Evolution of an Alliance

NATO Divided, NATO United

Scott L. Bills

E. Timothy Smith

A collection of articles and essays reflecting the varied professional interests of diplomatic historian Lawrence Kaplan. Drawn largely from Kaplan's former students - now scholars in their own right - there are also contributions from senior colleagues.

Lawrence S. Kaplan

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