The nature of American expansion during
the late nineteenth century is discussed from different points of view in the essays collected here. They focus on the extent to which the nation's expansionist policies were carefully directed by high-level policy makers, were the result of drift and inertia among policy makers, or were the result of a widely shared sense of mission or destiny which was deeply ingrained in the American tradition. The Depression, the Open Door Policy, and the origins and political goals of the
Spanish-American War are some of the topics considered in the book. |