Book Analysis Essay on From Colony to Superpower

Introduction

The book, From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776 by George C. Herring is a professor of History at the University of Kentucky. In his book, he provides a fascinating story of America's foreign relations. The purpose of Herring's work is to explain the way thirteen separate and vulnerable British colonies evolved and gained dominance in world affairs. The book is part of the volume of the Oxford History of the United States series. With the strong economic ties between America and many European powers, Herring attempts to dismiss the myth of American isolationism.

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The author's primary thesis is that America has extraordinary standards in theory which it has not in every case effectively acquired practice to its use of its foreign policy. Herring's book covers American foreign policy from 1776 to 2008. The book looks at America's relation with other revolutions through to the George W. Bush administration. The developmental components Herring talks about are simply the quest for economic self-interest; confidence in racial domination; unilateralism; a majority rule political framework; and, at last, the American conviction that the US was driven by a providential mission. Burnard (p.414) mentioned that the Oxford series confirms a solid inclination ideologically towards federalism and towards the significance of the Union instead of the interests of states, urban areas or people.

Herring's book is compelling. It was written at a time when foreign policy and federalism was a primary issue in the global affairs in regards to its impact on a country. Herring writes that for a long time, Americans have considered themselves a "chosen people' with a providential mission (Herring p.4). He mentioned that the ideal for the providential mission has spurred good in the world concerning work of merchants, missionaries, and educators thereby advancing the guard of national policy (Herring p.4). Also, in case one uncertainty the enduring intensity of this thought, Herring advises us that Ronald Reagan consistently conjured Winthrop's seventeenth-century words to persuade Americans that they had an extraordinary task to carry out in world governmental issues (Herring p.4). President George W. Hedge has likewise frequently utilized such exceptionalism language to clarify the enthusiastic international strategy of the previous eight years (Herring p.4). In this definitive investigation, Herring deftly mixes account and examination and enables the reader to comprehend what occurred and why. Especially successful is how he follows the direction of America's development as a force to be reckoned with.

Herring examines the transformation of U.S foreign policy that culminated in the 1890s (Herring p.299). Particularly, Herring cautiously looks at this unfurling story from the magnificent drive set apart by the Spanish-American War in 1898 to the explanation of Wilsonian standards during World War I on through the incredible change realized by World War II (Herring p.299). He states that after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US could never again delay to turn out to be vivaciously associated with world legislative issues (Herring p.541). The author added that if Franklin Roosevelt moved circumspectly toward war before Dec. 7, 1941, his successor indicated little hesitance to seek after a dissident foreign policy that guaranteed each side of the earth as crucial to the security of the US (Herring p.541). On examining war in America, (Burnard p.414) asserted that Roosevelt, similar to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, was an incredible wartime pioneer, symbolizing and empowering national solidarity during an emergency. Herring's volume is one in which the remainder of the world qualities America's ideological model and their admirable want to take on the universal duty that their monetary power and military may commands (Burnard p.414). Uniting Americans instead of dividing them is reliably viewed as something worth being thankful for. the writer certifies that the book praises Roosevelt and Reagan. as normally happy men and as incredible communicators who figured out how to make Americans like themselves and what's to come (Burnard p.414).

In his book, Herring examines the aspect of domestic policy. In his text, he talked about Lyndon Johnson and his accomplishments in domestic policy (Herring p.758). The conflict in Vietnam sapped his capacity to support his liberal domestic policy which brought about moderate attacks upon it that seriously injured the enactment's capacity to satisfy its guarantees (Herring p.758). He talked of the way as part of the Great Society, Johnson scrapped ultra-nationalistic and racially-based immigration legislation of 1924, which favored Northern and Western Europeans (Herring p.758). On account of early American presidents, Herring likewise demonstrates how the foreign policy affected their decisions. Jefferson and Madison are frequently notable for their local arrangements and political optimism, yet outside issues assumed such a solid job in their decisions that contemporary Americans regularly felt those organizations were no place almost as fruitful as present-day Americans describe them.

Combs (p.8) asserted that in Herring's treatment of early American outside relations, he supports the unpretentious tact of Benjamin Franklin during the American War of Independence over the sterner and angry discretion of John Jay and John Adams that preservationist patriots like Samuel Flagg Bemis lauded. Entirely, I found myself agreeing with the perspective of the author. Particularly, Herring appeared to indicate how there has never been a general US foreign policy. Undeniably, his claims are true. As per Herring's views, it has constantly changed relying upon the desire of the president and ideological group responsible for the government. I would figure this would be incredibly baffling for different countries who always needed to adjust to another president and their wants. If one thing sticks out, it is that the country's heads regularly managed foreign policy to the backburner for domestic undertakings, yet before long discovered that this methodology frequently fizzled. Misfortune to the American president who disregarded remote undertakings after WWII. Now and again foreign policy affected their basic leadership process undeniably more than they needed to the point where outside undertakings played a role in their administration's achievement in the long haul.

Conclusion

Overall, I can say that Herring's book is one of the best writings of the Oxford History of the United States volumes. Herring has created a definitive volume on the subject of foreign policy. Herring's writing is educative and in-depth. I learned a lot on U.S foreign policy. The most important lesson was that a country's foreign policy impacts its relations with other countries as it brings unintended consequences. The author shows that decisions made by American policymakers have consequences on the fate of the nation. After reading the book, I feel like I took a whole course on foreign policy. I would recommend anyone who would want a reference book on foreign policy to consider Herring's "From Colony to Superpower."

Works Cited

Coms, Jerald. "Review by Jerald A. Combs, Professor of History Emeritus, San Francisco State University." H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews, Vol. X, No 19, 2009. Accessible at https://issforum.org/roundtables/PDF/Roundtable-X-19.pdf

Burnard, Trevor. "America the Good, America the Brave, America the Free: Reviewing the Oxford History of the United States." Journal of American Studies, 45, 3, 407-441. 2011.

Herring, George. "From Colony to Superpower: U. S. Foreign Relations since 1776." Oxford University Press: New York, 2008.