5th Edition
The History of American Foreign Policy from 1895
Now in its fifth edition, this volume offers a clear, concise, and nuanced history of U.S. foreign relations since the Spanish–American War and places that narrative within the context of the most influential historiographical trends and debates.
The History of American Foreign Policy from 1895 includes both revised and new sections that incorporate insights from recent scholarship on the United States in the world. These sections devote more attention to the international framework as well as the domestic constraints under which American foreign policymakers operated. This edition also emphasizes the role of non-state actors such as missionaries, aid workers, activists, and business leaders in shaping policies and contributing to international relations. As a result, the text considers a broader and more diverse range of people and voices than many other histories of U.S. foreign policy. Expanded final chapters bring the story of U.S. foreign relations to the present and explore some of the contemporary challenges facing American and global leaders, including terrorism, the effects of climate change, China’s increasing influence, and globalization. Updated controversial issues sections and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter reflect important contributions from new studies.
This engaging text is an invaluable resource for students interested in the history of American foreign policy and international relations.
1. The Spanish–American War and the Decision for Empire 2. The Surge into Asia: Empire in the Philippines and the Open Door in China 3. The Surge into Latin America: Varieties of American Empire 4. Europe, America, and World War I 5. The United States and the Peace of Versailles 6. U.S. Foreign Policy between the World Wars 7. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Road to World War II 8. The Diplomacy of World War II and the Seeds of the Cold War 9. Harry Truman and the Onset of the Cold War 10. Crisis and Confrontation during the 1950s 11. John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Strategy of Flexible Response 12. War in Vietnam 13. Manipulating the Balance of Power 14. Time Bombs in the Middle East 15. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the Demise of Détente, 1976–1984 16. The End of the Cold War 17. The Aftermath of the Cold War: American Foreign Policy during the 1990s 18. 9/11 and the War on Terror 19. The Challenges of Global Leadership
Biography
Jerald A. Combs (PhD UCLA 1964) is Emeritus Professor of History at San Francisco State University. He is the author of The Jay Treaty: Political Battleground of the Founding Fathers and American Diplomatic History: Two Centuries of Changing Interpretations.
Jessica Elkind (PhD UCLA 2005) is Associate Professor of History at San Francisco State University, where she teaches on the United States in the world and Southeast Asia. Her publications include Aid Under Fire: Nation Building and the Vietnam War (2016). She is currently working on a study of U.S. non-military involvement in Cambodia during the 1970s.
