Empire's Twin: U.S. Anti-imperialism from the Founding Era to the Age of Terrorism (The United States in the World)

Across the course of American history, imperialism and anti-imperialism have been awkwardly paired as influences on the politics, culture, and diplomacy of the United States. The Declaration of Independence, after all, is an anti-imperial document, cataloguing the sins of the metropolitan government against the colonies. With the Revolution, and again in 1812, the nation stood against the most powerful empire in the world and declared itself independent. As noted by Ian Tyrrell and Jay Sexton, however, American "anti-imperialism was clearly selective, geographically, racially, and constitutionally." Empire's Twin broadens our conception of anti-imperialist actors, ideas, and actions; it charts this story across the range of American history, from the Revolution to our own era; and it opens up the transnational and global dimensions of American anti-imperialism. By tracking the diverse manifestations of American anti-imperialism, this book highlights the different ways in which historians can approach it in their research and teaching. The contributors cover a wide range of subjects, including the discourse of anti-imperialism in the Early Republic and Civil War, anti-imperialist actions in the U.S. during the Mexican Revolution, the anti-imperial dimensions of early U.S. encounters in the Middle East, and the transnational nature of anti-imperialist public sentiment during the Cold War and beyond. Contributors: Laura Belmonte, Oklahoma State University; Robert Buzzanco, University of Houston; Julian Go, Boston University; Alan Knight, University of Oxford; Ussama Makdisi, Rice University; Erez Manela, Harvard University; Peter Onuf, Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, Monticello, and University of Virginia; Jeffrey Ostler, University of Oregon; Patricia Schechter, Portland State University; Jay Sexton, University of Oxford; Ian Tyrrell, University of New South Wales

Across the course of American history, imperialism and anti-imperialism have been awkwardly paired as influences on the politics, culture, and diplomacy of the United States. The Declaration of Independence, after all, is an anti-imperial document, cataloguing the sins of the metropolitan government against the colonies. With the Revolution, and again in 1812, the nation stood against the most powerful empire in the world and declared itself independent. As noted by Ian Tyrrell and Jay Sexton, however, American "anti-imperialism was clearly selective, geographically, racially, and constitutionally." Empire’s Twin broadens our conception of anti-imperialist actors, ideas, and actions; it charts this story across the range of American history, from the Revolution to our own era; and it opens up the transnational and global dimensions of American anti-imperialism.

By tracking the diverse manifestations of American anti-imperialism, this book highlights the different ways in which historians can approach it in their research and teaching. The contributors cover a wide range of subjects, including the discourse of anti-imperialism in the Early Republic and Civil War, anti-imperialist actions in the U.S. during the Mexican Revolution, the anti-imperial dimensions of early U.S. encounters in the Middle East, and the transnational nature of anti-imperialist public sentiment during the Cold War and beyond.

Introduction by Ian Tyrrell and Jay SextonPart I. Conquest and Anticolonialism in the Nineteenth Century 1. Imperialism and Nationalism in the Early American Republic by Peter S. Onuf 2. Native Americans against Empire and Colonial Rule by Jeffrey Ostler 3. "The Imperialism of the Declaration of Independence" in the Civil War Era by Jay Sexton Part II. Anti-Imperialism and the New American Empire 4. Anti-imperialism in the U.S. Territories after 1898 by Julian Go 5. U.S. Anti-imperialism and the Mexican Revolution by Alan Knight 6. Anti-imperialism, Missionary Work, and the King-Crane Commission by Ussama Makdisi Part III. The Extent and Limits of Anti-Imperialism 7. Global Anti-imperialism in the Age of Wilson by Erez Manela 8. Feminist Historiography, Anti-imperialism, and the Decolonial by Patricia A. Schechter 9. Resource Use, Conservation, and the Environmental Limits of Anti-imperialism, c. 1890–1930 by Ian Tyrrell Part IV. Anti-Imperialism in the Age of American Power 10. Promoting American Anti-imperialism in the Early Cold War by Laura A. Belmonte 11. Ruling-Class Anti-imperialism in the Era of the Vietnam War by Robert Buzzanco 12. Whither American Anti-imperialism in a Postcolonial World? by Ian Tyrrell and Jay Sexton Notes Contributors Index