Divided Union: The Politics of War in the Early American Republic PDF
Preview Divided Union: The Politics of War in the Early American Republic
DIVIDED UNION A VOLUME IN THE SERIES CORNELL STUDIES IN SECURITY AFFAIRS edited by Robert J. Art, Robert Jervis, and Stephen M. Walt A full list of titles in the series appears at the end of the book. The Politics ofW ar in the Early American Republic Scott A. Silverstone CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON Copyright© 2004 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2004 by Cornell University Press Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Silverstone, Scott A. Divided union: the politics of war in the early American republic I Scott A. Silverstone. p. em.-(Cornell studies in security affairs) Includes index. ISBN 0-8014-4230-3 (alk. paper) 1. United States-Foreign relations-1801-1815. 2. United States Foreign relations-1815-1861. 3. United States-History, Military- 19th century. 4. United States-Politics and government- 1783-1865. 5. Federal government-United States-History-19th century. 6. Politics and war-History-19th century. I. Title. II. Series. E338.556 2004 973-dc22 2004001487 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publish ing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.comell.edu. Clothprinting 10 9 8 7 6 54 3 2 1 CONTENTS Preface vii 1. Back from the Brink: Why Do States Avoid Military Conflict? 1 2. Federal Union and Armed Conflict: Imagining a More Peace-Prone Republic 25 3· The United States Confronts Great Britain and Spain, 1807-1815 69 4· The Oregon Crisis of 1845-1846 119 5· The Mexican War and Territorial Expansion 157 6. Cuba and Mexico in the 185os 202 7· A Federal Democratic Peace 251 Index 269 PREFACE This book was written during a time of unprecedented U.S. power, measured not only in terms of the material resources the United States can marshal to project influence abroad but also, and perhaps more important, by the absence of any significant external constraints on how it might use that power. Under these conditions, it is fair to argue, constraints on how the United States uses its power in the interna tional system will depend on limits operating within its own domestic political system. The nature of those internal constraints and the actual effects they might have on U.S. behavior should be of great interest to any contemporary observer of American foreign policy and interna tional relations. This book is about domestic constraints on state power, more spe cifically, constraints on the use of military force produced by the polit ical institutions of democratic states. While this topic has been the subject of substantial research in recent years, it was also a major pre occupation of the founders of the United States, who thought carefully about the relationship between domestic institutions and military force as they wrestled with the great constitutional questions of their period. How to create a more peace-prone republic in a competitive anarchical system was a problem they addressed explicitly, yet in a way that students of U.S. foreign policy since the founding have failed to appreciate. The purpose of this book is to present a fresh perspec tive on American political institutions and war that connects with the vii PREFACE contemporary debate on the sources of constraints on state power. It does so by focusing on the fact that the United States was created as a federal union, an institutional innovation for republican government that the founders believed would have a direct effect on America's propensity to resort to force in its foreign policy. The book shows just how federal union mattered in U.S. foreign policy before the Civil War-a period in which the United States was involved in a series of militarized international crises that brought it to the brink of war with foreign adversaries. Like federal union, this time period has been largely ignored by contemporary scholars of international relations and U.S. foreign policy, yet it is rich in insights for those interested in the domestic politics of military conflict. A number of people have been instrumental in the development of this book. I owe my greatest intellectual debt to Daniel Deudney, who is the most creative and energetic scholar I have had the privilege to work with. Not only did he prompt me to ask the kinds of questions that I pursue in this work, he also served as a tireless mentor, critic, and sounding board as the project grew in theoretical and historical scope. I thank John Ikenberry, who asked hard questions and made important suggestions as I developed these ideas, and Douglas Ver ney, who carefully read every chapter and provided a wealth of important insights and advice. Robert Jervis provided substantial feedback on the complete manuscript and helped me improve the rigor of the theoretical and empirical dimensions of the book. I also thank editor Roger Haydon of Cornell University Press, who through out the publication process has been a conscientious and professional advocate for this project. I express my gratitude to other scholars who over the past several years have helped me develop this work by critiquing my ideas: John Owen, Miriam Fendius Elman, Norrin Rips man, Deborah Avant, Peter Onuf, Chris Harth, Nicholas Onuf, Ian Lustick, Avery Goldstein, Walter McDougall, David Hendrickson, Rey Koslowski, Jonathan Isacoff, and Joseph Mink. This book is dedicated to my wife Lisa and my children Ian and Norah, who bring perpetual warmth and energy to my life; to my mother Barbara Silverstone, for teaching me the love of reading; and to my father Arnold Silverstone, whose boundless curiosity about this world has always been an inspiration. SCOTT A. SILVERSTONE West Point, New York DIVIDED UNION
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