German And United States Colonialism In A Connected World: Entangled Empires

327 Pages·2021·5.206 MB·English

by  Janne Lahti

German and
United States Colonialism
in a Connected World
Entangled Empires
Edited by Janne Lahti
Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
Series Editors
Richard Drayton
Department of History
King’s College London
London, UK
Saul Dubow
Magdalene College
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK
The Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies series is a well-
established collection of over 100 volumes focussingon empires in world
history and on the societies and cultures that emerged from, and chal-
lenged, colonial rule. The collection includes transnational, comparative
and connective studies, as well as works addressing the ways in which
particular regions or nations interact with global forces. In its forma-
tive years, the series focused on the British Empire and Commonwealth,
but there is now no imperial system, period of human history or part of
the world that lies outside of its compass. While we particularly welcome
the first monographs of young researchers, we also seek major studies
by more senior scholars, and welcome collections of essays with a strong
thematic focus that help to set new research agendas. As well as history,
theseriesincludesworkonpolitics,economics,culture,archaeology,liter-
ature, science, art, medicine, and war. Our aim is to collect the most
exciting new scholarship on world history and to make this available to
a broad scholarly readership in a timely manner.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/13937
Janne Lahti
Editor
German and United
States Colonialism
in a Connected World
Entangled Empires
Editor
Janne Lahti
Department of Philosophy, History and Art
University of Helsinki
Helsinki, Finland
ISSN 2635-1633 ISSN 2635-1641 (electronic)
Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
ISBN 978-3-030-53205-5 ISBN 978-3-030-53206-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53206-2
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Acknowledgments
As usual, academic gratitude has accumulated during the making of this
book. The period spent as a visiting scholar at Free University Berlin’s
Global History Program certainly proved extremely helpful in deep-
ening my views on German colonialism and contemplating on the forms
and range of historical connections between United States and German
empires.Thanksforhavingmeoverandfortheexchangeofideas,Sebas-
tian Conrad. I also enjoyed the lattes/beers and the talks with Eriks
Bredovskis, Nicola Camilleri, Minu Haschemi Yekani, Adam Hjorthen,
Valeska Huber, Dörte Lerp, and Ben van Zee. The experience would not
have been as stimulating without my Global Settler Colonialism class.
Thanks to all the wonderful students for engaging my arguments and
challenging me. The same goes to the equally wonderful students at the
University of Helsinki, where I have taught several years on settler colo-
nialism and German and US empires. For enabling this book to come
to life in the first place, I wish to thank the Academy of Finland and
the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Both institutions, together with the
UniversityofHelsinki,havekeptmyacademiccareerafloatinrecentyears.
Research fellowships at the Hunting Library, in San Marino, California,
and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody, Wyoming, have also
been very helpful in nurturing my ideas on global empires. My magnif-
icent author team deserves a massive thanks. At Palgrave, Molly Beck,
Ashwini Elango, Maeve Sinnott, and Sam Stocker have proven most
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
helpful,patient,andsupportive.Finally,mywarmestthanksgo,asalways,
to my family, to my wife Sanna who has put up with me for two decades
already, and our two soon-to-be-adults, Sofia and Juho.
Praise For GermanandUnitedStates
ColonialisminaConnectedWorld
“Janne Lahti brings together a fine ensemble of international scholars to
look at one of the currently most rewarding fields in imperial history, the
history of transimperial entanglements. The volume specifically engages
with US-German imperial relations and throws new light on their great
historical significance. Lahti’s skillful and gripping introduction immedi-
ately draws the reader into the subject matter. His real feat, however,
lies in the composition of the contributions that covers broad historical
groundandatthesametimeprovidesin-depthempiricalanalysis.Atimely
and stimulating book at the interface of imperial and global history.”
—Roland Wenzlhuemer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
“This outstanding collection of essays on the many entanglements of
Germany and the United States in the age of empire showcases a highly
dynamicresearchfieldofyoungerandestablishedscholarsthatisbreaking
down the barriers and stale conventions that have long hindered a full
understanding of global competitive colonialism. By also challenging
the national exceptionalism that has long contained both American and
German history, the essays are sure to spark lively debate that will lead to
productive new avenues of research.”
—Erik Grimmer-Solem, Wesleyan University
vii
viii PRAISE FOR GERMAN AND UNITED STATES COLONIALISM IN A …
“Entangled Empires presents global and transnational scholarship at their
finest. Full of original research, arresting insights, and powerful case
studies, the essays collected here decentre US and German colonialism
in compelling ways. In crisp and elegant prose the authors in this superb
collectionshowasneverbeforehowtheUnitedStatesandGermanimpe-
rialformationswereentangledbyflowsofknowledge,people,andstrate-
gies of colonial domination, and developed relationally with one another.
This carefully curated volume showcases how the signature methods of
transnational and global history—connected, comparative, and collabo-
rative—offers vital new understandings on imperial formation and the
imperial origins of contemporary globality.”
—Stephen Tuffnell, St Peter’s College, University of Oxford
“This important collection offers a wealth of thought-provoking essays
that open up a long overdue discussion about the myriad ways that U.S.
andGermancolonialisminteractedwithoneanotheracrossthelongnine-
teenth century. After reading German and United States Colonialism in
a Connected World, it will be impossible to think about U.S. or German
history—or, indeed, global history—the same way ever again.”
—Karl Jacoby, Columbia University
“The compelling essays in this rich, wide-ranging volume vividly demon-
stratethevalueofapproachinghistoriesofmoderncolonialismasglobally
entangled.FocusingonthewaysGermans’perceptionsofU.S.empire—
as inspiration and model, rival and threat—shaped their understandings
of Germany as nation, empire and world power, the essays reveal myriad
ways that German visions of settler-colonial rule, racialized power and
colonial violence crossed national and imperial boundaries.”
—Paul Kramer, Vanderbilt University
Contents
1 Introduction: Relational Empires 1
Janne Lahti
Part I Portabilities
2 Seapower and Frontier Settlement: Friedrich List’s
American Vision for Germany 17
Gregor Thum
3 The Fantasy of Open Space on the Frontier: Max
Sering from the Great Plains to Eastern Europe 41
Robert L. Nelson
4 TheRoleofUSRailroadsintheGermanExpansionist
Mindset of Gerhard Rohlfs 63
Tracey Reimann-Dawe
5 Between France, Germany, and the United States:
Raymond Aron as a Critical Theorist of Colonialism
and Empire 83
George Steinmetz
ix