Globalization and the American Century

by Alfred E. Eckes, Jr , Thomas W. Zeiler

• ISBN13: 9780521804097
• ISBN10: 0521804094
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-06-23
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Using globalization as a unifying theme, Eckes and Zeiler offer a bold new approach to American history and diplomacy in the twentieth century. The American Century of global leadership, they show, resulted both from innovations and ideas. Revolutionary improvements in technology (especially satellite communications and jet transportation) combined with the leadership elite's enthusiasm for de-regulation of markets and free trade to fuel American-style globalization. Zeiler and Eckes show this formula helped the nation rise to economic power after the Spanish-American War, and win both world wars and the Cold War. In the decade after the end of the Cold War, America's power and cultural influence soared as business and financial interests pursued the long-term quest for global markets. But the tragic events of September 2001 and the growing volatility of global finance raised questions about whether the era of American-led globalization was sustainable, or vulnerable to catastrophic collapse.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Toward a New Paradigm	1	(8)
1 Americanizing Britain's World, 1898-1913	9	(29)
2 Globalization in War and Peace, 1914-1920	38	(21)
3 Exporting the American Dream, 1921-1929	59	(22)
4 Business Busted, Diplomacy Destroyed, 1929-1939	81	(23)
5 Defending Allies, Developing Frontiers, 1939-1946	104	(27)
6 Containing and Consuming, 1947-1957	131	(25)
7 Transforming the World, 1958-1973	156	(28)
8 Enduring the Crises, 1973-1986	184	(23)
9 Freedom and Free Trade, 1986-1995	207	(31)
10 Folding the Flag: Globalization and the New Millennium	238	(23)
Appendix: Statistical Tables	261	(10)
Notes	271	(50)
Index	321