Foreign Affairs and the Founding Fathers: From Confederation to Constitution, 17761787

(Hardback)

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This concise diplomatic history of the Confederation era is the first new work on the topic in a generation. In its pages, three distinguished diplomatic historians offer a realist interpretation of the way in which the Founding Fathers conducted foreign affairs, refreshing our collective memory about their priorities and their values. When three of the nation's leading historians come together to fashion a fresh study of American history, the resulting work cannot help but be a monumental addition to the field. Foreign Affairs and the Founding Fathers: From Confederation to Constitution, 17761787 is such a work. These eminent scholars provide a thoughtful, realist interpretation of the Founders' view of America's place in the world, delivering a timely reassessment of their aspirations, thoughts, and actions during the seminal decades of the American nation. This book takes readers backstage where they can eavesdrop on the Founders to better understand their motives and intentions and see how they responded to threats and problems associated with America's place in the world. Arguing that the Founding Fathers essentially thought and acted in terms of powerranking matters of national interest and security over ideology and moral concernsthe book sheds new light on the foreign policy opportunities and challenges of the day, as the Founders weighed and determined them. In so doing, it offers important guideposts for our own time.

Reviews

Foreign Affairs and the Founding Fathers is a short, wellwritten, and engaging narrative that uses the available primary sources to good effect. Based on early essays, lectures, and scholarly articles by the late, and prolific, historian Norman Graebner, this book introduces the reader to the key dilemmas, events, and proposed solutions to the vexing questions noted above. . . . this is a good, solid introduction to the diplomacy of the Confederation period. * H-Diplo *
This first-rate study is a must acquisition for academic and public libraries. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. * Choice *

Author Bio

Norman A. Graebner, PhD, was emeritus professor at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Graebner was the author, coauthor, or editor of more than 30 books, including ABC-CLIO's America and the Cold War, 19411991: A Realist Interpretation, written with Richard Dean Burns and Joseph M. Siracusa. Graebner passed away in 2010 at the age of 94. Richard Dean Burns, PhD, is professor emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles, CA. His published works include the internationally recognized Guide to American Foreign Relations since 1700 and ABC-CLIO's three-volume Encyclopedia of Arms Control and Disarmament. Joseph M. Siracusa, PhD, is professor of human security and international diplomacy and associate dean of international and justice studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. His published works include ABC-CLIO's Reagan, Bush, Gorbachev: Revisiting the End of the Cold War.