Chapter 2: The Expansion of U.S. Power

Exercises

Understanding U.S. History and Foreign Policy

1. Re-read the Point Counterpoint section of Chapter 1.

2. Using the New York Times, Brooking Institution, or other suggested websites, identify a current foreign policy issue.

3. How would a Jeffersonian approach to U.S. foreign policy differ from a Hamiltonian viewpoint?

4. Using research tools from the suggested websites, discuss which of the two approaches the United States is currently taking.

Exploring Presidential Doctrines

1. Go to the Presidential Doctrines Web site at
www.fact-index.com/l/li/list_of_u_s__presidential_doctrines.html .

2. Select and read one of the presidential doctrines (from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush).

3. What are the policy implications of the doctrine you selected? In other words, what foreign policies are likely to follow based on the doctrine's ideas?

4. What actors and institutions are most likely to participate in the foreign policies stemming from the doctrine you selected?

5. Based on U.S. history, what possible difficulties might arise from commitment to this doctrine?

Understanding Cold War Rhetoric

1. Go to the Cold War CNN Perspective Series Web site at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/ . (Another Web site that might help with this exercise is the Cold War International History Project at http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.home .)

2. Select one of the twenty-four episodes and read the speeches, newspaper articles, and other references.

3. What ideas are being conveyed in the documents? Discuss the tone and concerns of the people speaking or writing the documents.

4. In what ways did the documents you read shape foreign policies and relations in the years to come?

Examining Operation Iraqi Freedom

1. Go to the PBS Frontline website report entitled "The Dark Side" at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darkside/ .

2. Watch the full program online.

3. What are the main findings of this report?

4. How do they relate to the U.S. history of foreign conflicts and domestic politics?

5. In what ways do the points made in this documentary relate to the paradoxes discussed in Chapters 1 and 2?