Learn how four wars of occupation shaped U.S. foreign policy and how future occupations may impact these policies.
In 1821, Secretary of State and future president John Quincy Adams warned against going abroad "in search of monsters to destroy." He expressed worry that the United States "would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition. . . The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force. . . She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit." Adams' warning appeared prescient to many Americans a century later when the United States became involved in wars of occupation on a global scale and continued the pattern into the 21st century. This series takes four examples of American wars that required occupations to examine what has driven U.S. foreign policy into these often controversial actions, what has evolved, and what the outcomes have been. The specific examples will be the Filipino War (1899–1903), the various Banana Wars of Central America and the Caribbean (1915–1934), the Vietnam War (1945–1975), and the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (2001–present). By the end of the series, participants will have a much better understanding of these wars and what impact future wars may have on the trajectory of American foreign policy.
Kyle Longley, Ph.D., is the Snell Family Dean's Distinguished Professor of History in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies and School of Politics & Global Studies. He is the author of five books on American foreign policy and politics, including In the Eagle's Shadow: The United States and Latin America, Senator Albert Gore, Sr.: Tennessee Maverick and Grunts: The American Combat Soldier in Vietnam. Currently, he is finishing The Morenci Marines: A Small Town in the Shadow of the Vietnam War. He has won numerous teaching awards, including the Centennial Professor from the Associated Students of ASU and the Zebulon Pearce Award for outstanding teacher in the humanities.
Wednesdays, Feb. 1–22 10–10:55 a.m. Lecture 10:55–11:05 a.m. Refreshments 11:05–noon Lecture $140 SkySong Global Room 1475 N. Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, AZ 85257 [Map]
Free parking provided