Foreign Affairs and the Founding Fathers

Three diplomatic historians provide a realist perspective on the foreign relations activities and ideas of the founding generation of American leaders during the confederation era (the years between independence and the adoption of the Constitution), arguing that the country's early leaders, like many of their European counterparts, saw the international system as an essentially anarchic system in which nations pursued their interests through careful balancing of power--particularly, for the young United States, balancing of French and British power. They discuss American diplomacy towards Britain and France, as well as towards the Barbary Pirates and Spain, and also consider the influence of foreign relations concerns on the move away from the Articles of Confederation to the more centralized federal government of the Constitution. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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'sAmerica and the Cold War, 1941–1991: 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 recognizedGuide to American Foreign Relations since 1700 and ABC-CLIO's three-volumeEncyclopedia 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'sReagan, Bush, Gorbachev: Revisiting the End of the Cold War.