Reflections

Lecture topics (keyed to Arc of Empire, Conclusion [pp.251-79]):

• Creating and losing an empire.
• The eastern Asian revival.
• Once upon a quagmire: the Pacific crusade as a cautionary tale for our times?

Study questions:

• What were the reasons for the growing difficulties the American project encountered in Asia? How much can be explained in terms of regional resistance, and how much was due to restrictions Americans placed on themselves?
• Is the U.S. push into eastern Asia really over? How considerable is the residue from that push?
• Is empire a label that fits well on the four wars examined here?
• How well does nationalism work as a master concept explaining the American drive as well as the Asian response to the U.S. presence?
• What do you see as the most important lesson or conclusion to draw from the Pacific Wars based on an understanding of both the Asian and American perspectives?
• Support in the United States for the four wars in Asia varied significantly from one to another. What impact did public opinion and dissent have on policymakers? How did that impact differ from war to war?
• How important were attitudes toward Asia and Asians in drawing the United States into its Pacific conflicts and shaping their conduct?
• How did U.S. adversaries attempt to cope with superior American military power in each of the four wars we have examined? What explains their mixed record of success in this attempt?