![]() Jews, immigrants, and militant American blacks were associated with swarthy, cutthroat Bolsheviks, knives clenched in their teeth, according to the popular image in 1919. Mexico became the training ground for various forms of overt and covert action, which were later employed to overthrow the Bolsheviks.Īmerican animosity toward Bolshevism was in part based, according to Foglesong, on fear of immigrants, anti-Semitism, and racism. Wilson had a "penchant for secrecy" that became obsessive after the Bolshevik revolution (pp. On statecraft, according to presidential advisor Edward House, Wilson "thought lying was justified in some instances, particularly where it involved the honor of a woman" or "where it related to matters of public policy" (p. policy toward Soviet Russia in Wilson's pre-presidential ideas on statecraft and in his attitudes toward the civil war in Mexico before 1917. The United States could then portray itself as Russia's friend, defender of Russian democracy, and of course reap the political and economic benefits.įoglesong sees antecedents to U.S. His deceit was motivated by a desire not to lose the support of progressive public opinion and by a corresponding desire to let France, Great Britain, and Japan take the public blame for aggressive action against Soviet Russia. clandestine military and economic operations against the Soviet government. He portrays Woodrow Wilson as an ambivalent, confused president, whose public high principles required him to evade and deceive American public opinion about U.S. The author holds that American intervention in Russia had both anti-German and anti-Bolshevik objectives, though the latter became predominant (p. Gordon Levin, and William Appleman Williams, among others.įoglesong's book makes an important contribution to setting the story right. In any case, those who have questioned his position have not had much impact on orthodox historiography, based on Kennan's early explanations of U.S. Many scholars have challenged Kennan's views, indeed Kennan himself, if I understand aright, would also wish to modify them. intervention was motivated by the desire to re-establish an "Eastern Front" in Russia against the Central Powers and to assist the Russian people to establish democratic government. Kennan ( Soviet-American Relations, 2 vols. ![]() ![]() The book challenges the longstanding views of George F. It is a splendidly researched study, the result of prodigious labours in various American archives with some smattering of papers from Russian archives in Moscow. intervention in the Russian revolution and civil war. Carley (Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme, Ottawa, Canada)ĭavid Foglesong, who teaches at Rutgers University, has written a most interesting book on U.S. Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1917-1920.Ĭhapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995. America's Secret War Against Bolshevism: U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |