The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 43, July 1939 - April, 1940 Page: 136
576 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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136 Southwestern Historical Quarterly
between the United States and Santo Domingo in 1856, after a
long and tangled negotiation, was one of the few concrete accom-
plishments of the period.
The policy of Seward in the subsequent era is elaborated in great
detail. Seward's numerous expansionist schemes and the activities
of the adventurer agents, General Cazneau and Colonel Fabens,
ended in definite defeat in the harmless treaty of 1867 which failed
to include a proposed cession of Samana Bay or to mention Domini-
can annexation. The interesting Alta Vela affair is subjected to
complete analysis in which Seward appears in a rather sorry light.
As an offshoot of the earlier American search for guano supplies,
it affords a curious sidelight on how expansionist desires compli-
cated our foreign policy. President Johnson's complete reliance on
Seward and ignorance of the conduct of foreign affairs is con-
vincingly established.
Quite the most lively and informing chapters deal with Presi-
dent Grant's high-handed attempt to annex Santo Domingo which
provoked victorious senate opposition led by Senators Sumner,
Schurz and others. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish emerges in
these pages as an honest and capable official. The author in the
main follows Allan Nevins' interpretation on this point. That Grant
had clearly exceeded his authority in extending United States pro-
tection to Santo Domingo beyond 1870, when the pending treaties
expired, is clearly set forth. Current discussion of presidential
powers as opposed to the powers of Congress would benefit by a
study of this incident.
The book has a useful table of contents and is remarkably free
of typographical errors. It must be consulted by all students of
our foreign relations and is indispensable to an understanding of
our nineteenth century policy in the Caribbean.
ARTHUR S. AITON.
The University of Michigan.
BOOK NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The third edition of Arthur Lyon Cross' well known Shorter
History of England and Greater Britain, (New York: The Mac-
millan Co., 1939. Pp. xxvi, 1004. $4.25) differs from the 1929
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 43, July 1939 - April, 1940, periodical, 1940; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101111/m1/144/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.