Course 2, Volume 1A. American Foreign Policy in Growth and Action Page: IX
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Preface
The second edition (1955) of this publication represented a complete revision,
rewriting, and enlargement of an earlier work of ,the same title originally pub-
lished in July 1952. That study was hastily compiled to meet a current need at
the Air University for text material to support instruction in the background
of present-day American foreign policy. It was recognized at the time that a later
version could more satisfactorily cover the ground so lightly gone over in the
first attempt. Hence, the effort put into bringing the earlier study up to date also
called for a careful review of the contents of the original text. The third edition
represents such modifications and additions to the text as are necessary to bring
the account to January 1, 1959.
Because of the rapidly changing atmosphere of international politics in the
world of today it has been necessary to choose an arbitrary date for cutting off
discussion of contemporary developments. Therefore, a number of events affecting
the continuity and widening responsibilities of American foreign policy after
that date could not practically be mentioned. The emphasis in these revised
editions is heavily upon happenings since 1945. Several pertinent reasons account
for this distribution of weight. The literature of the history and significance of
American foreign policy up to and including World War II is extensive, defini-
tive, and readily obtainable in libraries and bookstores. But for the period of the
past decade, such treatments of the subject are more difficult to come by. More-
over, it is with this period, and its consequent involvements of the United States
in so many widely separated and unfamiliar sections of the globe, that the Air
Force student is most intimately concerned. The materials covering the years since
1945 are considerable, but they are scattered and, often, too topical to be satisfac-
tory. Herein they may still be topical, but the attempt has been made to gather
them together in one interrelated study for examination by the reader intent
on learning not only how the United States is committed by its position in
today's community of nations, but also how these commitments came about as a
result of our country's growth to the stature of a world power.
As now completed, the first three parts of this revision remain substantially the
same as in the 1952 edition. The remainder of the study has been developed in
the 1955 and 1959 editions, with many sections added to the brief examination of
the period after 1941 contained in the original. In addition, the NOTES FOR
THE READER at the end of the volume have been reworked and enlarged to
include explanatory material in brief form where it will not impede the narrative
of the text.
In order to reach an understanding of the place of the United States in the
world today it is necessary to review the steps whereby this nation has progressed
to its position of world leadership. One of the avenues along which such an
examination can best proceed is by gaining an understanding ef the basic docu-
ments, statements, and events that illustrate the application of American foreign
policy. For this purpose the excerpts from many of these documents, together with
the narrative and the illustrative comments, which follow are presented as an
introduction to such a study. In each case the excerpts are from official or other
authoritative sources representing some of the most significant pronouncements,ix
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Air University (U.S.). Extension Course Institute. Course 2, Volume 1A. American Foreign Policy in Growth and Action, book, April 1959; Alabama. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1077937/m1/11/?q=%22~1%22~1&rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.