The Forging of the American Empire: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of Ameri

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Pluto Press, Jun 20, 2003 - History - 464 pages
From Mexico to Vietnam, from Nicaragua to Lebanon, and more recently to Kosovo, East Timor and now Iraq, the United States has intervened in the affairs of other nations. Yet American leaders continue to promote the myth that America is benevolent and peace-loving, and involves itself in conflicts only to defend the rights of others; excesses and cruelties, though sometimes admitted, usually are regarded as momentary aberrations.This classic book is the first truly comprehensive history of American imperialism. Now fully updated, and featuring a new introduction by Howard Zinn, it is a must-read for all students and scholars of American history. Renowned author Sidney Lens shows how the United States, from the time it gained its own independence, has used every available means - political, economic, and military - to dominate other nations.Lens presents a powerful argument, meticulously pieced together from a huge array of sources, to prove that imperialism is an inevitable consequence of the U.S. economic system. Surveying the pressures, external and internal, on the United States today, he concludes that like any other empire, the reign of the U.S. will end -- and he examines how this time of reckoning may come about.
 

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Contents

The Myth of Morality
1
Forgotten Ally
15
Fallen Star
40
On to Canada
62
Picking the Spanish Bone
87
Mexico for Americans
99
Transcontinental Conquest
111
The Brave Braves
135
The Big Leap
236
The War Before the War I
275
The War Before the War II
292
Against Friend and Foe
313
Global Imperialism
333
The Ecstasy and the Agony
366
Closing the Circle
395
Selected Bibliography
437

Commerce Follows the Flag
149
The Flag Follows Commerce
169
Subduing the Banana Republics
195
The Fine Art of Vandalism
217
Selected Further Reading 2003
453
Index
455
About the Author
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

During the 1960s Sidney Lens, trade unionist, writer and dissident, avidly protested against the trial of the Chicago Eight as part of the ‘Committee to Defend the Conspiracy’ with, amongst others, Noam Chomsky, Susan Sontag and Norman Mailer. He also contributed significantly to the organisation of Anti-War marches held in Washington DC and San Francisco in 1969, protesting against the Vietnam War. Sidney Lens has written thirteen books. The Forging of the American Empire was originally published by Apollo Editions in 1974.

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