Rockport History
Book Club
Wednesday,
February 24, 2021
A History of United States Alliances
with the rest of the world
Wednesday, February 24, 2021.
A History of
United States alliances with the rest of the world. From its very beginning, the United States has
forged alliances with other countries, from France, eager to oppose Great
Britain in 1776; Great Britain’s assistance for the Confederate States during
the Civil War; President Wilson’s attempt to form and join the League of
Nations; our alliance with Great Britain, China, France and the Soviet Union in
World War II; formation of the United Nations; the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization. How helpful have these alliances been? Home in on an agreement in
our past, or one that exists today, and discover its benefits and costs. [Proposed
by Sam Coulbourn]
At our meeting Wed. Feb. 24, via Zoom, Richard Heuser introduced us to Shields of the Republic, by Mira Rapp-Hooper:
Today the alliance system is threatened from without and within. China and Russia seek to break the United States’ alliances through conflict and nonmilitary erosion. Meanwhile, U.S. politicians and voters are increasingly skeptical of alliances’ costs and benefits and believe the United States may be better off without them. But what if the alliance system is a victim of its own quiet success? Rapp-Hooper argues that the United States’ national security requires alliances that deter and defend against military and nonmilitary conflict alike. The alliance system is past due for a post–Cold War overhaul, but it remains critical to the country’s safety and prosperity in the twenty-first century.
Mary Beth Smith read The First Salute, by Barbara Tuchman:
Historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Barbara W. Tuchman was known for her substantial amount of contributions to the genre of history, and just before passing away, she added one final historical work to bookshelves and audiences alike. In taking on the unique task of researching and writing about the American Revolution through the transcontinental financial and wartime policies of the Dutch Republic, England, and France, this book meets its target. Beginning with the very first acknowledgement of American Independence from a foreign nation (by a colony of the Dutch Republic), and ending with the aftermath and legacy of Yorktown, Tuchman sets a nice pace throughout.
“Now at last, the Grand Alliance is complete!”
Imagine if you could read a book written by
one of the key leaders in a monumental event, like World War II. And not only a leader, but a man who has been
a participant in most of the history of the British Empire since before the
Boer War. And a superb student of
history. And a gifted writer.
Winston’s
mother was an American, and in addition to his love of the British Empire, he
loved the idea of America.
Churchill took
over as Prime Minister May 10, 1940. Exactly five years and two days later, Germany
would be defeated. Churchill had been agitating for Britain to put the brakes
on Adolf Hitler for years, but there were many in the government who saw things
differently.
Churchill began
a private correspondence with President Roosevelt which grew into a strong
alliance between the UK and the US. They
avoided layers of each government in this direct communication. Hitler, who had
started World War II by invading Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and quickly gobbled
up most of Europe, threatened to invade Britain.
There were many
influential people in America who rather admired Herr Hitler and were opposed
to any assistance to Europe in the war.
Even our ambassador to the UK, Joseph Kennedy, was an admirer. Several Republican senators were opposed to
anything which would upset our neutrality.
At this meeting the two sides agreed upon the
kind of cooperation that would form the basis for fighting the war and for
setting up the peace that they intended to achieve. They also agreed upon “The Atlantic Charter”.1
Churchill’s
book, which is but one of six volumes on the war, covered the year 1941, and is
packed with the robust communiques between Churchill and Roosevelt, Stalin, and
many others—his Foreign Secretary, ambassadors, generals, admirals, and other
distinguished Englishmen.
His year takes
us through the nightly raids by the Luftwaffe bombers over Britain, the
desperation of British citizens, the deadly battle of the Atlantic as Nazi
U-boats sank thousands of tons of neutral and British ships carrying supplies
to feed a hungry nation. He describes
the British war in North Africa against the German Afrika Corps and the Vichy
French, and the unsuccessful defense of Greece and loss of an important British
base in Crete. He negotiates with the
Russians to improve the railway that can take millions of tons of American-made
military vehicles and supplies from the Persian Gulf to the shores of the
Caspian, to help the Soviets.
At the end of
the year comes a critical event. Japan
has attacked Pearl Harbor and now the United States is in the war, officially
and completely. Isolationism is gone.
America is at war, and millions go to work to turn out tanks, bombers, fighters
and more; millions enlist to fight, and there is hope for a swift end to the
Nazi threat, and perhaps to the Japanese threat as well, but not until many American
men and women have died in the war.
The allies
include the Soviet Union, but it is always hard. Churchill and Roosevelt send senior leaders,
military and civilian, to talk with Stalin and his people, and it is always a
struggle. The Soviets don’t trust them and won’t share any military secrets or
plans. And Stalin never quits demanding
that the Americans and British establish a western front, to take pressure off
the Soviets as they fight the Nazis.
Having spent
two years working near and around the Russians, but rarely with them,
when I read this, I laughed, because that’s the Russians, from Stalin on down.
However, Roosevelt
and Churchill travel to Tehran, Iran to meet with Stalin in November 1943, and
there’s good news for Stalin, because soon that second front Stalin has
demanded is about to happen, with Overlord, the massive D-Day invasion planned
for northern France in 1944.
The Big Three
met again at Yalta, in the Crimea, in February 1945, to make final plans and
agreements for finishing off Hitler and deciding what to do with the
vanquished. Two months later, Roosevelt
would be dead, and Hitler would kill himself, and the war with Germany would be
over.
The Big Three
would meet again in Potsdam, near Berlin, in July 1945, less than two months
before we dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, and the Empire surrendered, on
Sept. 2, 1945, exactly six years and one day from Hitler’s attack on Poland,
which started the war. This time President Harry Truman joined new UK Prime
Minister Clement Atlee, with Churchill, and Stalin.1
The alliance with
Russia worked and was instrumental in winning the war. With war over, the Soviets got back to their
old tricks, and that was the start of the Cold War.
The alliance
with the UK has been a much stronger one, between two democracies. It is a
relationship that most of us who have served in the U.S. armed forces have been
a part of.
I was eleven
when this war ended, but, looking back it is remarkable to me how many spots in
the history of World War II were a part of my life.
As a midshipman
I rode the battleship USS New Jersey into the port of Cherbourg, site of
the D-Day invasion. I drove submarines and destroyers into British, Dutch,
Italian and French ports. I moored my ammunition ship at a U.S. Navy pier in Crete,
that had formerly belonged to the Royal Navy until it was captured by the
Nazis. I patrolled in a nuclear submarine along the whole coast where the
British chased and defeated the Nazis in North Africa. I commanded an Imperial Japanese Navy base, after
the war turned into an American one. I visited with Russians in St. Petersburg who
had served in a gun crew, defending Leningrad during the Nazi siege. And finally,
I talked to Russians in Murmansk who still praised the help America gave Russia
during the war. In terms of international cooperation, I made many trips around
the USSR, in grubby surroundings, with British, Canadian and Italian attachés.2
1 Atlantic Charter, outlined the aims of the United States and
the United Kingdom for the postwar world as follows: no territorial
aggrandizement, no territorial changes made against the wishes of the people (self-determination), restoration of self-government to those deprived of
it, reduction of trade restrictions, global co-operation to secure better
economic and social conditions for all, freedom from fear and want, freedom of
the seas, and abandonment of the use of force, and disarmament of aggressor
nations. The charter's adherents signed the Declaration
by United Nations on 1 January
1942, which was the basis for the modern United Nations
2Postscript. President Biden last
week spoke to the G-7 Leaders, telling them that “America is Back!” We have just left behind four years that have
been terrible for the relationship we have had with the United Kingdom for
decades. Since World War II ended, when we and other nations formed the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, we have taken part in a splendid cooperation,
including fighting with other nations in World War II, the Korean War, and many
other combat engagements. I felt the value of NATO when I operated in an antisubmarine
warfare organization in the Mediterranean, and when I served as Naval Attaché
in Moscow. And then came President Trump,
clinging to some isolationist brain cramp, appeared before NATO leaders and
said and did all the wrong things. My old NATO friends in Germany and the UK asked me what was going on with the USA. Trump had no idea of the value of NATO.
With him and others like him, it was all about the money.
-end-
HISTORY BOOK CLUB TOPICS FOR 2021
Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Native Americans—Looking East. When
we normally think and write about the Indians that white men encountered when
they first arrived on these shores several hundred years ago, it’s from the
point of view of “looking west” at these red men, staring at European faces as
our forefathers made their first contact with this continent. Let’s try to
imagine it from the viewpoint of the Native Americans, when the strange ships
appeared, and these bearded pale faces appeared. Read any book about Native
Americans that will help you and us to understand if we were standing in
their moccasins. [Proposed
by Mary Beth Smith]
Wednesday, May 26, 2021. The Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has become a central, and
increasingly polarizing, institution in American politics. When Alexander
Hamilton floated the idea of a federal court system where judges would have
“lifetime tenure,” he assured naysayers that the judiciary would be “the least
dangerous” branch of government. However, the Supreme Court has become both a
pivotal and polarizing feature of American political and policy reform. The
Court played a key role in dismantling Jim Crow segregation, nationalizing
marriage equality and protecting our free press. Yet, they can be paralyzing.
Supreme Court doctrine delayed Congressional attempts to end slavery and
establish civil rights for Black Americans. Court actions have limited critical
elements of the Affordable Care Act. Perhaps because of its prominence in the
nation’s most vexing policy problems, decisions about the Court–- whom to
nominate, how to nominate, and what decisions it can make– have become a
location for the most visible forms of partisan rancor and discord. The most
volatile fights between Republicans and Democrats frequently fixate on
conflicts over the Court. Read any book about the Supreme Court, or about a
particular period or decision. [Proposed by Mary Beth Smith]
Andrew Jackson
Wednesday, June 30, 2021. History of U.S. Presidents. Suggest a review of the 46 Presidents of the United States. Read biography of one or more Presidents. Possible topics for discussion are the major policies, achievements, strengths, failures and weaknesses relating to domestic policy, foreign policy, immigration, use of military force. What are your thoughts? Are we creating a “more perfect union”? Does history show U.S. presidential politics getting more or less venial today than historically? [Proposed by Craig Cervo].
“Suffies” at the White House, 1918.
Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Influence of Women in American History. Women have been around as long as men, with and without a voice. How have women tried to influence America? Did they succeed or fail? Why? Pick a time or an issue that was important to women and explore it from the female perspective. [Proposed by Mary Beth Smith]
Wednesday, August 25, 2021. History of North Africa, from Morocco to Egypt, and including Algeria,
Tunisia, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Mauritania and more. Pick a nation or a group of nations in the
northern tier of Africa and learn how they interact, how they came to be, what
problems are they having, or had, that attracted world attention in the
past. Some examples: The Barbary Pirates
and how America’s President Jefferson took them on; The Italian Colonial history
in Abyssinia and Somaliland; World War II—Field Marshal Rommel in North Africa;
“Carthago delenda est!” The Punic War between Rome and Carthage; Tunisia
and the Start of Arab Spring. [Proposed by Sam Coulbourn]
Wednesday, September 29, 2021. The Fight for Civil Rights. America began with the fight for Civil Rights for colonists and the fight continues for groups of Americans. Pick a group – what are they fighting for, what’s their strategy, are they gaining or losing ground and why? [Proposed by Mary Beth Smith]
Wednesday, October
27, 2021. Mass Refugee movements in History. Movements of a large number from one nation to another can
and have changed the face of the earth. Read about any era on this topic or
read about the phenomenon as a whole. Consider the movement of Arab nationals
today into Europe, or the pre-historic migration of peoples from Siberia to North
America. Or perhaps Irish victims of the potato famine coming to America and
Canada in the 1840s. [Proposed by Sam Coulbourn]
Wednesday, December 1, 2021.
[Moved back one week to avoid conflict with Thanksgiving.] Reconstruction, 1865-? Abraham Lincoln had a clear picture of what should be done after
the end of the War Between the States, but his assassination meant that Andrew
Johnson, the Democrat who succeeded him, would be President. Read about this
dangerous, murderous time in our history as we sought to regain the 11 Confederate
States in the Union. Read about the
growth of white supremacist organizations, and the different ways that America
handled the end of slavery, and welcoming (?) millions of newly freed Africans
to America. [Proposed by Mary Beth
Smith]
There will be no later meeting in December.
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