Covers the entire range of the history of U.S. foreign relations from the colonial period to the beginning of the 21st century. A Companion to U.S. Foreign Relations is an authoritative guide to past and present scholarship on the history of American diplomacy and foreign relations from its seventeenth century origins to the modern day. This two-volume reference work presents a collection of historiographical essays by prominent scholars. The essays explore three centuries of America’s global interactions and the ways U.S. foreign policies have been analyzed and interpreted over time. Scholars offer fresh perspectives on the history of U.S. foreign relations; analyze the causes, influences, and consequences of major foreign policy decisions; and address contemporary debates surrounding the practice of American power. The Companion covers a wide variety of methodologies, integrating political, military, economic, social and cultural history to explore the ideas and events that shaped U.S. diplomacy and foreign relations and continue to influence national identity. The essays discuss topics such as the links between U.S. foreign relations and the study of ideology, race, gender, and religion; Native American history, expansion, and imperialism; industrialization and modernization; domestic and international politics; and the United States’ role in decolonization, globalization, and the Cold War. A comprehensive approach to understanding the history, influences, and drivers of U.S. foreign relation, this indispensable resource: Examines significant foreign policy events and their subsequent interpretations Places key figures and policies in their historical, national, and international contexts Provides background on recent and current debates in U.S. foreign policy Explores the historiography and primary sources for each topic Covers the development of diverse themes and methodologies in histories of U.S. foreign policy Offering scholars, teachers, and students unmatched chronological breadth and analytical depth, A Companion to U.S. Foreign Relations: Colonial Era to the Present is an important contribution to scholarship on the history of America’s interactions with the world.

This study chronicles the unique relationship between the Federal government and the American multinational corporation, integrating it into the mainstream of American political history. It is a record of continuous adjustment on the part of both parties as each side navigated the unchartered waters of this unconventional partnership. What makes it so relevant historically is that while the Federal government was adjusting to its postwar global responsibilities, corporate America in its multinational dimension was taking on new roles which redefined the international political economy. It involved international oil companies impacting our relations with the volatile Middle East, an economic Watergate of global dimensions, and an unresolved debate on public versus private responsibilities toward the Third World and its multiple economic and social problems. Objectively presented, America and the Multinational Corporation provides the historical context for tracking the various presidential perspectives from Truman to Bush as well as the various congressional initiatives to redefine business-government relations in terms of corporate America's most aggressive offspring--the multinational. Professor Reardon moves beyond the initial assessments of the multinational corporation vis-a-vis the Federal government, refusing to view it as a threat to the continued survival of the nation-state or as a force that the Federal government must tame at all cost. Rather, the partnership is a complex and continuously evolving relationship that may well be acquiring a new configuration as the world's economy becomes global rather than international. His study will be of interest to all students of contemporary American history as well as scholars in international political economy.