The Meaning of Pan-Americanism

THERE is little evidence of national "good neighborliness" in history, which runs more to invasions, violence and wars. All empires have, like the Roman Empire, been established by conquest, and all great nations have sought to expand their boundaries. The Good Neighbor doctrine, born in the Americas, is a radical break with this tradition, and history offers little guidance for those who wish to put it into practice.

It is not surprising that sincere good neighborliness in America meets mistrust and resentment, just as it has throughout history. The story of the territorial expansion of the United States includes episodes