Tenth Period Close Reading | Presidents and the Constitution: Foreign Policy

0:03 hello and welcome to another episode of the Bill of Rights Institute’s 10th period webinars my name is Kirk Higgins and I’m the senior manager of content at the Bill of Rights Institute and my name is Rachel Davis and humphreys and I’m the director of outreach for the Institute and we are fortunate enough to be joined this week by Chris Evans of made a member of our teacher council from Arizona welcome Chris thank you very much glad to be here so this week were taking a little bit of a different approach so the last few webinars we’ve been working through we’ve had on a Content expert and we’ve looked at things from sort of a broader perspective and this week we were hoping to experiment a little bit and dive a little bit deeper into a specific topic and do a close reading and Rachel why don’t you tell us a little bit about what our what our approach is gonna be

0:49 what our pedagogical approach gonna be today absolutely so close readings as you know at this really powerful form of pedagogy they take a little bit of time for your students to get used to the kind of analytical thinking skills that that are necessary to really understand a document in its context in history but then the reward is that much richer because it’s helping students see the documents themselves learn the language investigate their own philosophical questions as they approach those texts so what we wanted to do with these close reading webinars is give you our teacher community an opportunity to do a close reading with us so we started this one with the Monroe Doctrine and are pairing

1:37 it so often when you have a primary source document pairing the documents or getting a group of documents together can really flesh out some of the themes other times focusing on just one like Declaration of Independence right there is one massive document doesn’t really need any attendant documents that’s like oh I don’t know a graduate seminar length document but you can also just focus on that one document in class for us we also paired it with a set of documents from our gilded our Gilded Age of progressive era curriculum called the bait on the annexation of the Philippines so you can find both of these documents in the in the chatbox and that’ll take you directly to our 10th period webinar page on our website where you can find our copy of the Monroe Doctrine which will

2:25 eventually appear in our new resource called life liberty and pursuit of happiness which is a comprehensive self-paced fantastic adaptive learning platform resource that will launch this year and then you can also find the link to this resource on resources not my Bri org but also on the website that’s going to be in the chat box so let’s start by saying Kirk why didn’t you choose these documents sure so with Presidents Day coming up we’re thinking a lot about presidents in their relation to the Constitution so what is the constitutional role of the executive and how does that play out in a variety of different facets and one interesting way that the president is is within our

3:10 government is as the chief diplomat the diplomat in chief if you will not an official title obviously but by that I mean he sets for he or she sets foreign policy and can help direct the nation’s attitude towards of the leaders they meet with other world leaders they are a part of conversations at the highest level and so we chose these two documents one because the Monroe Doctrine is a seminal text in American history so it is the foundation stone 1823 President James Monroe in in conjunction with his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams issues this doctrine during Monroe’s State of the Union address something I think we should talk

3:57 about a little bit later on and basically asserts American sovereignty over the Western Hemisphere or not sovereignty but that is to say that the Western Hemisphere is America’s or the United States his sphere of influence this is not something that is accepted as being okay it wasn’t accepted then it’s something that’s contestant debated but that was the intention so fast forward from there after the Monroe Doctrine looking at how that document compares with what happens in the spanish-american war so moving up into the 1890s 1898 to be exact in looking at what intervention in a war with Spain so both having to come round about regarding the same country Spain but also what American attitudes are what’s being

4:43 debated and how America is looking if they’re looking internally with the Monroe Doctrine internally and towards the Western Hemisphere what does it mean in the spanish-american war when they begin to look outward what do questions of imperialism mean for the United States how is it that that question gets debated and discussed so and what is fundamentally what is the executives role in those conversations so looking at it from those two perspectives we have James Monroe on the one hand in William McKinley on the other hand and a pretty rich conversation in between absolutely and so so Chris you’re our you’re our expert in the classroom how long have you been teaching Chris this is my 12th year wealthier and so you teach what courses are you currently teaching her right now

5:28 I’m currently teaching AP US history two juniors I teach AP macroeconomics and economics to seniors as well and in the past you’ve also T taught other history histories yeah pretty much the entire gamut at all a world history I’ve taught a PE comparative government in politics I’ve taught eighth grade civics to our accelerated middle school students all over the map yeah that’s awesome as many of us in small schools are you become the social studies in the history department okay so Chris for you what what what happened reading these arguments so I know you just taught this in your classroom what would these documents like for you in this

6:14 read-through so starting with the Monroe Doctrine which we would have covered in in first semester I think think that’s important to talk to students about is how much of a fundamental shift this really is in American foreign policy at the you know really the the youth of our nation we talk so much about Washington’s farewell address how he stresses you know neutrality that carries over with atoms and then you get into the presidency of Jefferson and in Madison and they obviously have their own foreign policy complications to a certain assent but really this becomes the the kind of foundational

7:01 American foreign policy for the 19th century and so digging into this early on is a really good way of understanding you know just how America wanted to present itself to Europe during that period of time and I think that’s a really good context to just kind of dive into the text so on our version we have some line numbers and we’re putting those up on the screen for everybody watching so you can follow along but let’s just go to the first the first line the Monroe Doctrine from President Monroe’s 7th annual message to Congress so Kirk you were mentioning that it’s important that this was part of the annual address to Congress oppose of his

7:47 of his State of the Union address what did you why did you want to bring that up so a couple things one I mean I think it’s really important just for the context so it’s not that Monroe is issuing this statement as as a piece of legislation for Congress to approve he as the president is speaking in his capacity as the executive and saying this now we’ll set our foreign policy initiatives moving forward so basically this he’s outlining the interests of the nation so I think it’s interesting from that perspective I also think it’s always interesting just to remember that this wouldn’t have been delivered in person it would have been given to Congress and Congress would have read it out to itself on behalf of the executive right so I think that does two things one I think this entire document shows how things are consistent like Chris was

8:34 talking about with how the Washington administration sort of began thinking about American foreign policy but then also how things begin to vary McKinley also would have delivered a a State of the Union to the to the legislature legislative branch himself but soon thereafter Woodrow Wilson I believe was the first to actually give that address in person and that’s interesting context again just for the changing role of the executive the changing relationship between on the executive in the legislative branch especially when it comes to foreign policy so let’s dive in this first paragraph is it seemed to me is is a is a diplomatic tool that’s how I read this first paragraph it’s a he’s speaking to the honor and tradition of

9:23 other the other governments and honoring that they have they have their way of doing things and we have our way of doing things is that how you you both read this paragraph like yeah I did in in what stands out to me as being interesting is that he’s really fixated on their political systems right so it’s not just them it’s not just their governments but it’s also their political system it seems like he’s he is actually concerned with monarchical government for lack of a you know a better word having an impact here in in the Western Hemisphere yep I definitely picked up on that as well and you know

10:09 talking about matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens I think that really is highlighting how we are a republic that is meant to be governed by the people who are an informed citizenry and in its a kind of a shot at the monarchies in Europe at the time who really aren’t necessarily concerning themselves with the will of the people which is where all of these revolutions are stemming from over in our sphere of influence as Kurt was saying yeah I really honed in on that that sentence as well because it is so so pointed right that he is he is making he’s making there’s a contrast there and the

10:56 question to ask students is what is what is he contrasting right why is he why is he focusing on that matured by the wisdom of their mo enlighten citizens how is that different from what the ideals of American Democratic Republic map like the values are so I think was there anything else in this paragraph that struck you well I just think holding on to it for you know as we move to the other documents to because it does when he’s very much bragging about our system of government right you know I mean he’s saying you know we have enjoyed you know unexampled you know Felicity this whole nation is devoted so the idea is hey look we got a pretty good system we don’t need yours coming over here and I think that begins to lay the seeds for that kind of pride that America

11:44 exhibited that then sort of continued to grow and I think is expressed a different way later in the 1890s that’s actually right to that next sentence so line six on that second paragraph we owe it therefore because our whole nation is devoted to this we owe it therefore to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety we have we have this unexampled Felicity right and that our whole nation is devoted I found that

12:31 idea of the whole the hemisphere interesting if you have any thoughts on like Canada and Mexico are a thing really where he’s making a claim to the whole hemisphere well I think at the at the same time right Canada still to a certain extent is the Queen’s Dominion during this time and so we’re were maybe a little bit hesitant to think that they are of a you know an independent mind maybe the way that we are and so I think that his claim about you know this being a declaration

13:17 is also a throwback to maybe the other time that we have made a declaration to the you know the European countries that we are an independent people and that the independence of our hemisphere our sphere of influence should be considered kind of the same way and so the audience being Congress here I think as you were talking about the the way in which he emphasizes how great our form of government is maybe this is a call back to you know the time of the the the Revolution and the framers and how they enshrined our our government yeah yeah are you curious how often the word

14:03 declare has like tracking the word declare in presidential speeches would be interesting I think that would be an interesting project for some grad students out there yeah I think I think the hemisphere piece is interesting too because I mean you can look at it two ways right one it can be the idea that look America is already projecting itself well beyond its borders and saying look not only is you know us coast-to-coast you know is that where we want to occupy even though we don’t yet but it’s also it’s that sort of continental vision that we have but even looking beyond that say the entire hemisphere seems pretty pretty bold or

14:49 arrogant if you want to go that far at the same time I think that the historical context is important too so at this time you know America had just settled a treaty with Spain settling our western borders there’s still disputes going on over what would become Mexico and then you also have the Russians interfering in Alaska with fur trade right so Russia is brokering a separate treaty both with Britain and with us and so there’s this sense of instability I mean I thought Chris your comment was really good you know it’s us coming out of sort of it’s it’s America maturing a bit right and so I think it’s just asserting ourselves a little bit into that conversation and because you know the interests were impacting us throughout the entire hemisphere here he’s really saying like not only is it

15:36 direct intrusions on our country but they but but Monroe basically saying look we understand that any impacts over here from European nations are going to impact us too and I think he gets into that a little bit more a little bit further down the document I’m saying I also think that you can tie this back in to some of the issues that America had during the War of 1812 the lingering of European you know battlements in the Louisiana territory that bleeds over into conversations about the Adams onís treaty with with Florida and so we really do have a complicated relationship with Europe and with

16:21 regards to where territorial claims end and begin and so I think this really is a bold declaration about the u.s. taking a stance for what it will uses its claims I was in the war I mean looking at the dates the word 1812 was was very much in generationally still present in in in the in the diplomacy of the period so the diplomats that were in office during the War of 1812 would have been similar to those that were that were in Monroe’s Monroe’s cabinet or Monroe’s ax appointments well let’s just keep moving on because that goes right into that next set that next paragraph we declared

17:06 our neutrality right so in the war with those new governments as a pair this isn’t line 15 in the war with those new governments and Spain we declared our neutrality at the time of their recognition and so this we haven’t heared and shall continue to adhere provided here’s a little caveat no change shall incur in which in the government in the judgments of the constant authorities of this government shall make a corresponding change on the part of the United States indispensable to their security so this is the well you know we’re gonna hold to what we said we were unless someone else changes what they’re doing and then what we’re doing that’s this is this is where the teeth come out right yeah I think that if I’m looking at this with

17:53 my students I’m gonna ask them who are those new governments that they’re asking about in and ask them my students if they’re if this is the u.s. staking a claim to neutrality between revolutionaries that do not have their own independence already and in Spain and whether that is a call back to our revolutionary past in in it basically giving legitimacy to revolutions that are in progress where you know Spain in this case and other other places might not necessarily appreciate that solidarity of sorts exactly what did you take about this Kirk yeah I mean exactly what what what

18:42 Chris was talking about – I also think it’s a cool opportunity to be able to step back and look at look at the broader world picture of what’s taking place I think so often in US history we’re very tempted to become very focused on what’s happening in the United States but there are things that are happening in less so in Canada that was little more stable but certainly you know in nations to the south of us that we’re helping that were that were impacting the thought process of our of our leaders and I think those movements for independence in South America particular or a huge part of that I’m certainly yeah those new governments and edid and I think that one of the one of the things that students don’t put in context often is the radicalness of the American independence and what effect

19:29 that had on the mother monarchical structures right that that this idea of self-governance was new in modernity and had spillover effects inspirationally into other revolutionary groups and I think that’s what you were getting at Chris with with those new governments and how they would come to the u.s. and learn from our like our living revolutionaries learn read the texts of Jefferson and they would they would read Locke and they would do all the things that our founders did in order to support the philosophy of their own revolutions so

20:14 yeah then that goes right into the expert I love how this I think this part what struck me about reading the Monroe Doctrine and I was not as familiar with it because I did not spend a lot of time in in the US history I in my teaching career I spent more time a world in ancient history but I so I had only read this in a kind of surface way but what struck me also by the time I got to the third paragraph was the I was wondering about audience here and I think we’ve touched that a little bit because Kurt you mentioned that this is being read aloud to Congress but it’s it’s also a bit of a I want to say stump speech but it’s it’s a bit of a a rallying so the

21:02 general population I feel did that did that strike you all as well I think that goes back to context as well because when we’re talking 1823 and you think about this being his seventh State of the Union address so if if we are to assume that he is going to follow tradition and he’s only gonna serve two terms then he’s not necessarily worried about getting reelected again which maybe makes him a little bit more bold than what he feels he can declare to you know our Congress and to you know a candid world I guess mm-hmm it’s also galvanizing right so he’s looking at his electorate and this is during that this

21:48 is towards the end of the quote-unquote era of good feelings whether or not those good feelings really existed or not is up for debate but but but this is sort of an assertion of a national view that again I think is the kind of assertion that presidents make right if being elected to this office he’s asserting and speaking on behalf of the country or the country that’s that’s that’s representing the government and and and I think that that definitely comes through in this right I mean it’s it’s an assumed you know this is speaking on behalf of the United States but also again asserting sort of that sovereignty on the national stage in a way that was different for the United

22:35 States I think some historians note that this is when you know the United States stopped looking eastward towards Europe and really started looking westward back toward the United States which i think is is pretty clear from from these state statements you know he’s reassuring it look we’re not looking to expand and interfere in your in in what you’re doing but any move you make here does impact us and we see that as something that we need to act upon particularly that idea of systems which he talked about earlier but but but but that those systems it’s not just it’s not just the it’s not just their troops actually being here but it’s also their system of government is in some way impacting the

23:20 united states which i think is really interesting right that’s a conversation for another time when we talk about how the different cultures of america mix and blends in the very unique way that they do coming from all these different political cultures right so this next paragraph I think maybe I don’t know if we have favorite paragraphs cos I don’t know but the fourth paragraph I love this checklist this checklist of foreign policy what is the foreign policy of America according to Monroe in 1823 well not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of any of Europe’s powers to consider the

24:08 government de facto as legitimate government to cultivate friendly relationships with it and preserve those relations by a frank firm and manly policy meeting in all instances the just claims of power submitting to injuries for nunn from nunn there you go sounds pretty good there you go wrap it up I was like okay I’m sold right like is that real where is that aspirational or in that is that just a setup for the next paragraph well

24:54 I look at that paragraph then so we can we can do both these paragraphs go why didn’t you take us to where you see that final paragraph tying us all together well I think that what you were saying he’s establishing you know friend friendly relations with all these governments and then in the next paragraph he transitions with a nice large but in regard to those continents circumstances and then he moves it along to when in which we might have issues with those European nations if they were to they affect our southern brethren right and I think looking to Latin America South America and then basically says that we’re not going to have any

25:42 form with indifference and I think that that’s him saying we’re not gonna stand by while you interfere over here if you want to have your your turmoil over in Europe we will stay out of that but if you are going to try and cause a disturbance in our sphere of influence then we are are gonna take concern yeah which I mean and I think you know it is sort of a rhetorical flourish but I think it’s one of the reasons that that this document had such purchase right is that set up followed by what Chris just pointed out which is look you know stay stay stay over in Europe and you’re fine if you don’t mess with us or interfere

26:28 with what we have going on over here then then we’ll stay out of your hair too and I think he kind of calls them out in line 30 when you have a look you’re too far away to do anything anyway you know it’s effective try to govern us or govern this area so why bother which was their argument for how they got the atom onís treaty signed in the first place it was look you know you’re not able to control what’s going on in your on your frontier you know thanks in part to Andrew Jackson illegally invading Spanish territory and stirring up all kinds of problems and and doing all kinds of not-so-great things but basically calling out Spain for for not really having a hold of their their territories I think here he’s asserting look we’re closer this is directly in our interest and and we are now strong enough as a nation to assert ourselves in a way that

27:15 we have not before and I think that that is the executive executing you know what what he’s seeing is a ratified treaty with the atom onís treaty you know being sort of that mandate from Congress and him in moving forward with really asserting what the the real impacts of that are is this the first I think you mentioned earlier that we this story and say this is when we will be looked away from Europe and looked kind of I guess the way would you describe would be like up and down at ourselves because it extends this extends into the entire hemisphere and I don’t know like my

28:02 geography is I’m gonna question my own geography but I’m pretty sure that Europe it’s not I mean we’re as far from parts of the southern hemisphere as Europe is maybe I mean men triangles I don’t know trigonometry but I am in this a spurious claim is it uh is it a rhetorical claim I definitely think rhetorical yeah I definitely think he you know are we really going to be able to go down and help you know Bernardo O’Higgins in Argentina any better than or Chile sorry am I Spit by South American histories not great but but are we be able to go down and help out those South American independence movements no I don’t think so but but I think again

28:49 this is thinking I mean if you’re gonna why stop it the Northern Hemisphere oh and you can say just the whole western hemisphere and draw the line and be done with it but I think it’s also kind of implicit that it’s it’s the clothes I mean I think he’s he’s thinking more about the the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico and and Mexico directly and not I mean also thinking about South America but I don’t I don’t know that yeah I don’t know how far American power would have would have extended although I think that at least one battle with the British took place during the war of 1812 off the coast of South America between the USS Constitution and the Java maybe I’m not sure someone can call me out on

29:36 that but so you know and we were around there we had commerce interests but but I don’t know how how well we’re really able how possible was for us to project forward in the 20th century we certainly had a lot of influence in Central and South American we placed ourselves into a lot of situations in Central and South America later on down the road for a variety of reasons having to do with Cold War and and other other other injuries before that I mean Teddy Roosevelt in particular begins you know drumming up that and that’s essentially with the spanish-american war is to is us projecting out I think leave the Monroe Doctrine is less seen as us trying to project power and that’s really would Monroe I think is saying here it’s not so much that we’re gonna

30:21 intervene in other parts of of the hemisphere we’re just saying if you’re doing things that we see as a direct threat to us which includes trying to recolonize a restart you know interest in South America then we we may have interest to to intervene right so yeah all in all it’s a really strong statement right I mean if this is if this is a declaration of a policy it has a lot of them and has a lot of clarity and it tuns it it tugs at your at your your rhetoric like the rhetoric tugs at your air

31:07 nationalist heartstrings what are the effects what does this do why is this such a pivotal moment in our in our in our foreign policy well I think one of the things that Kirk said struck me in talking about projection is this a you know you can ask your students is this a projection about what he wants the Congress to feel with regards to America’s strength in the Western Hemisphere or is this what he wants Europe to feel about America’s

31:53 strength in the Western Hemisphere because there were certainly members of Congress who are not necessarily interested in America looking beyond our borders and trying to maybe interfere and you know the affairs of of European nations and say focused on what’s happening domestically and you know I certainly think when Kirk brought up the the era of good feelings right you look at the north the northern states and in the the what used to be the foothold of the Federalists you know kind of territory who really has ceded any and all political authority to you know kind

32:38 of the Jeffersonian madison monroe kind of you know branch of political ideology they might need a little bit of convincing that America’s interest may lie beyond where our borders currently rely or currently rest yeah absolutely I totally agree and I think to I mean that’s where I think having that other set of documents is actually really interesting because you can you can you can really see the difference between what Monroe is outlining in the Monroe Doctrine and then the debate over over imperialism in the next set of readings because I agree I mean it’s clearly you know

33:24 he’s I think it’s an interesting question to pose to students right I mean I think even the rhetoric of McKinley is so radically different than it is of Monroe let’s turn about Kinley so that’s on page 2 of handout D we have the document here it’s nice and orange and so yeah so this is an excerpt from akin from President McKinley in 1899 sort 70 years in the future but what what were you seeing in here Kirk that really that you saw as conversation with the Monroe Doctrine I thought every word so in the second so in paragraphs sort of between five and

34:10 ten and fifteen on the on the Monroe Doctrine compared to the McKinley Peace Monroe’s essentially saying look the South American countries are desirous of independence and we should you know you should not interfere with them if that’s the direction that they want to go and here McKinley is coming in very much looking now and obviously this is this is later on the century there’s a lot of really negative perceptions around race that’s very central to a lot of these conversations and that can’t be forgotten I mean I think what is coming out here is this idea that look you know they’re not well so they can’t suit they’re not suited for self-government you know they it’s almost a paternalistic thing that we’re doing it’s a charitable look this fell into our laps they need they need us to help them to become this way and

34:58 that that seems very much in contrast to what Monroe is saying when Rose almost saying and I’m not I don’t I don’t want to go too far with this good I don’t think that Monroe would have been this you know truly radically open anybody can can self-govern kind of a president but his rhetoric is certainly a lot more of allowing for self-determination as opposed to McKinley here who’s saying look Philippines phone or a lap and now we have a responsibility to care for this this this this this group of people in a way that they’re not able to compare for themselves in that contrast I think is very stark and that’s that’s actually in line three here like he talks about that this fell into our lap we couldn’t give them back to Spain because that would be cowardly

35:43 dishonorable I guess for the US this is so the first two points are about Foreign Relations but that third point gets to that kind of grossly paternalistic they are not fit to govern themselves and they would have anarchy and misrule up that was worse than what Spain was and then he goes on to explain what he means by they don’t have self-government they aren’t educated they don’t have civility or they don’t have Christianity and so again this place very much in the context of the time but not that different from a lot of foreign policy throughout American history I think that

36:29 I would also with my students who want to ask them how they would compare this to the way that America has dealt with our Native American population throughout the the 19th century as well in particular because there are a lot of parallels that that you can see between trying to declare them you know unfit to to govern themselves and essentially trying to educate and uplift and civilize and Christianize the way that McKenna is speaking you and and and also explicitly and implicitly and a lot of policies in the Middle East right so less sometimes more explicit sometimes more implicit and in a lot of those

37:15 discussions as well that they are unfit to unfit to rule themselves therefore we must intervene yeah I think that the richness in that discussion to comes from the fact that this isn’t you know this is being hotly contested right and that’s why I think Mark Twain’s comments just one section before this you know Twain had been an imperialist up to this point and it’s almost it’s almost this sort of paternalistic thing that that that changes him you know he had been an imperialist and then he sees look what was his line in a very Twain line me be our pleasure and our duty to make these people free yeah let them deal with their own domestic questions in their own way and so I am an

38:03 anti-imperialist yeah and I think our ellipsis leaves out he uses this illusion of an eagle and it’s like that the eagle grips its talons into into this thing and saying look yeah we’re not we’re not abiding by the spirit of Liberty that we say we’re abiding by and and so they were projecting rule and so he’s therefore against now said in Twain was one of the one of the early people that is really pushing for us to expand us to intervene in the spanish-american war and now here for him to publicly change his mind like this is is is really significant and again I think shows I think so often we get this idea in history that everything is inevitable and I and I think that that denies a lot of the richness of this debate I think it’s it’s

38:49 interesting to see here people pushing back precisely because this what is America’s role in the world which all these documents are really asking is in question and being discussed debated right and I think that’s actually uh there’s an interesting parallel with with Twain’s comment with shirts –is approach Secretary of the Interior Carl ertz’s comment on the very first page of the document because there he says and this is this portents the future right if we turn this war which was heralded to the world as a war humanity in any sense into a war of conquest we shall forever forfeit the confidence of mankind and we shall be met with general distrust in our international relations under circumstances which will make that

39:35 distrust especially troublesome and address and I think that that that portends kind of a lot of difficulties that we have important relations in the future that when you go in with an express declaration because that word has come up quite a few ties of how how you are going to how you are going to interact with a nation or with the peoples of a nation and then you change your policy or the policy evolves that distrust is especially troublesome and dangerous yeah I think that you bring up an interesting point about what the reputation of America is

40:21 internationally during this period of time and how there is kind of a an evolving concern about that reputation as America’s military power is increasing at as we go from the 19th to the 20th century we certainly are becoming more and more powerful and much more of a presence and so how are we going to use that new that new power are we going to use it to promote our ideals about self-government around you know the world or at least our sphere of influence or are we going to use it to extend our goals into or onto other

41:10 other people and other places you know around the world yeah and I think I think that’s right and I think too just to tie that into something else that we touched on in the Monroe Doctrine on William Jennings Bryan comments about particularly most of the way down you know that question that Chris just posed I think it gets directed on this because it’s not only you know how it is we can conduct that but he also says they must also calculate its effects upon our nation so in other words if we’re going to project this and we’re going to be an imperial nation what does that mean not only for those people who we may govern but what does it mean for how does it

41:56 change how does it we perceive ourselves how does it perceive how it you know how it is that we’re aligning our own governing structures which isn’t radically dissimilar I think to what Monroe was hinting at about having having those foreign political systems on our shores right it’s it’s us having that close to us to somehow impacting us and so to hear us you know projecting power on and fundamentally changing moving away from that sort of idea of neutrality what does that pretend and I think here is alluding to what does it mean to have a standing army and that that question goes all the way back to even the English Civil War and what does it mean for us to what just having the capacity to protect power in that way necessitates a government of a certain

42:42 size it necessitates an army of a certain size all of those things impact us not to mention just the moral element and the moral affective of governing and this sort of imperialist kind of a way and I think oh go ahead Chris I was going to say that last line on me on the Brian quote right there we cannot repudiate the principle of self-government in the Philippines without weakening that principle here I think that is you know kind of it in a nutshell I think absolutely I think that sentence itself is a is a seminar like if I if I had a class I could we could have a a bell work seminar rapidfire just on that

43:30 sentence can you do what is it what does it mean to be consistent in your actions in your speech what does it mean to be self governed and can you be self governed while denying self governance to others which can Lindy we did solve into a whole conversation about self-government here in the United States and those you know those people who have been denied the ability to participate in their government throughout history you know and obviously the women’s suffrage movement is certainly you know roaring at this point at you know 1900s so I would

44:19 imagine that that would have been read here at home as as having a lot of meaning domestically also absolutely well I think is a perfect spot to end on that was a bit of a rapid-fire run through some some great text some really powerful documents that you can put in front of your students gentlemen do you have any kind of last words or thoughts on on what came out of this conversation what doing this close reading was like for you go ahead Chris well then I will I will say that I think that it is a great document the Monroe Doctrine to to really dig into deeply with your

45:05 students at the start of of your year because it really is gonna establish something that you can come back to again and again with regards to America’s foreign policy over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries so it serves as a great barometer for how America has evolved over our history and to kind of ask students is this still what we believe today in you know in our in our conversation about what America’s ideals are is is a really useful tool yeah I think it gets right to the heart of that question of what is America’s

45:50 role in the world and that’s certainly it’s certainly something you can put up and have themes that you can return to you like Chris said I think it’s it’s really excellent and being able to compare it and look at also the evolving role of the executive we didn’t really get into when it was that that William McKinley you know stated this and how that shows you know either a changing or consistent role for the presidency in this but but I think it’s a it’s a good way to also track that you know what is the president’s role in America’s role in the world it’s like a question within a question uh-huh which is fun but no I thought I thought these texts were really really fun to dive into and and and I appreciate you leading us through a Rachel thank you and all of you out there on the Internet yeah love to hear

46:35 your questions continue the conversation in the chat boxes now we will be back in two weeks with another episode of ten period in fact we’ll be back on Friday for a special Valentine’s Day episode of the of the 10th period webinars at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday February 14th 20s and and we’re looking forward that’ll be a lot of fun just explore what’s that this also Arizona statehood day Oh birthday yeah add that to the list Kris will make sure that Arizona

47:21 gets a shout out but it’s gonna be just an exploration of fun things that that have happened on Valentine’s Day the significance of the holiday itself and just some fun interesting stories a little bit of a fun diversion for you in for your students if they’d like to tune it as well we’ll be live and taking questions then too so so we’ll look forward to that conversation and till then please yeah continue to send us comments um you can tweet at us at BR Institute or on Facebook at facebook.com slash Bill of Rights Institute or on the chat box I’m on YouTube live and we’ll get back to you so thank you Chris Thank You Rachel thank you guys this is super fun thank you both this was great

48:09 you