Catholics and American Foreign Policy from McKinley to McCarthy A Historiographical Survey

Abstract

The American acceptance of the separation of church and state ensured that the churches, like other voluntary associations and domestic pressure groups, might attempt to influence foreign policy formulation and implementation either in their own interests as organizations or in conformity with the beliefs to which they adhere.1 This essay examines and measures the success of such attempts by one religious group—Catholics. It surveys the scholarly literature on the interactions of Catholics and foreign policy for approximately the first half of the twentieth century—from the time of America's conscious emergence as a world power with her stunning victory over Spain in 1898 to the mid-1950s with the effective demise of Senator Joseph McCarthy. In addition, the essay examines the impact of Catholic involvement in foreign policy on the church itself and suggests some new avenues to be explored both by those primarily interested in Catholic history and those interested in diplomatic history.