Lobbyists for Commercial Empire: Jane Cazneau, William Cazneau, and U.S. Caribbean Policy, 1846-1878

Abstract

ALTHOUGH AMERICAN TERRITORIAL expansionism from the Revolution to the Civil War is usually portrayed as westward in direction and intent, continental empire encompassed far more than territorial growth to the Pacific. When the acquisitions of the Floridas, the southern Louisiana territories, Texas, and the Gadsden region are considered in conjunction with American interest in annexing northern Mexico and Yucatan during the Mexican War plus Cuba in subsequent years, it becomes evident that manifest destiny involved the tropics as well as the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In recent years scholars have devoted considerable attention to why American territorial expansionism in all directions slowed during and after the Civil War. While there were some acquisitions during this period-most notably the purchase of