Abstract
In this forcefully argued comparative history, Julian Go refutes exceptionalist interpretations of American imperialism. In the crosshairs are scholars who deny the existence of empire in American history, as well as those who contend that the American Empire has been more progressive and liberal than the empires of Old World powers due to the anticolonial political traditions of the United States. Rather than viewing the American Empire as something unique, Go demonstrates that it shares fundamental traits with the British Empire. Go advances this argument through a comparative analysis of the American and British Empires at comparable stages of their development. Chapters compare the two empires in their phases of ascent (1730–1815 in the case of Britain; 1803–1945 for the United States), hegemonic maturity (1816–1873 for Britain; 1945–1973 for the United States), and decline (1874–1939 for Britain and since 1973 for the United States). If some might question these periodizations, particularly that the British Empire was in decline in the late nineteenth century, the chronological groupings give Go's comparisons freshness and utility by enabling him to find recurring patterns in different empires at different times.
Published Version
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