A Look Back at the Steel Seizure Case

During every national emergency, the system of checks and balances designed, as James Madison wrote in Federalist 51, to prevent a power grab by any of the three branches by giving each “the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others,” comes under great pressure. ¹ After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks upon the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the public looked to the President to take extraordinary measures. Congress quickly moved to expand executive powers to meet the emergency, confirming the view of a leading textbook on the presidency that “it has become the dominant institution in a system designed for balanced government.” ²     

Where the Buck Stopped: Harry S Truman and the Cold War

Book reviewed:
Arnold A. Offner. Another Such Victory: President Truman and the Cold War , 1945 – 1953.     

论杜鲁门时期的美国东南亚政策

在杜鲁门总统任内,随着冷战向亚洲扩展,美国逐步重视东南亚在美苏对抗中的地位和作用,其东南亚政策从无到有,插手东南亚事务,加强东南亚地区的反共力量以应对新中国的建立。朝鲜战争爆发后,杜鲁门政府全面遏制中国,确立以制华为核心的东南亚政策,为冷战期间的美国东南亚战略奠定了基调。     

反共主义与杜鲁门政府越南政策的演变

虽然二战后期美国即有意"国际托管"印度支那,但由于英法两国的强烈反对,再加上美国远东利益所需,第一次印支战争爆发后美国最终默许法国重返越南,"不插手"印度支那问题;但随着"杜鲁门主义"的出台,反共主义成为美国外交的主要考虑,为了遏制共产主义的扩张,美国开始"积极介入"越南事务;新中国成立和朝鲜战争爆发后,美国更加加紧了在越南的干涉。