Down Jamaica Way with Theodore Roosevelt the Diplomat

Book reviewed in this article:
William Tilchin, Theodore Roosevelt and the British Empire: A Study in Presidential Statecraft     

Theodore Roosevelt and the Bureau of Corporation: Executive-Corporate Cooperation and the Advancement of the Regulatory State

Abstract

Theodore Roosevelt's trust policy has been viewed as “progressive” by his contemporaries, dictated by big business by the New Left, and as a precursor to autonomous institutional development most recently. This thesis will instead analyze Roosevelt's actions through a pragmatic lens. Roosevelt's first legislative action in relation to the trusts was to create the Bureau of Corporations. Whilst seemingly ushering in transparency in business affairs through its reporting function, Roosevelt secured executive jurisdiction over publicly circulating its findings, paving the way for private, state-corporate cooperation. Obtaining sensitive information through the promise of discretion, Roosevelt held an implicit leverage over companies, allowing him to threaten to publicize illegalities if they refused to abandon them. The Bureau became a forum for closed-door agreements which achieved tangible amelioration of practice, whilst minimizing the damage entailed by a public airing of corporate America's dirty laundry. I will analyze several Bureau investigations and illustrate the learning curve by which Roosevelt and big business came to an agreement over the parameters of cooperation. Mired by mixed signals from both sides during its early investigations, the emergence of dialectical negotiations over corporate practice and the extent of government-induced public scrutiny came to embody a fledgling cooperative process. These investigations illustrate the pragmatic means by which Roosevelt pursued a conservative, yet effective, reigning in of big business power.     

A Falling Out: The Relationship Between Oliver Wendell Holmes and Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt is often credited with founding and shaping the modern American presidency. With his appointment of Oliver Wendell Holmes to the Supreme Court of the United States, Roosevelt also set in motion a force that would transform the judiciary. However, it did not go as Roosevelt had planned. Holmes' refusal to conform to Roosevelt's desires in Northern Securities Co. v. United States demonstrated that Holmes was his own man and not Roosevelt's instrument. The decision brought an abrupt halt to what had been becoming a close friendship between the two men. Over the years the rift deepened. The bitterness that grew between them reflected more than a difference of opinion over law and economic principles; it reflected the type of disillusionment that comes only when a friend fails to live up to expectations.     

20世纪20年代"不平等条约"口号之检讨

“不平等条约”一词的语言风格、内涵及使用,在民国早期竞争而动荡的政治观念、价值及其策略的形成上具有中心地位。1924—1927年是一个充满戏剧变幻的年代,在此期间,国共两党共同地创造了中国语言中一个新词“不平等条约”。作为中国屈服于洋人控制的象征,“不平等条约”这一简洁名词唤醒并继续唤醒着中国人对于自己民族的过去和将来的集体情结。自从其在20年代诞生。“不平等条约”成为理解中国对外关系的关键词。     

论清政府的信守条约方针及其变化

信守条约是清政府为适应中外间新的条约关系所采取的外交方针,在不同时期有不同的内涵和特点。两次鸦片战争之间,为维持天朝体制和闭关状态,清政府主要是要求对方守约,并有着暗地摆脱条约约束的明显意图;第二次鸦片战争爆发后发生变化,产生了要求自己守约的趋向,到同治初年以潮州入城事件为转机,逐渐确立了重视履行条约义务的主体意识。马嘉理案发生后,清政府更加注重履行条约义务,开始采取措施,加强地方官的守约意识。除了向各省和基层衙门颁发条约之外,并从制度上加强地方官的守约意识。清政府的守约方针及其失误,给后人留下深刻的教训和启示。     

汉密尔顿的远东之行与罗斯福政府远东政策的调整

1933年8月至1934年3月,奉美国远东司司长霍恩贝克之命,副司长汉密尔顿对远东进行了长达半年的考察,并最终向国务院提交了关于日本、关于"满洲国"、关于中国、关于美国远东政策的四份报告。这四份报告对第一届罗斯福政府的远东政策走向产生了重大影响:美国重新调整了远东政策,即在中日之间维持某种平衡,并持续对该区域的出口;摆脱了对战争的担忧,认为短期内苏日、美日间不会发生武装冲突;对伪满洲国继续奉行"不承认主义"。