In 1958, angry Venezuelans attacked Vice President Richard Nixon in Caracas, opening a turbulent decade in Latin American–U.S. relations. In Yankee No! Alan McPherson sheds much-needed light on the controversial and pressing problem of anti-U.S. sentiment in the world.
Examining the roots of anti-Americanism in Latin America, McPherson focuses on three major crises: the Cuban Revolution, the 1964 Panama riots, and U.S. intervention in the Dominican Republic. Deftly combining cultural and political analysis, he demonstrates the shifting and complex nature of anti-Americanism in each country and the love–hate ambivalence of most Latin Americans toward the United States. When rising panic over “Yankee hating” led Washington to try to contain foreign hostility, the government displayed a surprisingly coherent and consistent response, maintaining an ideological self-confidence that has outlasted a Latin American diplomacy torn between resentment and admiration of the United States.
However, McPherson warns, U.S. leaders run a great risk if they continue to ignore the deeper causes of anti-Americanism. Written with dramatic flair, Yankee No! is a timely, compelling, and carefully researched contribution to international history.
Alan L. McPherson is Associate Professor of Internatioal and Area Studies, University of Oklahoma.
Table of Contents
Contents Introduction: Anti-Americanism as Historical Problem 1. The Road to Caracas: Or, Richard Nixon Must Get Stoned 2. Cuba, 1959: Revolutionary Anti-Americanism and U.S. Panic 3. Panama, 1964: Conservative Anti-Americanism and U.S. Pragmatism 4. Dominican Republic, 1965: Episodic Anti-Americanism and U.S. Containment Epilogue: Toward Global Anti-Americanism Abbreviations Notes Selected Sources Acknowledgments Index
What People are Saying About This
McPherson opens a revealing window on the heretofore elusive phenomenon of anti-Americanism. In so doing he takes his place in the front ranks of younger scholars writing about U.S. foreign relations.
Lester D. Langley
Alan McPherson has not only made a valuable contribution to the literature on U.S.-Latin American relations but, more importantly, he has provided a superb analysis of anti-Americanism by identifying its variability, its ambivalence, and the U.S. resilience in confronting the challenge during the critical years framed in this book. In his sophistication and in his writing he demonstrates all the attributes of a seasoned historian. — Lester D. Langley, author of The Americas in the Modern Age
William Walker
McPherson opens a revealing window on the heretofore elusive phenomenon of anti-Americanism. In so doing he takes his place in the front ranks of younger scholars writing about U.S. foreign relations. — William Walker, Florida International University
Stephen Rabe
McPherson expertly extends the field of U.S. foreign relations into social and cultural history. In his analysis of U.S. relations with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Panama, he deftly avoids the trap of writing international history solely with the 'view from Washington' perspective. I unequivocally recommend it. — Stephen Rabe, author of Eisenhower and Latin America
Thomas G. Paterson
This timely, deeply researched, analytically rigorous, and handsomely written study probes the many anti-Americanisms that have bedeviled U.S. relations with Latin America. Why do they hate us?' is an urgent question today. McPherson impressively demonstrates that it has profound historical roots that can inform caring policymakers eager to prevent global violence. — Thomas G. Paterson, author of Contesting Castro
