THE IDEA OF AMERICA'S MISSION AND ITS ROLE IN THE BELIEFS AND DIPLOMACY OF JOHN FOSTER DULLES AND JIMMY CARTER (RELIGION, HUMAN RIGHTS, ANTI-COMMUNISM)

The foundations of the missionary idea were colonial theology, which held that America plays a divinely-ordained role in history, and certain interpretations of Enlightenment philosophy, which anticipated the triumph of reason over politics. America's missionary role is to reform politics--in the international system and other domestic polities--and to oppose evil. American values and institutions and the American experience have been considered relevant models for other countries.John Foster Dulles shows the importance of the missionary idea prior to Vietnam. Dulles believed that the American political system provided a model for a peaceful world order. Thus, he prematurely tried to force Western Europe to adopt the European Defense Community, a scheme for military integration. Although his missionary crusade against communism has been exaggerated by some observers, he did deny the legitimacy of communism and was willing, as in Guatemala, to discipline states that flirted with communism. Overall, the Eisenhower administration never produced the dynamic anti-communist policies Dulles had promised. So, to mollify Republican extremists Dulles made other, sometimes damaging, concessions, for example placing a protege of McCarthy in charge of State Department security.Jimmy Carter tried to re-establish faith in the missionary idea after Vietnam. His human-rights campaign was criticized from all sides for inconsistency. His administration's efforts to foster world-order politics, for example controlling conventional-arms transfers, were premature. Carter hoped to replace anti-communism as the focus of the missionary tradition with his idealistic policies. He learned that it is impossible to treat the Soviet Union as a secondary question. In general, the Carter administration failed to coordinate its several well-intentioned policies. Carter's theory of leadership was inadequate.The missionary idea was supported by the nearly unbroken history of American progress, the physical grandeur of America, and the goodness of the American people. The missionary idea has been troubled during the twentieth century. When the United States became an important world power, the tension among various contending interpretations of the missionary idea became apparent. Vietnam shook the missionary ideal by questioning American experience for other countries.