Marvin R. Zahniser – författare

This broad-based study of Western-Asian relations considers images of and actions by the United States, along with Britain and Germany, in the course of dealings with Asian nations such as China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Other case studies focus on inter-Asian relations between Japan and Korea; China and Japan; and Thailand and Vietnam. The essays encompass a wide range of recent scholarship, including cultural, economic, demographic, and intellectual approaches to military and diplomatic themes.Western influence, primarily American, in Asia grew consistently during the 20th century. While interaction often occurred on unequal terms, this study reveals the ability of Asians to assert their agency in the face of such immense Western power. The collection as a whole offers a window on relations across the Pacific in numerous spheres of activity over the course of one hundred years. As such, it introduces and adds to our understanding of the depth and variety of trans-Pacific relations.

French-American relations in the interwar period were marked by tension and disagreement. The Versailles Peace Conference revealed differences that would prove troublesome, disarmament and reparations in particular. The onset of the Great Depression would exacerbate these problems and create others. The rise of Hitler stimulated the Roosevelt administration to assist where it could, but the enormous French defeat, so unexpected in Washington, brought French-American relations to the point of crisis. This is the first study to combine elements of the interwar story with the fall of France, using the relationship between France and the United States as a lens to view larger issues of the day.Zahniser examines domestic politics on both sides of the Atlantic and analyzes the contributions of such notables as Bullitt, Roosevelt, Gamelin, Reynaud, Morgenthau, Churchill, and Hitler. His study challenges the misleading diplomacy of Roosevelt and Bullitt, who professed a close relationship with France, all the while knowing that the US could do little to help if Hitler attacked. Military strategy, placing emphasis on mobility, armor, and air power, became the new goals of modern warfare. Roosevelt would decide to seek a third term in part because the French defeat signaled that great work remained to be done. Dictators would make long-range plans that would eventually bring them to ruin.

Pinckney's lifetime as a leading member of the southern oligarchy is important to an understanding of that group's assumptions about itself, its aspirations, and its exacting standards of public and private conduct for its leaders. It also provides insight into the development of the Federalist and Republican parties in the South and vividly demonstrates the effects of the national party system on the old regime of state politics in South Carolina.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Eliza Lucas Pinckney was one of the most distinguished women of colonial America, pioneering the large-scale cultivation of indigo in South Carolina. Her letters reveal an eventful life with myriad interests, changing politics, innovative ideas about slavery, and an unusually happy marriage.