The 'Conspiracy' of Free Trade
The Anglo-American Struggle over Empire and Economic Globalisation, 1846–1896

This book explores the controversial Anglo-American struggle over empire and economic globalization in the mid- to late-nineteenth century.

Marc-William Palen (Author)

9781107521339, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 25 May 2017

333 pages, 15 b/w illus.
23 x 15.3 x 1.8 cm, 0.49 kg

'Palen's study is serious, deeply researched and convincing. … This book will undoubtedly compel these scholars to re-examine such debates and reflect on how they might alter their own approaches to the study of the American Empire.' Andrew Priest, The English Historical Review

Following the Second World War, the United States would become the leading 'neoliberal' proponent of international trade liberalization. Yet for nearly a century before, American foreign trade policy was dominated by extreme economic nationalism. What brought about this pronounced ideological, political, and economic about-face? How did it affect Anglo-American imperialism? What were the repercussions for the global capitalist order? In answering these questions, The 'Conspiracy' of Free Trade offers the first detailed account of the controversial Anglo-American struggle over empire and economic globalization in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. The book reinterprets Anglo-American imperialism through the global interplay between Victorian free-trade cosmopolitanism and economic nationalism, uncovering how imperial expansion and economic integration were mired in political and ideological conflict. Beginning in the 1840s, this conspiratorial struggle over political economy would rip apart the Republican Party, reshape the Democratic Party, and redirect Anglo-American imperial expansion for decades to come.

1. Globalizing ideologies: economic nationalism and free-trade cosmopolitanism, c.1846–60
2. 'The most successful lie in history': the Morrill Tariff and the Confederacy's free-trade diplomacy
3. Mobilizing free trade: the postbellum free-trade movement, foreign policy, and 'conspiracy', 1866–71
4. Fighting over free trade: party realignment and the imperialism of economic nationalism, 1872–84
5. The great debate: the first Cleveland presidency, free-trade culture, and the anti-imperialism of free trade, 1885–9
6. The cosmopolitan demand for North American commercial union, 1885–9
7. 'A sea of fire': the McKinley Tariff and the imperialism of economic nationalism, 1889–93
8. Free trade in retreat: the global impact of the McKinley Tariff upon the British Empire, 1890–4
9. Republican rapprochement: Cleveland's free traders, Anglo-American relations, and the 1896 presidential elections
Conclusion
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], History of ideas [JFCX], History of the Americas [HBJK], British & Irish history [HBJD1]