The Foreign Service Journal, June 2022

94 JUNE 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL He writes, for example, that President John Quincy Adams wanted to send a delegation to the Bolivarian Congress of Panama in 1826. Adams correctly saw it as an opportunity to augment commercial links and counter European influence in the Western Hemisphere, both major policy priorities. The pro-slavery contingent inWashing- ton was not convinced, however. Led by Vice President John C. Calhoun, a virulent racist, it worried that the gathering might “seek to abolish slavery” and that U.S. del- egates might have tomix with nonwhites. After prolonged debate and delay, Washington ultimately sent delegates to Panama City. But one died en route, and the other arrived late. In the process, the United States lost out while the Brit- ish—though participating as observers— enhanced their diplomatic and trade ties. If there is a criticism to be made of Chained to History , it’s that it’s a bit thin in places. The book’s assessment of U.S. policy toward slavery during the Civil War period (1861-1865), for instance, deals in somewhat cursory fashion with the delicate mix of President Abraham Lincoln’s wartime decision-making and his diplomatic strategy. Amore complete rendering of these complex issues is contained in Joseph A. Fry’s excellent Lincoln, Seward, and US Foreign Relations in the Civil War Era (Uni- versity Press of Kentucky, 2019), which was reviewed in the November 2019 FSJ . Many studies have been made that demonstrate how crucial slavery was to the development of the United States as a country. Written with objectivity and precision, Chained to History makes an important contribution by depicting how the distinct worldview of enslavers twisted U.S. foreign policy in troubling ways. That influence was only extirpated by Lincoln’s brilliant statecraft and the victories of the Union armies. As Brady accurately records in his book’s epi- logue: “Rarely has a major, long-term element driving U.S. foreign policy dis- appeared so quickly and completely.” n Joseph L. Novak is a writer based in Washington, D.C. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London and a proud retiree member of AFSA. A former lawyer, he was a Foreign Service officer for 30 years.