HIS404H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: American Exceptionalism, Teller Amendment
Document Summary
Thucydides writes for those who desire an exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the interpretation of the future, which in the course of human things must resemble if it does not re ect it. Machiavelli: the prince can gain the people to himself in many modes, of which one cannot give certain rules because the modes vary according to the circumstances. Machiavelli: if fortune is the arbiter of half our actions she leaves the other half, or close to it, for us to govern god does not want to do everything. We are looking for patterns, but we also need to recognize the differences. The key example to work with is the war of 1812. Causes: enticement/impressment, lack of intelligence in both france and great. Britain (as well as a lack of communication), limitations on american trade, expansionist desires of the u. s. , the threat that the u. s. felt being surrounded by.
