PREFACE THIS book was prepared before the outbreak of the Great War, at the earnest request of many persons who felt the need of a brief but comprehensive survey of the field. The basis for it rested on a course of lectures given at the University of Wisconsin nearly every year from 1901 to the present date. In its preparation advantage was taken of the great number of monographic studies which exist on many special phases and topics. To catch the spirit and changing atmosphere of American diplomacy, the author read nearly all the published correspondence and documents, and studied various critical periods in semina. In the case of some neglected points, original investigation of MSS. was undertaken in London and Italy, but the chief aim was not that of a new contribution to knowledge, but of a comprehensive and balanced account, and an attempt at interpretation. As it is intended to present ascertained conclusions drawn from the work of many students, the footnotes are, for the most part, designed not so much to support the text as to suggest to the reader material for further study, either in the more important sources, or in monographs. Since the publication of the book, the Great War has caused so many inchoate tendencies to take form, revealed the significance of so many things that have happened in the past, and opened so many new avenues for future development, that an expansion of the period treated has seemed imperative, even though the handling of matters so recent, and in some cases so controversial, makes impossible the same standard of accuracy aimed at in the periods that |