MERICANISM AND THE GREAT WAR

While the Hispanic republics were entering upon the second century of
their independent life, the idea of a certain community of interests
between themselves and the United States began to assume a fairly
definite form. Though emphasized by American statesmen and publicists
in particular, the new point of view was not generally understood or
appreciated by the people of either this country or its fellow nations
to the southward. It seemed, nevertheless, to promise an effective
cooperation in spirit and action between them and came therefore to be
called "Pan-Americanism."

This sentiment of inter-American solidarity sprang from several sources.
The periodical conferences of the United States and its sister republics
gave occasion for an interchange of official courtesies and expressions
of good feeling. Doubtless, also, the presence of delegates from the
Hispanic countries at the international gatherings at The Hague served
to acquaint the world at large with the stability, strength, wealth, and
culture of their respective lands. Individual Americans took an active
interest in their fellows of Hispanic stock and found their interest
reciprocated. Motives of business or pleasure and a desire to obtain
personal knowledge about one another led to visits and countervisits
that became steadily more frequent. Societies were created to encourage
the friendship and acquaintance thus formed. Scientific congresses were
held and institutes were founded in which both the United States and
Hispanic America were represented. Books, articles, and newspaper
accounts about one another's countries were published in increasing
volume. Educational institutions devoted a constantly growing attention
to inter-American affairs. Individuals and commissions were dispatched
by the Hispanic nations and the United States to study one another's
conditions and to confer about matters of mutual concern. Secretaries of
State, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and other distinguished personages
interchanged visits. Above all, the common dangers and responsibilities
falling upon the Americas at large as a consequence of the European war
seemed likely to bring the several nations into a harmony of feeling and
relationship to which they had never before attained.

Pan-Americanism, however, was destined to remain largely a generous
ideal. The action of the United States in extending its direct influence
over the small republics