U.S. foreign policy has a mission. Many American politicians or diplomats would be proud rather than hesitant to confess that they are missionaries at heart. They are convinced that the U.S. way of life is superior to all others and that they have a calling to spread this truth far and wide. The world would be a better place, they think, if only it were like the United States.
Testimonies to the truth of this proposition are not hard to find. Certain states are classified as rogues; most-favored-nation status is dependent on good behavior; governments the world over are indexed for their human-rights record.
When the U.S. first established relations with Japan, its representatives were acting on the basis of similar principles. In "Outposts of Civilization," Joseph Henning describes the ideological backdrop against which U.S. attitudes toward Japan developed from first contact.