An extended interview with distinguished historian and Washington Report contributing editor Walter L. Hixson about his new book, Imperialism and War: The History Americans Need To Own. 

Grant F. Smith of IRmep asks Hixson about the origins of "American exceptionalism," enduring founding mythologies and why most scholars and journalists exploring American militarism focus almost exclusively on the post-WWII period. Hixson explores the idea that America only goes to war reluctantly or has made the world "safe for democracy."

Points covered include the proper starting date for analysis of imperialism, Jamestown, restraint on settler colonization, ethnic cleansing, "manifest destiny," the Spanish American War, the Anti-Imperialist League and post WWII dynamics. Hixson carries his analysis of imperialism and war from the arrival of Columbus in the Americas through the present date.