—José M. de Areilza, Professor and Jean Monnet-ESADE Chair, ESADE Business School
In 1960, Sam Cooke made a splash with the song “A Wonderful World.” My generation learned it years later as the soundtrack to the film Witness. The opening line, “Don’t know much about history,” came to mind a few days ago when Donald Trump stated that the European Union was created to annoy the United States, although he used much pithier language. During his first term, he declared the European bloc to be an enemy, but this time he went further and challenged the circumstances of its very creation in 1950.
Out of ignorance, Trump overlooked the fact that President Dwight Eisenhower was instrumental in launching the European integration project. Dean Acheson, Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, worked closely with Jean Monnet to set up the European Communities, as he described in rich detail in his memoir, “Present at the Creation.” American involvement on European soil was so deep that Monnet consulted with Washington during the drafting of the Schuman Declaration, the foundational charter for European integration, even before sending it to the French government.
The United States wanted to unite and build partnerships among the countries of Western Europe to avoid the possibility of new conflicts between them while giving Germany a chance to become democratic, stable and peaceful. In the context of the Cold War, it was essential to promote economic reconstruction and political unity within Europe. Together with the European Communities, America launched the Marshall Plan, the OECD, and NATO during difficult years of hunger in European capitals and global uncertainty. In collaboration with Western European countries, America also strengthened multilateralism by advocating the creation of the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
American troops stationed on the continent curbed Soviet expansionism, and American companies benefited from the Common Market, making the European economic miracle possible. Since then, some of the best scholars on European integration have been professors at major universities in the United States, as in the case of Ernst Haas at Berkeley and, years later, Stanley Hofmann and Joseph Weiler at Harvard. In 1995, Americans and Europeans led the creation of the World Trade Organization, reinforcing the work of GATT in favor of free trade. In 2012, the support of President Barack Obama was decisive in saving the euro and redesigning the Economic and Monetary Union.
Sam Cooke’s lack of knowledge of history might have made for a catchy hit song. In Trump’s case, ignorance of history and distortion of facts, which are linked to his nationalist agenda, carry grave consequences to peace, security and global prosperity.
Suggested citation: José M. de Areilza, Don’t Know Much About History, Int’l J. Const. L. Blog, Mar. 11, 2025, at: http:/www.iconnectblog.com/dont-know-much-about-history/
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