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Introduction: the ostrich and the eagle -- New world power -- A better nation morally -- Toward a transnational America -- The powerful mediating neutral -- Voices of the people -- The irreconcilables -- New internationalism -- Conclusion: the intricate balance

Spreading democracy abroad or taking care of business at home is a tension as current as the war in Afghanistan and as old as America itself. Tracing the history of isolationist and internationalist ideas from the 1890s through the 1930s, Nichols reveals unexpected connections among individuals and groups from across the political spectrum who developed new visions for America's place in the world. From Henry Cabot Lodge and William James to W.E.B. Du Bois and Jane Addams to Randolph Bourne, William Borah, and Emily Balch, Nichols shows how reformers, thinkers, and politicians confronted the challenges of modern society--and then grappled with urgent pressures to balance domestic priorities and foreign commitments. Each articulated a distinct strain of thought, and each was part of a sprawling national debate over America's global role. Through these individuals, Nichols conducts us into the larger community as it strove to reconcile America's founding ideals and ideas about isolation with the realities of the nation's burgeoning affluence, rising global commerce, and new opportunities for worldwide cultural exchange. The resulting interrelated set of isolationist and internationalist principles provided the basis not just for many foreign policy arguments of the era but also for the vibrant as well as negative connotations that isolationism still possesses. Nichols offers a bold way of understanding the isolationist and internationalist impulses that shaped the heated debates of the early twentieth century and that continue to influence thinking about America in the world today.

The eight premier United States service bands provide numerous job opportunities for the prospective professional musician and offer financial stability, job security, and an outlet to perform at a superior level in a variety of settings. Although many published resources exist to prepare candidates for orchestral auditions, few published resources address the audition process and literature for the premier U.S. service bands. This study examines the audition process at these organizations through written correspondence with past and present audition coordinators. It addresses topics such as the system of rounds, the personnel that comprise committees, literature selection criteria, desirable traits of candidates, the role of sight-reading in the audition, and the relationship of each band's process to its mission. In order to compile a list of significant wind literature including clarinet, a written survey was distributed to a cross-section of conductors and clarinetists from universities and military bands. The survey requested identification of five to ten works from three categories including original works, marches, and transcriptions of orchestral music deemed essential for audition preparation for these bands. Fifteen of the most frequently identified works are excerpted, and accompanied by a technical and stylistic discussion. Appendices include sample audition lists from 2005-2010 and a discography of premier U.S. service band recordings of excerpted literature. These resources should aid candidates in preparing for these auditions more comprehensively than previously possible, while reducing the amount of time required to locate such reference materials.