Since the arrival of Columbus, America has been a nation of rivals. The colonists and the Pilgrims embodied a “plantation of Trade” and a “plantation of Religion” through which traditions the rivalry between the Hamiltonians and Jeffersonians has emerged to build the most dynamic Union. Even with their distinctive impulses for economic interests and moral sentiments, they favored freedom; hence, they are united for a common cause: peace. Fascinated by American ideas, Patrick Mendis – with his Buddhist and Christian upbringings in Sri Lanka and Minnesota, and working in Washington, D.C. – reveals the founding vision, which is openly concealed in the nation’s capital. The author does not pause there; he employs the Constitution’s "commerce clause" to explore the global mission of the United States as the Founding Fathers envisioned – and manifested once more by President Barack Obama, the Mercury of America's global revolution.


“Our commerce...bind(s) us together.” ~ Barack Obama

“Our plan is commerce… Her trade will always be a protection.” ~ Thomas Paine

“Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

“Freedom of commerce…is the right of all mankind.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

“Our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand…” ~ George Washington

“Commercial republics, like ours, will never be disposed to waste...” ~ Alexander Hamilton

Author Dr. PATRICK MENDIS serves as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Osgood Center for International Studies and is a Visiting Scholar in Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins University’s Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. An Adjunct Professor of Diplomacy at Norwich University and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, Mendis is an alumnus of the Harvard Executive Leadership Program at the Kennedy School of Government and the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He and his family live in Virginia.




“When Patrick Mendis grew up in Sri Lanka, he dreamt about America and was inspired by great Virginians: Madison, Jefferson, Washington, and Patrick Henry. Patrick Mendis – now himself a proud Virginian – and former American diplomat and military professor, writes about … the American destiny. Get to know this patriotic citizen.” – Senator GEORGE ALLEN, Ronald Reagan Presidential Scholar and former Virginia Governor




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Foreword by Professor J. Brian Atwood
Dean of the Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota


and

“A tour de force.” ~ MIT Professor Emeritus Lincoln Bloomfield

“An interesting approach for analyzing the nation's commercial roots.” ~ Aspen Institute President Walter Isaacson

“Quite remarkable … I recommend it heartily.” ~ George Washington University President Emeritus and Professor Stephen Joel Trachtenberg

“Impressive.” ~ Ambassador Max Kampelman

“[a] richer synthesis of diverse fields than those usually encountered.” ~ Ambassador Ronald Lehman

“A timely antidote to ahistorical pessimism.” ~ Hyman Professor David “Mike” Lampton, SAIS

“One of our most original thinkers on global economic issues.” ~ Ambassador Shaun Donnelly

“Like de Tocqueville” ~ Orville Freeman Professor Robert Kudrle

“…provocative … (for) the economic policy dilemmas of a post-9/11 world.” ~ Professor Timothy Taylor, Managing Editor, Journal of Economic Perspectives

"Replete with information...a unique and thought-provoking portrait.” ~ Ambassador John McDonald

“As America prepares to reinvent itself yet again... Mendis sees it clearly and this Sri Lankan from Minnesota will help you see it too." ~ Osgood Center President Shelton Williams

“Patrick Mendis humanizes our nation’s founding fathers...” ~ U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President Stephen Jordan


Dedicated to the Late Ambassador Harlan Cleveland
Ambassador Cleveland
Washington Post
Minnesota Post