Dr. Odegard argues that United States history displays a complex pattern of drift and mastery. He explores the fact that when Americans plan for a purpose and mobilize their might to fulfill that purpose, they can do anything. He states that in order to discharge its responsibilities, the Unites States must have a purpose and direction in its foreign affairs as well as affirmative goals for which it is prepared to fight. He says the US is in danger of basing its foreign policy on the negative goal of stopping Soviet communism. The United States, he argues, must capture the initiative again, thus placing it at the head of a democratic crusade, guiding the revolutionary forces of the 20th century world as it did in the 18th and 19th centuries.