US foreign policy, the Grand Alliance, and the struggle for Indian independence during the Pacific War

The stunting of the diplomatic relationship between the world's most powerful democracy and the British colony that would become its largest thus tells an important story about the outcomes of the Pacific War. It is a case study that challenges several historical assumptions about Washington's ideological role during the conflict, presenting a caution to scholars not to presume that the US always followed the "idealistic" course simply because government rhetoric suggested so. India serves as a reminder to scholars to remain attentive to issues of race, culture, and the value Washington placed on orderly, nonrevolutionary regime change in analyzing how US foreign policy was made and implemented. India also directs our gaze to the more quotidian factors that cause foreign policy, and propaganda in particular, to fail - inadequate staffing, inattentive high-level direction, and political trade-offs. Finally, the case prompts reflection on the fact that colonized peoples were not passive actors on the sidelines of history; they were not "granted" independence simply because Washington's military might brought the idealistic United States some newfound diplomatic influence over Britain and other European nations during the war. Rather, the Indian nationalist movement and their counterparts across the world fought hard against colonialism; their achievement is all the more poignant because they did so with only fitful support from the United States.