北美合众国之成为一个世界强权,起於一八九八年的美西战争。这是史家所公认的。那个战争的结果之一是美国占领非律宾 岛,於是美国外交的视线不能不部份的移注於远东。海约翰(John Hay)於一八九八年九月就美国国务卿之职,所以我们可以说他是美国成了世界强权之後的第一任外交总 The United States of North America became a world power, starting in the 1889 U.S.-West war. This is recognized by historians. One of the consequences of that war was that the United States occupied the non-law-abiding islands, so the line of sight of U.S. diplomacy could not be partially transferred to the Far East. John Hay took the post of Secretary of State for the United States in September 1888, so we can say that he was the first diplomatic chief after the United States became a world power