In Europe it is rare to find a clear division between institutions flooded with light and paranoia hiding in their shadows. European history is long and encompasses many peoples: immense waves of persecution rebound off each other, forming indistinct mishmashes of cruelty and civilized creations. The United States had originated by rebelling against the power logics of the European dynasties: so they had a primal inhibition about conquering new lands by military means. The United States paid the sum of $15 million for a cession which in Europe would have been regarded simply as a military conquest. The origin and archetype of the evils that the United States perceived in Latin America was Spain: monarchical, Catholic and corrupt. In the nineteenth century, American nationalism combined with the rise of violent anti-Catholic movements.