When the Declaration of Independence was signed July 4th, 1776, the United States of America was born. From then on, things have never been the same. For example, the country was no longer under the control of Great Britain; we became our own democracy away from monarchy rule of Great Britain. One policy of America that has changed dramatically over the past 200 years, and will continue to change in the coming years, is foreign policy. The idea of foreign policy has gone from the Roosevelt Corollary to the Truman Doctrine, to the Domino Theory, just in the 20th century. One of the first foreign policies in the twentieth century was the Roosevelt Corollary. This policy asserted U.S. authority to intervene in the affairs of Latin American nations; an expansion of the Monroe Doctrine. Also known as the cornerstone of American foreign policy, the Monroe Doctrine was the first time the United States had declared their own foreign policy without following the foreign policies of other countries. The doctrine declared that we (the United States) “are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European power” (Out of Many Pg. 765), meaning the Western Hemisphere was to be closed off to further European colonization and that the U.S. would not interfere in the internal affair of European nations. The Roosevelt Corollary, however, was an amendment stating that the United States of America was the superior culture, and Roosevelt wanted to spread value and influence in Latin America and keep the Europeans out. President Roosevelt was very fond of the West African proverb, “Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far.” Throughout his presidency and the Roosevelt Corollary, the president used the “big st... ... middle of paper ... ...reality; that trade was more important than communism. The Soviets had archaic farming methods and with the grain deal, the United States shipped billions of dollars in grain to the Soviet Union. Although this helped the Soviet Union very much, the deal was cut off when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Overall, America’s foreign policy changed dramatically throughout the course of the 20th century. From the Monroe Doctrine to the Vietnam War, foreign policy has had a major impact on American society. It has shifted from not interfering with internal European affairs, to maintaining internal peace and security, to containing the spread of Communism, to playing ping pong with the Chinese to create and maintain trade with them. The idea of Foreign Policy has changed since it has started and will continue to change until the United States of America is no longer.
In the book, America’s Great War: World War I and the American Experience, Robert H. Zieger discusses the events between 1914 through 1920 forever defined the United States in the Twentieth Century. When conflict broke out in Europe in 1914, the President, Woodrow Wilson, along with the American people wished to remain neutral. In the beginning of the Twentieth Century United States politics was still based on the “isolationism” ideals of the previous century. The United States did not wish to be involved in European politics or world matters. The U.S. goal was to expand trade and commerce throughout the world and protect the borders of North America.
Throughout the 20th century, successive presidents pursued foreign policy in different ways but with one objective and that is to make America the most powerful nation on earth. Despite the challenges of each administration during this century, presidents found a way to put American at the frontline as the undisputed super power. President Taft pursued an aggressive foreign policy by introducing dollar diplomacy which was meant to encourage U.S. investments in the Latin America and the Caribbean. He used government officials to promote this policy in hope that it will create markets for American products in the region. President Wilson made a promise to the American people that he will focus on domestic policy agenda and rarely will his administration
The Monroe Doctrine reflected the concerns and ambitions of a fledgling nation that was brave enough to declare its sovereignty on the world stage. The Doctrine, in stating that European powers ought not to intervene in America’s affairs, established the US as a world power, although one that had inadequate, hemispheric aspirations. However, these aspirations would extend, and in future years the Doctrine would substantiate its usefulness for interventionists, as well as protectionists. Being conceivably the most distinguishable and the most revered as regards principles of diplomacy, the doctrine’s influence on the popular imagination was so great that it described the limits of standard decisions on policy, in turn influencing the choice of preferences that US Presidents had for most of the last two centuries.
In foreign affairs, the "white man's burden" helped to justify Roosevelt's "New Imperialism" in foreign policy. Uncivilized nations would gain eventual independence once they had conformed to the American model of government and democracy. Roosevelt's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine set up the U.S. as policeman in the western hemisphere. Under TR, the U.S. empire extended to include the Philippines, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. He also oversaw the building of the Panama Canal, a tremendous feat that enhanced U.S. commerce immeasurably.
The foreign and domestic policies during the Cold War lead to both the separation of world powers and the fear of political and social systems throughout the world. After World War 2 had ended, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union heighted. The agreements made at the Yalta Conference between Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt , were not being followed by the Soviets. The Soviet Union kept the land they reconquered in Eastern Europe and did not enforce a democratic government in those countries, as they promised. Instead, the Soviet Union decided to continue spreading communism in their reconquered lands. The United States’ feared the spread of communism and attempted to do anything in its power to stop it. Before the United
Primarily, the United States foreign policy behind the Monroe Doctrine was introduced by President James Monroe in the midst of many Latin American countries gaining their independence from Spain. The doctrine stated that attempts by European countries to colonize or interfere with states in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as acts of aggression and U.S. intervention would be necessary. The Monroe Doctrine set the precedent for various foreign policies that would result in U.S. involvement in Latin America. Moreover, the Roosevelt Corollary was passed by President Theodore Roosevelt and affirmed that the United States has the right to intervene in Latin America in order to alleviate the economies of Latin American countries that were unable to pay their international debts. The Roosevelt Corollary resulted in U.S. involvement in various countries throughout Latin America, explicitly the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
George Washington, the first president of the United States, had written a very important historical speech and document towards the end of his time in office. He had written the Farewell address which focused on helping America understand the importance of preserving unity, acknowledging the rise of political parties forming, strengthening religion and morality, and he stated his position on American foreign policy. He addressed these ideas with strong tone and used incredible amount of dictions that strengthens his tone as well as representing his appeal to ethos to a strong degree. However, today’s society seemed to forget Washington’s position on foreign policy and has created a new form of the policy. But nonetheless as time grew, change occurs. In today’s society Washington’s foreign policy would include many positive and negative manifestations, but it is still a speech and document that will always apply to America.
In my paper "The undone change of American Foreign Policy after the Cold War" I addressed the inability of the U.S. institutions to meet the newly created challenges of the post-Cold War world. I argued that due to a lack of leadership, especially by the President, the opportunity to "reconfigure" U.S. foreign policy institutions; supported by an absent corresponding ideology; the U.S. had missed its chance to change its foreign policy in the post-Cold War world.
Following the war with Vietnam, America foreign policy saw a new shift. This shift is marked by the decline of containment to a policy of a ‘here and now’ approach. That is, the United States’ new policy was to deal with each situation on a case by case basis rather than treating every threat of communism as a threat to containment. This reclaimed part of the old policy of objectivity in international affairs. As the past shows, controversies and wars alike have the power to dramatically shift a countries foreign policy. One can only wonder what will cause the next change.
As we approach the next Presidential election the topic of American foreign policy is once again in the spotlight. In this paper, I will examine four major objectives of U.S. foreign policy that have persisted throughout the twentieth century and will discuss the effect of each on our nation’s recent history, with particular focus on key leaders who espoused each objective at various times. In addition, I will relate the effects of American foreign policy objectives, with special attention to their impact on the American middle class. Most importantly, this paper will discuss America’s involvement in WWI, WWII, and the Cold War to the anticipated fulfillment of these objectives—democracy, manifest destiny, humanitarianism, and economic expansion.
Throughout the course of American history, business-related interests have played a predominant role in influencing foreign policy. Foreign policy determines how America conducts its relations with other countries. It is designed to further certain goals such as security and trade. More importantly foreign policy seeks to ensure America’s security and defense and its ability to protect America’s national interests around the world. National interests that shape foreign policy covers a wide range of political, economic, military, ideological, and humanitarian fields. This is the stand the United States has taken in the last decades in regards to foreign policy. While the US government conducts its foreign policy, the public is kept purposefully unaware of the motives behind some major decisions it takes and most of the operations related to foreign policy. Even though the US foreign policy is set to protect its well being and to spread democracy, I think the US foreign policy is not only influenced by business but is controlled by those with these business-related interests as well. In this essay I will argue the magnitude of the influence of business on foreign policy in the United Sates government.
Beginning with the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and lasting up to the current Obama doctrine, presidential doctrines have dominated American foreign policy. A presidential doctrine highlights the key goals and positions for United States foreign affairs outlined by a president. Many of the country’s major foreign policy successes or disasters can be explained by tracing the doctrines of sitting or previous presidents and analyzing their evolution and eventual impact on world events. After a presidential doctrine has been established it achieves a life of its own. This can be explained by the military resources and human capital involved in carrying out these doctrines. Future presidents often feel compelled to abide by it, or find the reality of changing the doctrine can only be done with incremental changes over a period of years. For this reason, presidential doctrines outlive their creators and some will affect American foreign policy for centuries to come.
The “Big Stick” diplomacy refers to President Roosevelt’s corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: “speak softly, and carry a big stick.” In other terms, this means to negotiate peacefully while displaying might and power. This diplomacy was a major part of Roosevelt’s international relations policy. An instance in time where this corollary was used was in the 1900’s taking place in Latin America. However, instead of the United States guaranteeing protection from neighbors and independence, the corollary asserted the United States’s unrestricted right to regulate Caribbean affairs.
The United States foreign policy is basically the way we work with other foreign nations and it sets the examples on how to interact with those foreign nations. The main causes for the shift in foreign policy from isolationism to imperialism, in my opinion, were the Panama Canal, and the Monroe Doctrine.
In 2009, President Obama inherited many foreign policies, like the wars between the U.S. and Afghanistan, from the previous president George W. Bush. Most Republicans think that George W. Bush did better than Obama with foreign policies, most Demarcates disagree with most Republicans. Most Demarcates think that Barack Obama did a better job with foreign policies than George W. Bush. Many candidates are using Obama’s foreign policy to make people vote for them. Obama has done a mix between a good and a bad job on foreign policies during his presidency.