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US Foreign Policy:
From WWI to WWII
Key Question:
To what extent was the US“isolationist” between the
two world wars?
World War I: 1914-1918
- US policy of non-intervention in the first 3 years of the Great War
- BUT, financial and material aid to European nations, especially US’ European allies
- Merchant ships sunk + Zimmerman Telegram
Official US entry, April 6, 1917
End of WWI and TofV
- US President Wilson played a central role in developing the principles of post-war peace in the Treaty of Versailles:- moral concerns- economic concerns- political concerns
Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy”
Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy”
The U. S. shouldbe the conscienceof the world.
Spread democracy.
Promote peace.
Condemn colonialism.
“Wilsonianism”“Wilsonianism”
US foreign policies that:
Pursue the spread of democracy
Spread capitalism
Promote internationalism
US economic priorities
• Maintain “Open Door” policy
• In the 14 points:- Absolute freedom of
navigation upon the seas (II)- The removal, so far as
possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance (III)
Political plan for peace
League of Nations:- internationalism- collective security- “to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security.”
US Senate rejection of Treaty of Versailles, 1919
Art. 10 “Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members…. In the case of any such aggression… the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.”
Why?
- League of Nations too interventionist
- Problematic Article 10
- Party politics
Military intervention in Russian Civil War, 1918-1920
- Polar Bear Expedition- 5,000 US troops
- Am. Expeditionary Force Siberia
- 8,000 US troops
Washington Disarmament Conference, 1921-1922
Long-standing Anglo-Japanese alliance (1902) obligated Britain to aid Japan in the event of a Japanese war with the United States.
Goals naval disarmament and the political situation in the Far East.
Washington Naval Treaty, 1922
-US initiative for disarmament
- Result was 5:5:3 ratio for
US: Great Britain: Japan
- Five-Power Treaty
Five-Power Treaty, 1922- A battleship ratio was achieved through this ratio:
US Britain Japan France Italy 5 5 3 1.67 1.67
- Japan got a guarantee that the US and Britain would stop fortifying their Far East territories [including the Philippines].
- Loophole no restrictions on small warships
Dawes Plan, 1924
- US banker Charles Dawes drew up a plan:
1. froze German reparations payments for 2 years
2. reduced level of repayments
3. provided loans to German industry
Dawes Plan, 1924
Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928
- 15 nations agreed to renounce the use of force for national objectives.
- Eventually, over 62 nations signed.
- Problem = no means of actual enforcement and gave Americans a false sense of security.
Clark Memorandum, 1928
- Clark pledged that the US would not intervene in Latin American affairs in order to protect US property rights.
- This was a complete rebuke of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine!Secretary of State
J. Reuben Clark
Young Plan, 1929
- By 1929 Germany not keeping up with
Dawes Plan 2nd US initiative
- Terms:
1. more US loans to Germany
2. reduced payments over 50 years
- Negative response from Germany
Young Plan, 1929
- For three generations, you’ll have to slave away!
- $26,350,000,000 to be paid over a period of 58½ years.
- By 1931, Hoover declared a debt moratorium.
European Debts to the US
US-French relations
Tense post-WWI due to: - US pressure to
repay war debts - 5 years between
end of war and Dawes Plan (1924)
- rejection of France’s proposals for military and economic cooperation
Wall Street Crash, Oct. 1929Wall Street Crash, Oct. 1929
Late October 1929
Record 28.8 million shares changed hands at low prices
Domestic economic chaos
Worldwide economic crisis followed
The Great DepressionThe Great Depression
By 1932 25% of US workforce unemployed
US increasingly preoccupied by domestic challenges
Hoovervilles to The New Deal
By 1932 25% of US workforce unemployed
US increasingly preoccupied by domestic challenges
Hoovervilles to The New Deal
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
International situation worsening
1930s Internationally1930s Internationally
Japan invaded China - Manchuria, 1931- mainland China, 1937
Fascism on the rise in Europe- Nazi Germany’s expansion, 1936- Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia, 1936
Italy and Germany openly interested in influence in South America
US responsesUS responses
Monroe Doctrine remained US policy
Stimson Doctrine, 1932- Open-Door Policy
Good Neighbor Policy, 1933
FDR’s “Good Neighbor Policy”
FDR’s “Good Neighbor Policy”
1933 policy toward Latin America
Non-intervention & non-interference in domestic affairs
Maintain & increase econ. opportunities
Cultural evidence of:Cultural evidence of:
Disney goes Latin!
Shoring up support for WWII
Premiered in Rio de Janeiro August 1942
During WWIIDuring WWII
US responses, cont’dUS responses, cont’d
Neutrality Acts
Ludlow Amendment
FDR’s national addresses- The Fireside Chat
US responses, cont’dUS responses, cont’d
Neutrality Acts
Ludlow Amendment
FDR’s national addresses- The Fireside Chat
Pan-American Conference, 1938
