Roger Cheng APUSH Toneatti 9 1) How and for what reasons did United States foreign policy change between 1920 and 1941?
In the eventful life of Americans during the Roaring Twenties, people were living up to the prosperous modern standards of society. But as soon as t he Great Depression hit the world, the joys and excitement of life quickly dissipated and tension soon manifested itself among all nations. In the time period of 1920-1941 America experienced major global events that occurred in extremely short rapid intervals of time. From the end of World War I in 1918 to the Roaring Twenties, straight to the Great Depression in 1929, into the beginning of Wo rld War II in 1939, and all the way to the horror of the Pearl P earl Harbor attack in 1941, America faced these occurrences with difficulty and confusion. But with the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, quick and immediate responses were made to stabilize America. Among his responses were changes in Americ a’s foreign policy. The ingrained sense of isolationism isolationism soon faded (foreshadowed (foreshadowed by WWI and Wilson’s plea for the League of Nations). Nations). As demonstrated by Wilson’s League of Nations, Hitler’s reign, and the start of World War II, America gradually changed its foreign policy from avoiding foreign issues to becoming involved in global affairs, which in fact, w as inevitable.
During this period of time, many Americans still held an isolationist view. They were too arrogant at the time to not only become more aware but also more active in foreign affairs. With the presidency of Harding and Coolidge, the popular view of the time was the return to “normalcy”. “ normalcy”. In 1920, Harding made a speech opposing Wilson’s plan for the League of Nations (Doc A). This return to “normalcy” was believed to be the key to upholding America’s America’s sovereignty and its values. This belief was shared by both the Democratic and Re publican parties. In 1940, both aimed to keep the United States out of the war only to enter if the United St ates itself was attacked (Doc E). Yet such pre dicaments were
near impossible to maintain especially due to the presidency of FDR as well as the incoming attack on Pearl Harbor.
With Franklin Roosevelt as president, America soon realized they would become involved in the war. As believed to be America’s first “dictator”, he made amends and arrangements to aid co untries in Europe that were fighting against Germany (Doc F). He called this policy the Good Neighbor Policy. Fundamentally, this policy was directed more towards Latin American countries, but he maintained that he wanted to aid the European countries as well. He established the Destroyers-for-bases deal with Britain to support Britain’s war effort as the destroyers were much needed by the British. FDR also enacted the Lend-Lease Plan in 1941 which clearly shows that America has become a step closer to international involvement (Doc H). This plan was a program surmising that Allied nations in the war would be supplied with munitions, food, and clothing. But by doing this, America basically brought itself into the war because should the European nations fail at defeating Hitler, America would then have to compete against Germany which would be incredibly power. FDR’s view was that if the United States could aid Allied nations indirectly in the war, peace would arrive relatively quickly. In fact, FDR was not the only one who believed that cooperation would be beneficial. Charles Evans Hughes wanted to have international cooperation through military discussions like limitation of armaments (Doc B). Edwin L. James also believed in international cooperation. He stated that America should be seated in an international organization of justice, its power is tremendous e nough to prevent any single country from trying to invoke and uprising against America (Doc C). Such statement closely resembles Wilson’s plan for the League of Nations. As a matter of fact, by stat ing this, it is already assumed that the entire world understands the strength of the United S tates and its global influence. This means that other nations already recognizes and acknowledges the ro le of America in the global community and its involvement in global affairs. This shows how once the United States became a world power, it alre ady radiated with global influence and that it could no longer be isolated from the world.
Over the course of a few decades, the United States had become increasingly involved in world affairs. With FDR’s policies and bold approaches to confront the g lobal conflicts, America’s isolationist policy faded and was replaced with a dire ct involvement in the global community. This shift in policy occurred right after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States immediate response was a declaration of war. This brought America straight into the conflicts of the world. As foreshadowed by the rape of Nanking, US soldiers would experience a similar form of agony in the Bataan Death March as they involve themselves in the war o f the pacific (Doc D).
