Primacy And Cooperative Engagement : The United States Foreign Policy

Throughout the course of history, the United States has remained consistent with its national interest by taking many different actions in foreign policy. There have been both immediate and long term results of these actions. Foreign policy is the United States policy that defines how we deal with other countries economically and politically. It is made by congress, the president, and the people. Some of the motivations for United States foreign policy are national security, economics, and idealism. The United States entry into World War I in 1917 and the escalation of the Vietnam War in 1964 and the both had great impact on the United States.

The United States has recognized that local threats have worldwide consequences. Recognizing our global interconnectedness was essential for any foreign policy, especially in a world where traditional borders are quickly breaking down. The Doctrine highlighted that foreign intervention does not need to rely solely on military action. Today, political and economic sanctions are a key part of American foreign policy (Bolinder 2013). The Doctrine also calls for the U.S to lead the international community in spreading peace, prosperity and democracy around the world. It has become the foundation for United States foreign policy and a guidebook for international relations in a nuclear and digital age.

American foreign policy relates to what is done in foreign countries by the United States of America. The foreign policies include controlling of the governments of foreign countries or setting some rules in those countries. The foreign policy of America has always been changing all through the US existence. The changes have stemmed from the dynamics of exogenous and substantial influences of watershed up to the international system and also the effects and changes of endogenous inside the government of the United States. Outstanding assertions like the policies of Monroe, intercontinental encounters such as the Second World War, War of the Spanish and Americans, and the cold war and also conflicts that were termed as local including the Korean War and the Vietnam War considerably shaped the American foreign policy (Kissinger et al., 1969).

The Monroe Doctrine was an assertion of President James Monroe regarding U.S. foreign policy in 1823. In the Doctrine, the President denounced European powers’ any further attempt to colonize and exploit Latin American countries, while promising not to interfere any existing European colonies in the Americas. The Monroe Doctrine was one of the greatest turning points in American foreign policy as it marked the beginning of America’s rapid development as a world power. Over the past two hundred years of history, the meaning of the Monroe Doctrine had been altered multiple times in order to suit America’s changing foreign policy. For example, in the 1840s, President James Polk used the Monroe Doctrine as an excuse to annex

The introduction of the Truman Doctrine in March 1947 by President Harry S. Truman was an outline for the basic foreign policy that America would use against Communism and the Soviet Union for nearly four decades. While President Truman assumed office while inexperienced in global affairs, the doctrine demonstrated his firm stewardship on foreign policy. The doctrine, which was eventually adopted as an international relations policy, was introduced in a speech regarding intentions of the country to help Turkey and Greece with military and economic support for them to avoid falling into the Soviet sphere. The main goal of the doctrine was to help free individuals who were opposing initiatives by armed minorities towards suppression. In addition to containing military and economic concepts, Truman Doctrine symbolized the role of the United States in demonstrating global leadership in post-World War II era. As a result, the doctrine ended up playing a crucial role in the then regional and international affairs during the Cold War.

It was on March 12, 1947, the beginnings of the Cold War between major world powers, the democratic US and the communist USSR, when President Harry S. Truman announced his famous Truman Doctrine before a joint session of congress. In his doctrine, Truman states the importance it is for the United Sates to become involved in assisting other countries with political, military, and economic aid to all “democratic” nations under any kind of communist threat. He also states that the reason countries become communist is because they had the “totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will” (Truman, Harry S.); therefore, in order for that not to happen, the US would restore hope into those who are “resisting attempted subjugation by armed

When the Soviet started expanding into free, independent nations, Truman decided that the United States could no longer stand idly by. The national security depended on his actions. He then announced the Truman Doctrine is one of the strongest examples of Liberalism in U.S. foreign policy history. Threatened by the spread of internal or external authoritarian forces, this doctrine was committed to contain democratic nations, which would be in the best interest for America. He announced U.S. foreign interventions in even faraway lands.

At the time of the Spanish American War the United States went from relative isolation to increased global involvement because of economic expansion, and rebellion in the western hemisphere. The consequences of this increased global involvement on American society was that America exited the Spanish-American war as an Imperialist country and America began to abuse its position as an emerging world power.

The Truman Doctrine was a United States foreign policy established by President Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) in 1947. The policy stated that the US would provide military and financial support to Greece and Turkey to prevent them from falling to communism. This started a policy of “containment” which would persist for many years to come. After World War II left most of the world devastated, the US and the Soviet Union emerged as the two global superpowers and despite being allies during the war, the two became adversaries when their goals for Europe after the war conflicted. Greece had been embroiled in a Civil War between it’s standing government and a communist party vying for power, and Great Britain, who had long supported Greece, was unable to support them any further, and asked the US for it’s support. In Turkey, Soviet leader Josef Stalin demanded partial control of the Dardanelles, a strait in Turkey connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean which possessed significant strategic value. The policy makers of the Truman Doctrine decided that support must go to both Greece and Turkey, as support given to just one of the two would be futile as if one nation fell, the other would fall soon. This idea of one nation’s fall to communism leading to another’s fall to communism became known as the “Domino Theory”. The Truman Doctrine was a significant change in US foreign policy, and set the tone for US relations in Europe and the rest of the world for most of the Cold War.

The Truman Doctrine was a foreign policy proposed by President Harry Truman during the Cold War. President Truman introduced it in 1947 in the midst of the threats from Soviet Russia. The doctrine’s intent was to assist Greece and Turkey, who were the ones facing threats from Russia. This doctrine didn’t imply the use of American military force but financial aid. The plan was to give money to Greece and Turkey so they could fix their nation on their own.

The Reagan Doctrine was pivotal and made up one of the principal diplomatic policies of the United States executive branches administered during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The Reagan doctrine had a global influence that enabled the push back the spread of the Soviet Union’s political views during the era of the Cold War. “While the doctrine lasted less than a decade, it was the centerpiece of United States foreign policy from the early 1980s until the end of the Cold War in 1991” (“Reagan Doctrine”, n.d.). While the doctrine did have its flaws, it also produced some very positive impacts.

They felt committed to the world, and held the responsibility to support and protect those nations who were oppressed. In Backfire, this is also discussed under the Truman Doctrine of March 1947, which promises that the U.S will resist Soviet expansionism wherever it happened. Baritz argues that it was not the direct application of the Truman doctrine what led the U.S into Vietnam, but because the mentality was now fixed. (Page,66) The U.S had an obligation to act where a country or nation was insecure of whether to follow capitalist principles or communist

It’s Monday morning, another weekend over, a new week full of decisions and obstacles for President Obama. A slowly growing economy, tensions with North Korea and soldiers still in Afghanistan and Iraq the President is always quite busy. Even though the President has lots of ad-visors to help him make decision's some advice that would really aid the president is the lesson that “Think before you act, be sure not to overreact” Some examples from the Cold War era that support this lesson are The Cuban Missile Crisis, The My Lai Massacre (involving napalm and agent orange) and the incident at Kent State.

An argument favoring America’s involvement in Vietnam is that capitalist country South Vietnam would be overthrown by communist North Vietnam, unless The United States became involved in Vietnam to control the spread of communist activity. The United States feared communist ideals spreading globally during the 1950’s and replacing capitalism, this fear urged action to aid South Vietnam. Leading up to Vietnam war, the French colonized South Vietnam but were weakened by the calamity of World War 2. The United States sought to protect corporate interests and with an ever increasing shift in the global market towards communism, grew weary of strickend trade among the Indonesian region of the globe. The strength of this argument is that without United States involvement, the financial climate would shift for the worst, and communistic views would

Within theories and finding, The Truman Doctrine was established and on March 12th, 1947. Truman speech pledged “American support for free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures” (Simkin, n.d.) Congress also agreed to give economic aid to the military to help fight Greece against communism as he felt that the political stability was threatened. With Greece in trouble Truman as concerned the other countries would fall into Communism and was known as the ‘domino theory’. If it was not for Truman then Greece and Turkey could no longer afford to fight the rebels. “Truman said that the Cold War was a choice between freedom and oppression; Therefore, Americans would have to abandon their decisions not to get involved in European affairs; America was OBLIGED to get involved” (Clare, n.d.). The Truman Doctrine was an American challenge not only to Soviet ambitions but also through a policy of containment.