What Were The Causes Of American Isolationism

People have been debating over this topic for a long time. There are two good sides with reasons if the United States should have joined the World War II. In my opinion, the United States should have joined the World War II because the United States was being invaded by the Nazi because they were mad at America. The Nazi were also trying to rule all of Germany and we couldn't let that go and let them win right after they bombed the United States. This is why we should of joined World War II.

Interventionism, the belief that the United States should involve itself in foreign affairs, and isolationism, the belief that the United States should avert from any foreign affairs were two ideas that bopped heads during the first World War when it came to the United States’ position in foreign affairs. Interventionism was highly driven off of the thirst for profit and power. This hunger completely brainwashed people of all other thoughts, triggering them to steal innocent lives recklessly and mercilessly. However, isolationism protected American interests during the early 1900’s as it kept us out of war and affairs which ultimately resulted in American debt, lives, and peace being spared from the terrors of war as exhibited in George Washington’s Farewell Address, Ambassador James Bryce’s British Report on German Atrocities, and Robert La Follette’s A Progressive Opposes the Declaration of War.

Since George Washington’s presidency, the United Stated has declared itself an “isolationist” nation, in which they avoided any sort of foreign affairs with other countries. But can America ever be an isolationist country with the many conflicts with its long time rivals in Europe? Before America had authority in the world, stronger nations such as Great Britain, France, and other European powers had already established and expanded their powers abroad. It was not until the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that the U.S. started to gain in strength. This was the period that in American history which they tremendously expanded their influence to other, smaller, parts in the Western Hemisphere. But America was already an imperialist power beforehand, just not internationally, as evident in the Manifest Destiny where America was “chosen” to expand westward. The Spanish-American war proved to be one of the early examples of American involvement in international affairs, which they partook in the liberation of the Caribbean, Philippines, and Guam. Also their involvement with China and the succeeded lands from Spain also sparked relations with the world in which regulations were enacted, such as the open door policy in China, which made it more accessible to trade and keep European powers in check. The U.S. involvements in WWI also enhanced its involvement in international affairs and would lead America to further develop.

In the beginning of the 1930’s the U.S had no desire to enter another world war or involve themselves in European foreign affairs. The U.S policy of isolationism was extremely popular not only with citizens but with government officials as well. With this being said, what factors could have contributed to the U.S involvement in World War II? . Pearl Harbor was the main factor that led to the U.S involvement in World War II despite the fact that the fact that the overwhelming majority of the country wanted nothing to do with the war in Europe. (Foner 856) “December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” These were the

World War I left a sour taste in the mouths of Americans; many felt that the United States had joined for the wrong reasons, and this disillusionment led to a return to isolationism. Americans looked to avoid entanglements in European affairs that could potentially pull them into another world war. Combined with the effects of the Great Depression and the economic troubles that spanned the globe, Americans were determined to avoid foreign affairs and remain neutral when conflict began. However, as dictatorships began to rise globally, the United States found it increasingly difficult to remain neutral and isolationist. Though the United States attempted to remain neutral in world affairs following World War I, the threat to democracy and rise

WWI started on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. At the time a man named Woodrow Wilson was president at the time. President Wilson did not want to go to war. In DBQ 16: Why Did We Enter World War I?-Historical Context by J. Weston Walch, it says “People were determined to keep out of the conflict and applaud president Wilson when he asked that his fellow citizens remain “neutral in fact as well as in name.””Then Germany started unrestricted warfare and a telegram was intercepted saying that a few of our states were going to be given to mexico if they helped germany attack the U.S. These are the main reasons why the U.S should join WWI.

America had no intention of entering WWI as President Woodrow Wilson had declared their policy of neutrality in 1914 after the continent of Europe had erupted in conflict. President Wilson aimed to deal with all participants in the war in a fair way that did not show signs of allegiance to either side as he tried to help find a way towards peaceful resolution. Happenings in Europe soon changed Wilson’s view of neutrality. Many American lives had been lost at sea after the sinking of the Lusitania and other ships due to Germany’s unrestricted submarine attacks. Germany refused to alter their methods which forced Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war in 1917.

The United States avoided the war for a multitude of reasons. One of the largest reasons was the fact that the economy was not the strongest. It was feared that with war, the Nation could fall further in debt. Furthermore, we were not in the areas that were being threatened. That is until the attack on Pearl Harbor. This attack came as such a surprise because we did not expect our homeland to be attacked. Additionally, we had been involved in peace talks with Japan during this time.

As Franklin Roosevelt began to have more internationalist views, Americans, under no circumstances, wanted to be drawn into another foreign war. The result was a relative stand still in American foreign policy. Congress pacified isolationists by passing the Neutrality Act of 1935, which was designed to isolate America from the growing Nazi monster. First, it created an embargo on the sale of arms to all belligerent nations and second it stated that American citizens that traveled on belligerent ships were doing so at their own risk. The Act was basically an attempt to prevent the World War I nightmare from happening again. Roosevelt was required to sign the bill though he would have rather it had different provisions regarding the embargo of arms to belligerent nations. He was in favor of creating selective embargoes

The ideals of Imperialism within the United States caused many benefits to our economy and overall prosperity. The ideals of American imperialism came first from the idea of manifest destiny: coined by John O'Sullivan, manifest destiny was the idea that it was the Americans god given right to seize all lands in the American continent. From this fact alone it's very clear that Imperialism in the late 1800’s took many ideas from the concepts of manifest destiny. The general motives for imperialism were economic, military, political, and ideological in nature. These imperialistic ideals affected many nations and settlements like Guam, China, Japan, and Hawaii. The first conflicts of the Spanish American war began in the spanish owned territory of Cuba. Cuba was acquired by the Spanish in the mid 1600’s when spain was going through their own hyper imperialistic phase of taking many of the islands in the Caribbean and areas in the southwest. With this information it's relevant of the fact that imperialism causes conflicts, specifically with other nations. Spain's imperialistic nature drives them to protect themselves from the U.S. during the cuban uprisings.From this information we can conclude that the rebellions in Cuba were great inspirations to yellow journalistic writers which led to our involvement in their affairs with spain that all eventually led to and caused battles in the philippines and Cuba after the Spanish American War.

Also, if the United States was to enter the war, national production would switch from civilian products to war materials (Economic). In the years leading up to the war, America was already in a state of recession and they did not want to spend millions of dollars on this conflict. The following quote states how much the war affected the economy of the United States. "The total cost of World War I to the United States (was) approximately $32 billion, or 52 percent of gross national product at the time" (Economic). If you were the president of the United States, would you want to put out $32 billion dollars when your country is in recession as it is? Second, another reason the United States stayed out of the war for so long was because of their policy of neutrality. On August 19, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson addressed the congress and informed them of the U.S. policy of neutrality (First). In doing this, President Wilson was saying that the United States would stay neutral during the war and not intervene. During the president’s address to congress, he states, “Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality” (First). By saying this, the president is saying that the policy of neutrality is the absolute best choice for the United States in this situation, and any citizens that did not believe in this did not truly care for the country or its people.

At the turn of the century, and after gaining our independence, the United States land mass more than doubled through the use of purchasing, annexing, and war. However, the foreign policy of our government took a predominately isolationist stand. This was a national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries. General Washington shaped these values by upholding and encouraging the use of these principles by warning to avoid alliances in his farewell speech. The reasoning behind these actions was that the Republic was a new nation. We did not have the resources or the means to worry about other

They proceeded to expand into foreign markets not only for territorial advantages but also for the economic benefit. At the turn of the century, Isolationism took a back seat to expansionism, which had now arrived in full force. Throughout 1865 to 1914, the United States foreign policy was primarily expansionism.

During the 1920’s, the economy of America was thriving. The First World War had created new jobs and industries; members of society, such as women, were becoming more profound in society and their roles were becoming redefined. The United States was emerging as the industrial giant of the world. To protect the American consumers from imported goods from Europe and encourage American products, the government of the United States imposed high tariffs. Essentially, the United States no longer desire to maintain ties with Europe. The tariffs imposed by the American government were instrumental in the efforts made by the United States to stay out of European affairs. The concept of “Manifest Destiny” drove the United States into connections

United States' Isolationist Policy During the Inter-War Years After the First World War many people in the United States wanted to turn their backs on European and other world affairs. This has been a policy of isolationism. If this term is used to mean having nothing to do with the outside world, then the USA was clearly not isolationist as it was involved in a number of important international issues. The term can more accurately be used, however, to mean refusing to become involved in international disputes and conflicts.