Foreign Policy- The different foreign policies of US presidents from 1900-1941 fostered extreme political and diplomatic change, which aligned with the ever-swinging pendulum of US politics.
By MaxFoster
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Platt Amendment
This was a constitutional amendment which withdrew American troops from Cuba following the Spanish American war. This was because America wanted to stay out of domestic affairs under Mckinley, but this soon changed. -
Hay Bunau Treaty
This demonstrated Americas aggressive interest in becoming an Empire, as they deceived Columbia, and built a canal through Panama all in the interest of trade. America's big stick diplomacy was at its height in fostering change in the way the nation was run at this time. -
Zimmerman Telegram
This was intercepted by America, and revealed Germany's plans to get Mexico on their side. This is when Wilson's moral diplomacy primarily came into play, as he was scared for the nation, and finally intervened in WW1. -
Wilson's Fourteen Points
This was president Woodrow Wilson's plan for how the world should conduct itself following WW1. It turned the country in a path away from violence which eventually led to isolationist policies in the 1920's, and changed the views of American society. -
US Doesn't Join League of Nations
Even after devising the fourteen point plan, the US chooses not to enter the League of Nations established in Europe. As the nation was turning into an Empire just a few years before this, this demonstrates how the war and the isolationist policies fostered great change in the scheme and plans of the nation. -
Emergency Quota Act
Due to isolationist policies in the 1920s, many Americans were fearful of immigrants from other nations. Because of this, the amount of immigrants that were accepted by the nation was limited and was based on a severely outdated census, largely due to the red scare as well. -
Fordney Mcumber Tariff
This tariff, which was passed due to isolationist policies in America, was drafted for the intention of helping American farmers. Many people went along with it, demonstrating the social change that isolationist policies fostered in American communities in the 1920s. -
Washington Naval Treaties
The Naval Treaties, including the four power, five power, and nine power treaties sought to keep aggressive actions out of the waters, and set quotas on how many naval boats each nation could have. This went along with the anti-war stances of U.S. presidents of the 1920's. -
Dawes Plan
This was America's way of making sure that they were completely re-payed their reparations for World War 1. In order to become a stronger nation, they restructured the time by which Germany had to pay them back, demonstrating that they wanted to avoid conflict due to their isolationist policies. -
Immigration Act of 1924
This was an expansion upon the emergency quota act of 1921, further limiting the amount of immigrants accepted into America. This demonstrates how the change fostered was gradual and convinced more Americans over time. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
This pact, which promised to outlaw war, demonstrates how America's less aggressive policies helped lead the world to trying to find a solution to war. This did not work however, because many nations defied peace. -
Hawley Smoot Tariff
Because America did not desire to trade with other nations, this Tariff was enacted for the purpose of stopping imports. In turn, exports soon stopped and the American economy did as well, demonstrating how foreign policy led to extreme economic change. -
Neutrality Act of 1935
This demonstrated the U.S.' intention of staying out of the most foreign things. With this, they set the precedent that other countries could operate autonomously without U.S. intervention, which allowed certain aggressive nations to thrive. -
Munich Pact
This pact sacrificed Czechoslovakia, and US stayed out of it. This demonstrated how they had changed their policies, as they most likely would have interjected for the sake of a smaller nation in the past. This partly allowed Hitler to grow stronger. -
WWII Begins
One of the most horrific wars of all time began, but due to their own personal interest in recovering their own economy and staying out of the battles. This demonstrated the faltering in FDR's good neighbor policy, as the nation's selfish interests kept them out of the war for quite some time.
