-
Washington's Farewell Address
Washington's Farewell Address set the political precedent for a foreign policy intent on maintaining American isolationism. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine set a political precedent for limited American intervention into the affairs of Latin America when threatened by European intervention. -
Spanish American War
The Spanish-American War led to questions of actual intent of intervention, was the country to be led out of isolationism for its own economic interests or for the humanitarian interests of others? -
Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine
The Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine amended the policy to allow the US to become an international policeman for Latin America. In the age of Progressive racism, moralist values, and imperialism, expansion of US power on the world stage was a political issue with a popular, yet not overwhelming, support. -
Dollar Diplomacy
As an extension/alteration of the Roosevelt corollary, Taft's policy of Dollar Diplomacy sought to encourage American private investment in Latin America to solidify political bonds. This policy ran at odds with high foreign tariffs and political isolationism. -
Moral Diplomacy
Wilson's policy of Moral Diplomacy consisted of support for ideologically aligned states in the attempt to spur democracy in Latin America. However, the high-minded policy was not always aligned with Wilson's actions, such as the deployment of Marines in the Caribbean. -
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The sinking of the RMS Lusitania was an international crisis in the midst of the First World War, as it killed American citizens during the period of neutrality. The implications of American involvement eventually lead to the Sussex pledge from Imperial Germany, demonstrating the restrained political will of the neutral US in the war. -
Interception of the Zimmerman Telegram
The interception of the Zimmerman Telegram created an international crisis as the German government extended an offer of alliance for reclaiming territory to Mexico. Wilson, and the nation, faced the options posed by such brazen attempts at aggression, namely to go to war or not. As such, this event catalyzed the process of choosing the former option. -
Wilson's Fourteen Points
Wilson's Fourteen Points followed his policy of Moral Diplomacy in the sense that he sought to fulfill his promise to "make the world safe for democracy." These points embodied his Progressive stance on foreign policy, as he sought to form and have the US join the League of Nations. -
Lodge's Reservations
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge stood firmly opposed to the implications of the Treaty of Versailles, specifically the entangling clauses of the League of Nations mandates. With electoral success in 1918, Lodge and his fellow senators were able to kill the Treaty in the Senate, partially through the Fourteen Reservations seeking to mock Wilson and his Fourteen Points. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles came to be at the pinnacle of popular opinion for the American interventionist policies. However, as a result of the First World War, political and popular opinion swung decidedly in favor of isolationist policies. -
Return to Normalcy
Harding adopted the policy of a "Return to Normalcy" in his successful electoral campaign in 1920. Harding rode the wave of popular opposition to Wilson's interventionism as he advocated for a traditional policy of isolationism. -
Washington Naval Conference
The Washington Naval Conference set forth several treaties including: the Five Powers Treaty, the Four Power Treaty, and the Nine Powers Treaty. Although there was action without international precedent, such as the limitation on certain warships for certain countries, the conference also upheld longstanding foreign policy, such as the embodiment of the Open Door policy in the Nine Powers Treaty. -
Immigration Act of 1924
The Immigration Act of 1924 severely curtailed immigration within the framework of the quota system, further disparaging immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. Such measures reflect the growing anti-immigrant, nativist public opinion that spurred the grow of the Ku Klux Klan domestically. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
The Kellogg-Briand Pact outlawed aggressive war through international decree. Although it was multilateral, the pact actually was an isolationist goal in order to avoid the foreign wars altogether. -
Good Neighbor Policy
The Good Neighbor Policy, started under Hoover and expanded by FDR, sought to dispel the tensions and the power imbalances of Progressive foreign policies through greater efforts of non-intervention. This policy was politically favored in the period of long-standing political isolationism and demand for a domestically-focused economic policy in response to the Depression. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
The Hawley-Smoot Tariff imposed an extremely high tariff that sought to encourage domestic trade at the expense of foreign trade, as an economic extension of political isolationism of the conservative 1920s. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor galvanized the American public in support of American intervention in WWII.
