APUSH Super Saturday

American Foreign

Policy

What is Foreign Policy?

American Foreign Policy

1789-1941

A Brief Overview

Factors that influence Foreign Policy

• Geography

• Military needs/power

• Economic needs/power

• Ethnic/cultural ties

• History

US Foreign Policy (FP) A Brief History

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1798-1941 The Isolationist Era

1942-1945 World War II (start of “Globalism”)

1990-present Post-Cold War

1946-1989 The Cold War

New category after 9/11/2001

An Endless Argument:

• Should American policy be based on our

own national interests (protecting our

independence, borders, security, power

and interests in peace) or should we take

the “high road” and base our policies on

moral principles (human rights,

democracy, freedom) that could serve as a

model for others?

Brief History of U.S. Foreign Policy • Isolationism

A foreign policy built on the principle of avoiding formal military and political alliances with other countries.

• The Isolationist Era

– 1st 150 yrs of US History

• Adherence to guidance of Washington’s Farwell address

• Stressed avoiding political connections overseas

• Pursue commercial trade ties only

– US militarily weak & focused on expansion westward

– Not interested in global role (2 oceans of separation)

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John Quincy Adams: Secretary of State to

James Monroe 1817-1825

• Very successful

• Clear vision of U.S.

policy

• Philosophy: National

interests should

determine foreign

policy

John Quincy Adams: Accomplishments

• Adams-Onis Treaty

gives Florida

(strategic

importance) to US,

eliminated Spain

from contention for

Oregon Territory

• Architect of Monroe

Doctrine

• Adams’ Vision:

expansion of US to the

Pacific, pursuit of good

relations with newly

independent nations in

Latin America.

The Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Stressed America’s special

interests in the Western

Hemisphere and remains, with

some modifications, viable today.

In response to fears that

European powers including Britain

might expand its influence into the

Western Hemisphere.

Monroe Doctrine (1823) • Invoked 1895: early foreign policy involvement outside US (T.

Roosevelt)

– Aim: Protect US interest in Western Hemisphere

– US military intervention escalated beginning in 1898:

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Late 19th Century Imperialism: The USA

Enters the World Stage

• Economic motivations: new markets, new resources

• Ideas about racial supremacy driven by Social

Darwinism

• Manifest Destiny-extended (Frontier through 1890)

• Military considerations (strategic, defensive)

• Alfred Mahan & “The New Navy” Great White

Fleet.

• US Exceptionalism

Early Non-Contiguous Expansion

• Offer to purchase Cuba from Spain in 1848 and 1854

• Alaska 1867

• Pago-Pago, Samoa 1878

• Pearl Harbor 1884

• Hawaii 1898

Spanish American War 1898-1900

• Cuba (for “freedom”?)

• “USS Maine” incident, yellow journalism, jingoism & war fever

• Rough Riders & Theodore Roosevelt

• US acquires Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam

McKinley, T. Roosevelt & Taft

• McKinley: Open Door Policy, Spanish

American War

• Roosevelt: Panama Canal, Roosevelt

Corollary to Monroe Doctrine,

“Walk Softly and Carry a Big Stick”

• Taft: Dollar Diplomacy (private funds to

pursue diplomatic goals)

WWI: From Neutrality to

Versailles

• Traditional neutrality

• Challenges to neutrality:

u-boats, US business loans,

munitions trade, propaganda,

some pro-war advocates (ex: TR)

• Wilson’s 1916 Pledge: To keep us out of

war ( helped him get re-elected)

• Wilson’s 1917 statement to “make the world safe for democracy”.

RMS Lusitania

Wilson’s 14 Points & Versailles Treaty & the “Lessons of War”

• 14 Points largely disregarded

• Fight for Ratification of the Treaty

• Henry Cabot Lodge and American Isolationists prevail-reject League of Nations

• US returns to its “isolationist” position vs. Europe

• “Lessons” of WWI, Red Scare & Peace Movement

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World War I

• US deviated from Isolationism briefly during WWI

WW1 (W. Wilson)=> make world “safe for democracy”

After WW1=> isolationism returns w/vengeance

Senate rejects League of Nations & Versailles treaty

Sets the stage for next global war => ?

American Isolationism

5 Isolationists like Senator Lodge, refused to allow the US to sign the Versailles Treaty.

5 Security treaty with France also rejected by the Senate.

5 July, 1921 Congress passed a resolution declaring WW I officially over!

Sen. Henry Cabot

Lodge, Sr. [R-MA]

Five-Power Treaty (1922)

5 A battleship ratio was achieved through this ratio: US Britain Japan France Italy 5 5 3 1.67 1.67

5 Japan got a guarantee that the US and Britain would stop fortifying their Far East territories [including the Philippines].

5 Loophole no restrictions on small warships

Dawes Plan (1924)

European Debts to the US

Hyper-Inflation in Germany: 1923

Locarno Pact (1925)

5 Guaranteed the common boundaries of Belgium, France, and Germany as specified in the Treaty of Versailles of 1919.

5 Germany signed treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia, agreeing to change the eastern borders of Germany by arbitration only.

Clark Memorandum (1928)

5 Clark pledged that the US would not intervene in Latin American affairs in order to protect US property rights.

5 This was a complete rebuke of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine!

Secretary of State

J. Reuben Clark

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

5 15 nations dedicated to outlawing aggression and war as tools of foreign policy.

5 62 nations signed.

5 Problems no means of actual enforcement and gave Americans a false sense of security.

Japanese Attack Manchuria (1931)

5 League of Nations condemned the action.

5 Japan leaves the League.

5 Hoover wanted no part in an American military action in the Far East.

Ludlow Amendment (1938)

A proposed amendment to the Constitution that called for a national referendum on any declaration of war by Congress.

Introduced several times by Congressman Ludlow.

Never actually passed.

Congressman Louis Ludlow

[D-IN]

Neutrality Acts: 1935, 1936, 1937 When the President proclaimed the existence of a foreign

war, certain restrictions would automatically go into effect:

Prohibited sales of arms to belligerent nations.

Prohibited loans and credits to belligerent nations.

Forbade Americans to travel on vessels of nations at war [in contrast to WW I].

Non-military goods must be purchased on a “cash-and-carry” basis pay when goods are picked up.

Banned involvement in the Spanish Civil War.

This limited the options of the President in a crisis.

America in the 1930s declined to build up its forces!

US Neutrality

Panay Incident (1937)

December 12, 1937.

Japan bombed USS Panay gunboat & three Standard Oil tankers on the Yangtze River.

The river was an international waterway.

Japan was testing US resolve!

Japan apologized, paid US an indemnity, and promised no further attacks.

Most Americans were satisfied with the apology.

Results Japanese interpreted US tone as a license for further aggression against US interests.

1939 Neutrality Act In response to Germany’s invasion of Poland.

FDR persuades Congress in special session to allow the US to aid European democracies in a limited way:

The US could sell weapons to the European democracies on a “cash-and-carry” basis.

FDR was authorized to proclaim danger zones which US ships and citizens could not enter.

Results of the 1939 Neutrality Act:

Aggressors could not send ships to buy US munitions.

The US economy improved as European demands for war goods helped bring the country out of the 1937-38 recession.

America becomes the “Arsenal of Democracy.”

“Lend-Lease” Act (1941) Great Britain.........................$31 billion Soviet Union...........................$11 billion France......................................$ 3 billion China.......................................$1.5 billion Other European.................$500 million South America...................$400 million The amount totaled: $48,601,365,000

A date which will live in infamy!

Pearl Harbor – Dec. 7, 1941

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Globalism Era => The Cold War 1945-1990s

• Globalism:

– US should be prepared to use military force around the globe to protect its political & economic interests

• Following WWII => who emerges as primary thereat to US political & military interest?

• Presidential doctrine formulated as a result?

• Truman Doctrine:

– US would actively oppose communists’ attempts to overthrow or conquer non-communist nations

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Containment A bedrock principle of U.S. foreign policy from mid 1940s to early 1990s that emphasized the

need to contain any further Soviet territorial & communist ideological expansion.

Marshall Plan: US commitment to rebuild Europe

$100 Billion+ appropriated for task in today’s $$$

Soviets initially invited to participate (reaction?)

YOUR VIEW: Which goal should be most important today? Why?

• 1. Preserve independence

• 2. Maintain security for the nation

• 3. Seek prosperity for the nation

• 4. Seek revenge or prestige

• 5. Spread ideals or ideas

Legacy of World War II on American Foreign Policy

• New World Order – U.S. virtually unscathed from war

destruction

– Imperialist powers and Axis belligerents weakened • Decolonization

– Non-Alignment Movement

– Superpowers • United States and Soviet Union

• State of Israel – Involvement in Middle East affairs

• National and International Defense – Reorganization of diplomatic and

military bureaucracy

– United Nations and Security Council

Understanding the Cold War

Superpower nations after WWII

– Soviet Union = communism, police state

– United States = capitalism, democracy

Cold War meant a “war of words” rather than outright conflict

– However, the Cold War includes episodes of “hot” conflicts in various regions around the world.

United Nations General Assembly

– Member nations convened to develop a postwar world to combat global issues while respecting sovereignty and peace.

Security Council – 15-member body to authorize

peacekeeping and promote international security

– Permanent Members

United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, China

Resolutions must be unanimous

Occupation of Japan

• Reform

– Emperor as ceremonial role

– Democratization

– Breakup of conglomerates

– Demilitarization

• Economic Recovery

– Avoid communist incursion

• Peace and Alliance

General Douglas MacArthur and

Emperor Hirohito

Iron Curtain

German Occupation Zones – Democratic Republic of Germany

(East Germany)

– Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)

Eastern Europe – Soviet Union did not withdraw

its troops from occupied Eastern Europe

– Virtually forced communist regimes on Eastern European

Harry S. Truman (D) (1945-1953) Containment Truman Doctrine (Containment)

– Provide economic and military support for nations threatened by communism

– Greece and Turkey

National Security Act (1947)

– Department of Defense

– National Security Council (NSC)

– Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

NSC-68 (1950)

– Justify defense spending and arms buildup as necessary

– Establish alliances with non-communist nations

Truman & Containment (1945-1953) Cold War Alliances

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

– Permanent alliance between U.S., Canada, and Western Europe

– If one member is attacked, all treaty nations will defend

Warsaw Pact

– Soviet Union’s version of NATO

– Eastern European satellite nations

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NATO

Cold War Military Alliances

Warsaw

Pact

Truman & Containment (1945-1953) Berlin Airlift

Soviet Union establishes blockade of West Berlin

U.S. and allies launch aerial campaign from 1948-1949

– Drop food and fuel to citizens

Extremely successful

– Over 200,000 flights

– 47,000 tons daily

Truman & Containment (1945-1953) Marshall Plan

European Recovery Program – $13 billion in grants

– Rebuild and develop European infrastructure

Designed to prevent communist uprisings or infiltration in vulnerable nations

Truman & Containment (1945-1953) Korean Conflict (1950-1953)

North Korean Invasion (1950) – Advised by Soviet Union and China

Truman and United Nations Intervention – General Douglas MacArthur launched

successful counterattack

– Repulsed to 38th parallel by Chinese support troops

Armistice (1953) – 38th parallel: Communist North and

Democratic South

– Truman win/lose Containment worked

“soft on Communism”

Nuclear Arms Race Nuclear weapon

development – United States develops

weapons with higher yields

Soviet Union – Detonated first nuclear

weapon (August 1949)

United Kingdom – Detonated first nuclear

weapon (October 1952)

France – Detonated first nuclear

weapon (February 1960)

China – Detonated first nuclear

weapon (October 1964)

Second Red Scare (1947-1957)

Government Policies

– Loyalty Review Board

– McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

– Investigate Americans for pro-communist beliefs and blacklisting

Senator Joseph McCarthy (R)

– McCarthyism

Espionage

– Alger Hiss

– Klaus Fuchs

– Julia and Ethel Rosenberg

Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) (1953-1961) Brinkmanship

Secretary of State John F. Dulles – Massive Retaliation

Domino Theory

Eisenhower Doctrine

– Extension of Truman Doctrine to Middle East

Covert Operations – Operation Ajax (1953) - Iran covert operation by the United States CIA in

collaborating with the Pahlavi dynasty, to overthrow the elected government

– Operation PBSUCCESS (1954) – Guatemala covert operation carried out by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz and ended the Guatemalan Revolution

Temporary Thaw with Soviet Union

– “Atoms for Peace” (1953)

Hungarian Revolt (1956)

Sputnik (1957)

U-2 Incident (1960)

Eisenhower & Brinkmanship (1953-1961) Soviet Union

Eisenhower & Brinkmanship (1953-1961) Vietnam and Cuba

• Vietnam

– Geneva Conference (1954)

– Ho Chi Minh and North Vietnam

– Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) (1954)

• Cuba

– Fidel Castro and Revolution • Deposes Fulgencio Batista (1959)

– American Embargo

– Cuban Alliance with Soviet Union

Eisenhower & Brinkmanship (1953-1961) Farewell Address (1961)

• “Military-Industrial Complex”

– Cold War and Arms Race implications

– Warning of a military-corporate state

John F. Kennedy (D) (1961-1963) Flexible Response

Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara

– Develop conventional military strategies and policies

– Nuclear weapon escalation as last phase

Alliance for Progress (1961)

– Economic cooperation with Latin America

Peace Corps (1961)

American University Speech (1963)

– Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)

Vietnam (1963)

– Military advisors for South Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem

Kennedy & Flexible Response (1961-1963) Berlin Wall

Berlin Crisis (1961)

Berlin Wall (1961)

– Checkpoint Charlie

“Ich Bin Ein Berliner” (1963)

Premier Nikita Khrushchev and JFK (1961)

Kennedy & Flexible Response (1961-1963) Cuba

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)

Soviet missiles in Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Lyndon B. Johnson (D) (1963-1969) Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin (August 1964)

– Incident - North Vietnamese fired upon U.S. warships

– Resolution - Congress authorized combat troops through Johnson’s urging

Escalation

– Operation Rolling Thunder

– Troops increases from 1964 to 1969

540,000 at most during Vietnam Conflict

Tet Offensive (January 1968)

– Vietcong launch surprise attack

– U.S. military victory but political and popular victory for Minh and North Vietnamese

Johnson & Vietnam (1963-1969) War and Tragedy

Space Race National Aeronautic and Space

Administration (NASA) (1958) – Response to Sputnik and Yuri

Gagarin

– Mercury Program

Alan Shepard

– First American in space (1961)

John Glenn

– First American to orbit Earth (1962)

Kennedy’s Race to the Moon – Apollo Program

– Apollo 11 (1969)

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” - Neil Armstrong

Richard M. Nixon (R) (1969-1974) Detente

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger

Nixon Doctrine

Vietnamization

Visit to China (1972) – Met with Chairman Mao

– Virtual recognition of Communist China

Soviet Union and Leonid Brezhnev – Visit to Moscow (1972)

– Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) (1972)

OPEC’s Oil Embargo (1973)

Nixon & Detente (1969-1974) Vietnamization • Purpose

– Expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese – Reduce American troop involvement – “Peace with honor”

• Cambodia bombings • My Lai Massacre (1968)

– U.S. troops slaughtered women and children • Pentagon Papers (1971)

– Avoid defeat and ensure containment – NOT to help a friend – New York Times v. United States (1971)

• War Powers Act (1973) – 48 hours advance notice – 60 day military authorization, 30 day withdrawal

• Paris Peace Accords (1973)

Gerald R. Ford (R) (1974-1977) Detente

Helsinki Accords-signed the declaration in an attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West. The Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty status.

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) -froze the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers at existing levels

Vietnam-Fall of Saigon (1975)

Jimmy Carter (D) (1977-1981) Human Rights

• Panama Canal Treaty (1977)

• Camp David Accords (1978) – Peace between Egypt and Israel

• SALT II (1979)

• Soviet Union and Afghanistan (1979) – Boycott of Moscow Olympics (1980)

• Iranian Revolution (1979) – Ayatollah Khomeini

– 55 American hostages for 444 days

– Operation Eagle Claw (1980)

Ronald Reagan (R) (1981-1989) Rollback

Reagan Doctrine – Provide support for

resistance movements against communist governments

– “peace through strength” Operation Cyclone (1979-1989)

– Support of Mujahideen in Afghanistan

Lebanon (1983) – Marines barracks bombing

Grenada (1983) – Operation Urgent Fury

Libya Bombings (1986)

Reagan & Rollback (1981-1989) Iran-Contra Affair

• Iran-Iraq War

– U.S. sold weapons to both sides; mostly to Saddam Hussein and Iraq

• Nicaragua

– Sandinistas

– Contras

– Boland Amendment (1985)

• Iran-Contra Affair

– Colonel Oliver North

– Weapons sales to Iran funded Contras against Sandinistas

Reagan & Rollback (1981-1989) Soviet Union and Gorbachev

“Evil Empire”

– Strategic Defense System (SDI) - “Star Wars”

– Brandenburg Gate "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This

Wall."

Mikhail Gorbachev’s Reforms

– Glasnost Openness and freedom of

expression

– Perestroika Gradual capitalist reforms

George H.W. Bush (R) (1989-1993) End of Cold War

Iron Curtain Falls – Germany

Berlin Wall falls (1989) and Reunification (1990) – Eastern Europe

Poland and Solidarity – Soviet Union

Dissolution (1991) START I (1991) and START II (1993)

China and Tiananmen Square (1989)

H.W. Bush & End of Cold War (1989-1993) Panama and Persian Gulf War and Somalia

• Operation Just Cause (1989-1990) – Invasion of Panama

• Operation Desert Storm (1991) – Iraq invaded Kuwait

– Coalition victory over Iraq

• Operation Restore Hope (1992-1993) – Somalia

– Continued through Clinton administration

Bill Clinton (D) (1993-2001) Foreign Policy

• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (1993)

• Bosnia (1995-1999)

• Globalization – World Trade Organization

(WTO)

– World Bank

– International Monetary Fund (IMF)

– Group of 8 (G-8) Foreign Policy Shifter, 1994 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

George W. Bush (R) (2001-2009) War on Terror

• 9/11

• Bush Doctrine

– Afghanistan

– Iraq

• Homeland Security

• USA PATRIOT Act

Obama and Today’s World (2009-Present) • Death of Osama bin Laden

• Iraq – Ended occupation

• Afghanistan – Taliban resurgence

• Arab Spring – Egypt

– Libya

– Syria

• Ukraine – Crimea

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Unilateralism:

The tendency of the US to act alone in foreign affairs without consulting other

countries.

Multilateralism:

Three or more Nations cooperate together to solve some common foreign policy problem

Unilateralism vs. Multilateralism

Particular approach selected will depend on the major

FP problems the US will face during the 21st Century

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The United States will face complex problems in:

• Nuclear proliferation (North Korea & Iran)

• Military interventions (The Middle East & exiting Iraq)

• Economic policy (Trade imbalance w/China & ME Oil prices)

• Globalization (Global interdependence & domestic impact)

• “Inter-mestic” issues (Foreign Policy impact at home)

• Human rights (American ideals vs. US National interests)

• Homeland Security (Balancing security with liberties)

• The unknown threat (Future “9/11s”?)

Potential Problems in US Foreign Policy for 21st Century