This essay will focus on the key changes in US foreign policy from the 1890s to the 1950s. In general, during this period, the US experienced drastic economic and technological development, making it the undisputed hegemonic power in the international arena. Due to its geographical location, the US was not destroyed by the two World Wars happening in Europe, so it had the opportunity to increase its production. However, it is interesting to analyze the case of American foreign policy because the presidential office was hold by the Republican and Democratic parties during different periods. In the 60 years, the US faced the great threat of Soviet communism, which forced it to become more economically open to allies and to become as involved in international politics as possible.
The key economic transition in foreign policy was the change of attitude toward openness to external goods. Initially, many presidential terms were occupied by Republicans who advocated for high protective tariffs.1 Warren G. Harding, in his address to the Home Market Club of Boston in 1920, proclaimed the principle of “not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality”.2 Later, in 1930, Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930, the highest trade tariff in American history.3 However, the radical economic decline showed that ignorance of goods from global markets is a bad strategy. Therefore, Franklin Roosevelt’s administration significantly reduced trade tariffs and eliminated the policy of destructive protectionism.4 Such a transition shows how the US has become more open to the external world during this period.
The emergence of the huge socialist state in Eurasia after the 2017 Bolshevik revolution shaped the future antagonism between Marxist and capitalist projects. The problem is that both American and Soviet ideologies had global aspirations because they proclaimed universal values applicable to all states.5 Before the October revolution, the Russian Empire and the US had decent chances to become powerful allies. Nevertheless, the Soviet regime expanded over time and came to the forefront of international politics after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The emergence of an existential threat to the US well-being is apparent in NSC-68, a secret policy paper on resistance towards communist expansion.6 Thus, American foreign policy during the described period faced a great threat to its survival after the rapid economic growth of the totalitarian USSR.
The actions and rhetoric of American officials have changed from ignorance of international relations as such to complete engagement in pursuing agreements with foreign allies. Before World War II, US political life was entirely focused on domestic affairs, with the exception of trade issues. For example, in his 1936 acceptance speech for the renomination for the presidency, Franklin Roosevelt did not speak about foreign agenda.7 At the same time, this speech was delivered against the background of the aggressive militarization of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and the rapid industrialization of the Stalinist Soviet Union. Jumping forward 15 years, one can see how the US has transformed into a state that determines political events anywhere in the world.8 It means that the US has become the hegemon of global politics.
To conclude, it is important to investigate processes in the international arena by comparing foreign policies over a broad period. This essay traced the changes in American international engagement that happened from the 1990s to the 1950s. The 2017 Russian revolution and the 1922 establishment of the Soviet Union shaped the way how American foreign policy is built. The US realized the radical need to seek allies and promote its influence.
Bibliography
Childress, Micah, Mari Crabtree, Maggie Flamingo, Guy Lancaster, Emily Remus, Colin Reynolds, Kristopher Shields, and Brandy Thomas Wells. “The New Era,” In The American Yawp, edited by Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, 163-191. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2019.
Gaddis, John L. The Cold War: A New History. New York: Penguin, 2005.
Kolko, Gabriel. Confronting the Third World: United States Foreign Policy 1945–1980. New York: Pantheon Books, 1988.
“May 14, 1920: Readjustment.” Miller Center. Web.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Acceptance Speech for the Renomination for the Presidency, Philadelphia, Pa.” The American Presidency Project. Web.
US. National Security Council. NSC 68: United States Objectives and Programs for National Security, 1950.
Footnotes
- Micah Childress et al., “The New Era,” in The American Yawp, eds. Joseph Locke and Ben Wright (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2019), 164.
- “May 14, 1920: Readjustment,” Miller Center, Web.
- Micah Childress et al., “The New Era,” 195.
- Micah Childress et al., 208.
- John L. Gaddis. The Cold War: A New History (New York: Penguin, 2005), 7.
- US, National Security Council. NSC 68: United States Objectives and Programs for National Security, 1950.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Acceptance Speech for the Renomination for the Presidency, Philadelphia, Pa.,” The American Presidency Project, Web.
- 8 Gabriel Kolko, Confronting the Third World: United States Foreign Policy 1945–1980 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1988), ix.