Development of U.S. Foreign Policy 7th Grade Civics Miss Smith *pgs. 608-612 (23.1)

Independence and Isolationism Isolationism- belief that the United States should avoid involvement in all foreign affairs Why did the United States maintain a policy of isolationism in its early years? The country was trying to focus on its own domestic problems, such as its struggling economy

Avoiding Alliances Neutrality Proclamation- statement of U.S. policy saying the country would not take sides with any European country that was at war Isolationism was difficult to follow because the early U.S. was bordered by the British, the Spanish, and the French We had to involve ourselves with foreign countries in order to trade, expand, etc. What was the actual U.S. policy in its early years? The United States was generally isolationist but was willing to enter into conflict with foreign countries in order to protect its interests

The War of 1812 British ships interfered with American trade by capturing ships and sailors Allegedly the British were arming American Indians and having them attack outposts This war made the citizens of the U.S. more patriotic, and helped us gain the respect of European countries The resulting treaty improved U.S./British relations How was Great Britain threatening the United States in the late 1700s and early 1800s? By threatening trade, arming American Indians on U.S. borders, and removing sailors from U.S. ships

The Monroe Doctrine Doctrine- statement or policy that sets forth a way of interacting with other countries Monroe Doctrine- policy declared by U.S. president James Monroe that any European country meddling in the affairs of any country in the Western Hemisphere would be considered an unfriendly act

The United States and Latin America First, Latin America welcomed the U.S. support President Theodore Roosevelt made the Monroe Doctrine stronger in 1904 If Latin American countries could not manage their own affairs, the U.S. would get involved Corollary- statement that follows as a natural or logical result Dollar diplomacy- practice of sending U.S. troops to foreign countries to protect U.S. investments What were the positive and negative effects of the Monroe Doctrine? Positive: the US settled boundary disputes between Venezuela and Great Britain and prevented European countries from forcing Latin American countries to pay their debts. Latin America was appreciative of these efforts. Negative: Latin America began to think the US was becoming oppressive. This temporarily strained relations between the United States and Latin America. What do you think the US learned from its policies and relations with Latin America? Getting involved with the affairs of foreign countries can be helpful and establish good relations, but it can also lead to problems because countries may resent interference

The Good Neighbor Policy The actions of the U.S. in Latin American created bad feelings Latin American leaders thought the U.S. was becoming more oppressive than protective Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the Good Neighbor Policy Opposed armed intervention by the U.S. in Latin American affairs What caused President Roosevelt to establish the Good Neighbor Policy? Relations between the United States and Latin America became strained as a result of the Monroe Doctrine

Neutrality- policy of not favoring one side or another in a conflict Wars End Isolationism Neutrality- policy of not favoring one side or another in a conflict What was the policy of the US when WWI first broke out in Europe? Neutrality, or not favoring one side over another How was the US’ entrance into both WWI and WWII similar? The US was in a neutral position before each war, but it was then drawn into the war after the country was attacked