1. 1920s: Foreign Policy

2. Americans in the 1920s were fearful of being pulled into another war:
Disillusionment with WWI
Europe’s post-war problems
Communism in the Soviet Union
Instead of retreating to isolationism, American politicians actively pursued policies that would advance American interests while still maintaining world peace
Foreign Policy

3. Republican presidents of the 1920s tried to promote peace and scale back defense spending by arranging treaties of disarmament
Washington Conference (1921)- Sec. of State hoped to stabilize the size of the US Navy relative to other nations and resolve conflicts in the Pacific
Representatives at the Washington Conference came up with three treaties intended to relieve post-war tension
Disarmament & Peace

4. Washington Conference Treaty Terms
Five Power Treaty
Nations with five largest navies agreed to maintain specific ratios of their largest warships; Britain and the U.S. agreed not to fortify their possessions in the Pacific
Four Power Treaty
U.S., France, Great Britain, and Japan agreed to respect one another’s territory in the Pacific
Nine Power Treaty
All nine nations at the conference agreed to respect Open Door policies in China
Washington Conference Treaty Terms

5. 1928 treaty signed by Sec. of State Frank Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand
Kellogg-Briand Pact renounced the use of aggressive force to achieve national ends
This international agreement ultimately proved ineffective
Allowed for “defensive” wars
Failed to provide for taking action against violators of the agreement
Kellogg-Briand Pact

6. Republican presidents believed pro-business policies brought prosperity at home and also strengthened U.S. interests abroad
The Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922 increased tariffs on foreign imports by 25%
Protected U.S. businesses only in the short-run
Because of the tariff, European nations were slow to recover from the war, had difficulty repaying war debts to the U.S.
Responded by placing high tariffs on U.S. imports
These obstacles to international trade weakened the world economy and were one reason for the Great Depression
Business & Diplomacy

7. War Debts & Reparations
U.S. emerged from WWI as a creditor nation
Lent nearly $10 billion to the Allies
Presidents Harding and Coolidge insisted France and Great Britain pay back every cent
Allied nations objected:
Claimed they suffered worse losses than the U.S.
Money borrowed was actually spend in the U.S.
High U.S. tariffs made it more difficult to pay back war debts
How were Britain and France to collect the money owed to them by Germany?
Germany was bankrupt, had soaring inflation, and was close to anarchy
War Debts & Reparations

8. Charles Dawes, an American banker and later Coolidge’s vice president, negotiated a compromise accepted by all sides
The Dawes Plan established a cycle of payments from the U.S. to Germany and then from Germany to the Allies, and finally from the Allies back to the U.S.
U.S. would lend huge sums to Germany to rebuild its economy and pay back reparations to France and Great Britain France and Great Britain would use the reparation money to pay back their debts to the U.S.
This cycle of payments helped ease financial problems and was working well until the U.S. stock market crashed in 1929
U.S. was unable to loan any more money to Germany
The Dawes Plan

9. Legacy of U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1920s
Finland was ultimately the only nation to repay its war debts in full to the U.S.
Unpaid debts of other nations left bad feelings on all sides
Many Europeans resented what they saw as American greed
Americans saw this as a reason to retreat back to isolationism in the 1930s while dealing with the Great Depression…
Legacy of U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1920s

10. ?
Why were Americans fearful in the 1920s of being pulled back into another war?
Briefly describe the three treaties agreed upon at the Washington Conference of 1921.
What effect did the Fordney-McCumber Tariff have on post-war relations with European nations?
Why did Allied nations reject to paying back “every cent” of the $10 billion lent to them by the U.S.?
What was the Dawes Plan? Give details.