...105 June 2, 2013 Americans at first tried to stay out of the war, but this became less feasible as Hitler’s aggression continued. In the United States, the Great Depression had provoked a strong drift toward isolationism. The trend was already manifested in the American rejection of League of Nations following World War I, but during the depression many Americans remained preoccupied by domestic affairs. For more reasons why many Americans resisted involvement in European affairs. Their memories of the First world war made many Americans leery to get involved in European affairs. In 1914, Americans watched as a dizzying series of alliances led one nation into battle with another, without any apparent justification. The brutality of the first World War further made Americans shy away from any involvement in European affairs (Shultz, 2012) The Great Depression was a second reason why Americans favored isolationism before the second World war. The Great Depression deepened this isolationism most Americans were simply to focused on improving life in the United States to advocate getting involved in diplomatic disputes abroad. Respect for Hitler was the third reason why American favored isolationism, Adolf Hitler who had plucked Germany from its own economic depression in record time. By the late 1930s, American icons like the aviator Charles Lindbergh argued that the Nazis were unstoppable under the leadership of Hitler and that the United...
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... was the beginning of an unprecedented geopolitical scenario in modern times, namely the existence of a lone superpower nation which easily dominated the other countries of the world in terms of military strength and international economic and political influence. With this never-before-seen position of power in the modern, globalized world came the heightened importance of American foreign policy decisions, and the world waited to see how the US would react to being thrust abruptly into this role of the unipole of world power. The first test of US foreign policy as the sole superpower would actually come before the official dissolution of the USSR (though it had been in steep economic decline for some time), when Saddam Hussein lead the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. US President George H. W. Bush would place this conflict into perspective for the countries now looking to the US for leadership in his address to a joint session of Congress and the nation on September 11, 1990, and it was then that he most famously claimed that the US would strive to establish and protect the concept of a New World Order (NWO): “We stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a new world order -- can emerge: a new era -- freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in...
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...the rebels a more even playing field to win the fight in their Civil War. These actions can be related to the Lend-Lease Act of 1941. (Knickmeyer, 2014) The Lend-Lease Act was passed March 1941, it was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. The act permitted the United States to support its war interests without getting directly involved. (Foner, 1991) In 2013, there was a Sarin gas attack on the civilians of Syria. Sarin is a deadly gas and at least 355 people died. The U.S. has been keeping a watchful eye on the civil war in Syria but did not assist or get involved until 2014. (Reals, 2013) This can be related to the Isolationism, which is when the U.S. was reluctant to get involved in European alliances after WWII. (Isolationism, n.d.) Osama Bin Laden was killed on May 1, 2011, Adolph Hitler killed himself on May 1st 65 years ago when he knew he was going to be captured. When the people of the U.S. heard that Bin Laden was killed, people were yelling screaming; waving flags and meeting at Ground Zero. When Hitler was gone, the U.S. showed the same sort of Patriotism and converged to the streets and Americans were united. WWII and the events of September 11, 2001 changed our lives forever, but also showed the world that the U.S. protects its people no matter...
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...period of unparalleled economic hardships, many Americans advocated the US government to become semi- isolationist and pay more attention to its citizens. For a period of time, the government agreed, enacting various neutrality acts to ensure that the US wouldn’t interfere with international problems, but after various aggressions by the Japanese and Germans the US slowly became less isolationist. We broke our own neutrality acts with the “cash and carry” system and the Lend-Lease Act, and even took an offensive against the Japanese by freezing all of their assets in the US. It wasn’t until the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, that the US fully came out of its semi-isolationist state and officially declared war on Japan, Italy, and Germany. As expected the war forced the US to maintain an interventionist mentality, but even after the war the US continued to interfere in international affairs. With the heightened fear of communism among the nation the US claimed to be the international protector of democracy, aiding Western Europe and parts of Asia to fight the ideology. The US only became the fully international interventionist state idealized by Luce, however, after being forced to...
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...Nayef Al-Rodhan once said, “Divisive leaders emphasize our differences, but speak little of the dangers of isolationism.” Connections suffer immensely when isolation moves in. Sometimes we pay so much attention to each other’s differences that we forget about overcoming them. By focusing on what makes us different and not on what makes us the same, we allow isolationism to take over. Therefore, the connections we have are greatly influenced by the efforts we make in understanding ourselves and others. This idea is present in three resources I discovered in Sophomore English, including the majority opinion “Texas vs. Johnson”, the newspaper editorial “American Flag Stands for Tolerance”, and the TED talk “The Danger of a Single Story”. When...
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...ideals of how to utilize its foreign policy, but what was the process that helped shaped United States foreign policy? How did other countries establish their foreign policy and what were the goals and outcomes? Ever since the United States became a country its foreign policy was to remain neutral to world conflicts and was largely based off of the idea of isolationism, but in December 1941 the United States was bombed by Japan and entered the war as a full fledged member of the allies. Unlike in world war 1 when the united states played a minor role in the war and only claiming to be an associate of the allied forces. During World War 2 the United States played large roles with fighting fronts on both the Atlantic sides and the Pacific sides of the war. After the end of world war 2 in 1945 the United States decided to abandon isolationism and become an imperialist country and the United States never looked back since. One major addition to foreign policy that the United States implamented was the signing of the Atlantic Charter. On 1 January 1942, 26 governments signed the Atlantic Charter which played a central role in the protection of common...
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...world, for these reasons it’s considered one of the major events taking place since the Second World War. The Soviet fall besides various internal factors has been facilitated by US and Western counter parts to attempt to contain further Communism. The Truman doctrine was a US strategy to halt expansion of Soviet Union in the course of the Cold War. In this doctrine the then US President Harry S. Truman vowed to contain the spread of communism in the world particularly in Europe. This doctrine encouraged the US to back every country with both economic and military assistance if the Soviet Union or communism threats its stability. The aim of this paper is to review The Truman Doctrine was one of the significant historical approaches deployed between 1945 and 2008 that has had both negative and positive outcomes for the world. Historical Background In order to analyze the Truman doctrine and its different elements, it is necessary to consider the complex historical context in which it originated, and one that explains how a president such as Harry Truman, laid the foundations seated on the principles of the emerging American political realism after the Second World War (Bostdorff, 2008). The creation of international organizations like the UN itself and its Security Council, had brought hope back to the role, they were going to have to condition the behavior of the great powers towards peace, in a way that the League of Nations, in the thirties failed to achieve. However, this hope...
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...The Cold War Whodunit? Different views regarding the post war world order caused the Soviet Union and their leader, Joseph Stalin, to have conflicts with their allies (United State and Great Britain) after World War II. During the Second World War, the Allies had the common objective of defeating Nazi Germany and their ruthless leader, Adolf Hitler. Once the war was over, their difference in ideology led to Cold War which lasted much longer than World War II and it had a large impact on the economic, political, and cultural landscape of the world. The debate on who is responsible for the start of the Cold War has been debated for many years and is very complex. The Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill plays a key role for future actions taken by the United States. The introduction of the Truman Doctrine is an example of a reactionary measure undertaken by the Allies that may not have occurred if Churchill did not give his famous speech. This essay will argue that the actions taken by the Western Allies between 1945 and 1948, albeit aggressive, were merely reactive, precautionary and preventative measures in response to the aggressive actions already taken by the Soviet Union. The outbreak of the Cold War can be tied to the aggressive nature of the Soviet’s actions behind the “Iron Curtain”, not the reactive, aggressive measures taken by the remaining Western Allies. The Iron Curtain Speech given by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a warning to the United...
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...gone from expansionist to isolationism to defending democracy. With the responsibility of defending democratic rights for those who cannot defend themselves, the United States in my opinion has taken on the role of “policeman of the world.” This role became more evident with the use of U.S. military force in international incidents like U.S. intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and U.S. involvement in the 2011 Yemeni Civil War protesting the leadership of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Despite the United States hailed, as a defender of democracy by some, their actions are usually not selfless. In both situations, protecting United States interests was a major factor. Both Libya and Yemen are hot beds for terrorist activity by radical groups like al-Qaeda. The United States monitors the activities of these groups in an effort to intercept information to thwart acts of terrorism, particularly against Americans. Leadership in these vulnerable countries is of great interest to the United States because some regimes are sympathetic to these militant groups. A lack of clear leadership in these countries also poses a threat to U.S. interests because a lapse in leadership can lead to militant groups seizing control. References Blackhall, S., & Blundell, N. (2011). Global Police In The Visual Enyclopedia of Us History and Culures (pp. 134-144)...
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...Q) Use the sources below and your own knowledge to explain how far you would agree with the statement that the cold war developed in the years 1945 to 1953 primarily due to the role of individual leaders? The term ‘Cold War’ refers to the period of struggle and conflict between the USA and USSR between 1945-1991. Each of the Superpowers saw the other as a threat to its continued survival and adopted strategies to preserve their positions. The two Superpowers never went to war directly with each other in this period, but became involved in conflicts such as the Korean War where each side stood behind the other nations involved. This statement suggests that the ever-increasing hostility between the USA and USSR during this time period was due to actions from Truman and Stalin respectively. I agree with this statement to a certain extent, however, there are certain flaws with this statement, in that it was not wholly the fault of the two leaders as individuals but more due to certain events and the manor of poor cooperation with which the dealt with them. Two factors in favor of this statement are the beliefs and attitudes of Stalin and Truman. Stalin’s fear of the USA led him to believe that the USSR needed a barrier of territory between Soviet territory and the USA’s allies in Western Europe. Stalin feared another anti-communist invasion of Russia from Europe as had occurred in 1918 and 1941. Stalin wanted to create a barrier against the West, a barrier made up of communist...
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...The 1920s in theory was a time that revamp the atmosphere of America. Hollywood was a buzzing, the radio brought the country together with fast delivery of news, and the jazz age took over the scene. But with the good came the bad. The bad has been overlooked in history due to people's love of the idea of the twenties. One of the most known and loved pieces of literature that takes place during the 1920’s The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows both the good and the bad in relation to the twenties. Although 1920’s have been associated with prosperity and luxurious it was truly has a time of hardship and pain because it was a time of social unrest, mobster and bootlegger ran the cities, and money became such a promate role it start to...
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...cemented the outbreak of the Cold War was Stalin imposing the Berlin Blockade, taking direct action towards weakening the Americans’ position. One may see that Stalin’s blockade resulted in the official creation of two separate German states, one of the most significant events of the Cold War. On the other hand, revisionists point out that the USSR was taking defensive measures to protect itself from anything that could have caused as much damage as the Second World War, while the Americans, who were superior economically, adopted provocative policies. They challenged the patience of the Russians by hiding crucial events from them, while a range of public speeches and declarations of the need for US intervention in Europe were seen as hostile by the Russians. The US actively had a role in the battle against communism by developing the policy of containment. The Americans also had a fault in provoking and heightening the Berlin Blockade, hence initiating the division of Germany. Nonetheless, the middle ground...
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...War I was that they were being attacked, despite their attempted neutrality in the ordeal. Another possibility could have been America's Anti-German sentiment, or even their historical ties to Britain. Nonetheless, whether it was any of the subsequent reasons or not, the U.S. was enticed to join and fight out the war. 1. Pre-War Long before the mere idea of large-scale wars spanning throughout the world, George Washington said this: "...'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent Alliances, with any portion of the foreign World..." With this, Washington was declaring that America might have wanted to run on a policy of isolationism, because it would stop them from ending up fighting in a war such as the First World War. Americans managed to keep this mindset for around one hundred years. However, nearing the end of this century of isolationism, a feeling of Jingoism came out in some Americans. At this point in time, Americans had expanded "from sea to shining sea" and even a little more. For many, this vast amount of land was enough. On the other hand, Jingoists wanted more. They may have even been willing to fight for more land, and the current war that was taking place in Europe was an ideal place for them to start. 2. U.S. attacked despite neutrality Before the United States entered the war, they traded with the Allies. Although they tried to trade with the Triple Alliance, Britain blockades prevented it. Whilst this may have only partially influenced German...
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...magnet for dreamers and misfits, people who think the unsullied enormity of the last frontier will patch all of the holes in their lives” (4). What are the holes people are trying to fill? Why do we believe the frontier will save us? What appeal does the “wild” still have on modern American society? Research and discuss the allure that high-risk activities hold for young men of a certain mindset. Research outstanding examples of popular risky social behaviors, thrill sports and other self-destructive trends among youth in America. Christopher McCandless has a complicated relationship with his father. Many of McCandless’ personal decisions are directly or indirectly affected by this relationship and he even appears to have found a replacement “father figure” for himself in the form of Westerberg (as described in Chapter 3 of the novel). Research and discuss the highly charged bond that often exists between fathers and sons. Please research the origins of the purpose behind the “Burning Man” spectacle and its continued popularity with non-conformists. From the Author’s Note onward, Christopher McCandless is depicted as a privileged youth with many good qualities but at least one major character flaw: hubris. McCandless, in fact, fits the role of the archetypical Tragic Hero and his story is told in a way that echoes the plot structure of the Aristotelian model for ancient Greek Tragedy. Research and discuss the literary genre of ancient Greek...
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...AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT RELATED TO COMMON PROBLEMS OF CHINA, JAPAN AND NORTH KOREA This paper identifies some common issues that East Asian countries are struggling to deal with and how they are unique in some aspects and similar in others to problems that Western nations face. This paper focuses on the countries of China, Japan and North Korea and look primarily at the issues that arise from these nations’ struggle to shape their national identity on the world stage as well as how these nations are dealing with the ever increasing force of globalization. This paper also looks at the role that the United States plays in shaping or dealing with these issues, as well as how an American citizen might play a role in perpetuating or resolving these dilemmas. Through this work it should be made more clear what problems East Asian nations share and reveal that they must deal with them in a way that is both uniquely domestic but also influenced by factors that arise from the United States and other International actors. Common Problems in China, Japan and North Korea and American Involvement There are two major dilemmas that are addressed in this paper that are shared by these three nations. The first can be identified as an issue of International Sovereignty where these countries all have a vested interest in exerting their will in the international arena but all have limited ways of making this happen. Associated with the issue of establishing their sovereignty ...
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