Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period
Shared/Collective Interests
1
Isolationism
Internationalism
2 3
U.S. Interests
Place the following foreign policies/events on the grid above:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Fourteen Points (1918)
Reservationists/Irreconcilables (1919-20)
“Return to Normalcy” (1920)
Washington Naval Conference (1921-22)
Immigration Quotas (est. 1921/1924)
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Dawes Plan (1924)
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
Debt Moratorium (1930)
Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)
Hoover-Stimson Doctrine (1932)
11. Good Neighbor Policy (1933) – a policy of consultation and nonintervention regarding Latin America; originating
under Hoover, many isolationists supported the removal of US troops from Latin America; FDR felt that gaining the
cooperation of Latin American states was essential if European aggressors ever attacked; participation in Pan-American
Conferences (e.g., Montevideo) resulted in a major improvement of U.S. image in Latin America
12. Recognition of USSR (1933) – the U.S. formally recognized the Soviet Union (under communist rule), establishing
diplomatic and trade relations; was seen as necessary to gain Stalin’s support in containing Germany and Japan;
anticommunists and religious conservatives strongly opposed this
13. Reciprocal Trade Agreements (est. 1934) – the U.S. pledged to lower tariffs on imports as long as partner nations
reciprocated; supported by internationalists as possible cure to economic woes; opposed by isolationists, who wanted the
US to craft its own economic policies; in the long run, this led to an increase in foreign trade and the U.S. image
14. Nye Committee (1934-36) – led by Congressman Gerald Nye, these investigations sought to confirm suspicions that the
U.S. entry into WWI was provoked by bankers and industrial manufacturers who expected to profit from mobilization;
similar conclusions profoundly strengthened the neutrality movement; historians have disputed the legitimacy of the
committee’s conclusions
15. Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937) - prohibited loans, arms sales, and transport of passengers to “belligerent nations”;
initially, were meant to keep U.S. out of war as it focused on economic recovery; as war loomed in Europe, isolationists
asserted U.S. need to heed the Monroe Doctrine
16. FDR’s “Quarantine Speech” (1937) – FDR proposed that Axis nations should be confronted with economic policies
(rather than direct, military action); FDR was trying to offer an alternative to isolationism, though the generally negative
response reflected a deepening public preference for non-intervention
17. Neutrality Act of 1939 (aka, “Cash and Carry”) – allowed (mainly western) Allies to buy arms and transport home;
the “cash” requirement was meant to avoid loans/debts (a la WWI), while the “carry” provision meant the purchaser
must transport the products themselves (U.S. vessels could avoid U-boats); this was a major stimulus to U.S. industrial
production; it constituted unofficial aid to Allies/questionable neutrality (didn’t sell to Axis)
18. America First Committee (est. 1940) – using Charles Lindbergh as a spokesperson, this organization lobbied to keep
the U.S. out of war; was very popular in the midwestern states and among conservative newspapers
Others (to be continued)
“Arsenal of Democracy” Speech (1940)
Destroyers-for-Bases Deal (1940)
“Four Freedoms” Speech (1941)
Lend-Lease Plan (1941)
Atlantic Charter (1941)
Declaration of War (1941)