19th Century Isolationism

Immanuel Joy
HIST 359
2/10/2016

In 1796, George Washington wrote out the newly formed script for American foreign policy. He cautioned the United States to stay clear of entangling alliances with the hawkish European powers. In 1823, this isolationist tendency was reaffirmed with the Monroe Doctrine which warned the Europeans against establishing any new colonies or encroaching on the interests of any sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere. In kind, the United States would stay out of the old world. But this seemingly complete disregard for world politics did not mean that the United States had no territorial ambitions of its own. On the contrary, for the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. continued to expand. With the Louisiana
By the turn of the century, isolationist sentiment was gradually giving way to a more aggressive, nationalistic undercurrent. After the Spanish-American War in 1898, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft pushed for a more assertive American foreign policy. They called for the U.S. to take its place among the powers and take action abroad for its own national interests. Many Americans agreed that the U.S. should be more involved. Yet, many still believed that isolationism was the right course and that the two vast oceans on either side would shield them from embroiling conflicts. Upon entering office in 1913, President Woodrow Wilson remarked, “It would be an irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs.” He could not have been more wrong.
The first 20 years of the 20th century saw the U.S. pursue an aggressive and dominant foreign policy especially in regard to the Western Hemisphere. President Theodore Roosevelt, oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal through the northern end of the Republic of Colombia. Upon encountering resistance from the
This giant jenga game had maintained the balance of power ensuring that no one nation became too strong or too weak. Progressives like Wilson had a different God-given mission in mind. They wanted to eliminate hostility, disarm nations and spread their democratic ideals around the world. In the first few days of his presidency, Wilson faced a foreign policy crisis. During the Mexican Revolution, General Victoriano Huerta had forcibly seized power and imprisoned the Mexican president. Wilson quickly declared Huerta’s government illegitimate and called for free elections. Mexican Constitutionalists quickly raised an army and defeated Huerta in several battles but were unable to capture Mexico City. Wilson ordered a naval blockade of the port of Veracruz and after three months, Huerta surrendered and the American forces withdrew. This Mexican intervention was a test case for the so-called Wilsonian ideals. American foreign policy would not be one of isolationism but rather, “Moral Diplomacy.” At its core was the idea that the people of every nation would have the right to “self-determination” or the ability to freely elect their own leaders and government. Shortly after the start of World War I, Wilson declared American neutrality and impartiality. He tried to mediate a peace between the warring powers calling for