Isolationism
Alex Muller
Mr. Miller
APUSH
3 March 2014
The End of Isolationism Before World War II, the United States had a policy of isolationism, where they did not want to interfere in the affairs of any other country. Instead, Americans chose to work on domestic problems like the Great Depression, while foreign countries in Europe and Asia started to give rise to fascist dictators. Members of the America First Committee, like Charles Lindbergh (refer to doc. F) wanted to keep the US from intervening in these countries. However, public opinion started to change more and more as problems in Europe and Asia rose. Starting in the 1930s, the United States was forced into rejecting isolationism and heading to war instead due to economic, political, and social reasons. The US was in a depression and businesses saw a market in war supplies. As dictatorships rose in Europe, Roosevelt felt the need to intervene. Public opinion started to sway as Americans learned of innocents affected by the war. Before World War II, the United States had been in a depression. Not only that, but their isolationist policies contributed to a higher tariff rate and less international trade for the US. The United States also felt frustrated because European nations were unable to pay back their war debts from World War I (refer to doc. B). As the 1930s progressed, however, the US started to open back up trade with foreign countries. In 1934 the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act was passed. This act opened up international trade by substantially lowering tariff rates. America agreed that they would cut tariff rates by as much as one half if the other country would do the same. This act fixed the Hawley-Smoot tariff, which gave the US extremely high tariff rates. Though this act increases foreign trade, the US still passed some isolationist economic policies like the 1934 Johnson Debt Default Act. This act prohibited any country that still owed money to the United States to borrow more. Also issued was
Mr. Miller
APUSH
3 March 2014
The End of Isolationism Before World War II, the United States had a policy of isolationism, where they did not want to interfere in the affairs of any other country. Instead, Americans chose to work on domestic problems like the Great Depression, while foreign countries in Europe and Asia started to give rise to fascist dictators. Members of the America First Committee, like Charles Lindbergh (refer to doc. F) wanted to keep the US from intervening in these countries. However, public opinion started to change more and more as problems in Europe and Asia rose. Starting in the 1930s, the United States was forced into rejecting isolationism and heading to war instead due to economic, political, and social reasons. The US was in a depression and businesses saw a market in war supplies. As dictatorships rose in Europe, Roosevelt felt the need to intervene. Public opinion started to sway as Americans learned of innocents affected by the war. Before World War II, the United States had been in a depression. Not only that, but their isolationist policies contributed to a higher tariff rate and less international trade for the US. The United States also felt frustrated because European nations were unable to pay back their war debts from World War I (refer to doc. B). As the 1930s progressed, however, the US started to open back up trade with foreign countries. In 1934 the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act was passed. This act opened up international trade by substantially lowering tariff rates. America agreed that they would cut tariff rates by as much as one half if the other country would do the same. This act fixed the Hawley-Smoot tariff, which gave the US extremely high tariff rates. Though this act increases foreign trade, the US still passed some isolationist economic policies like the 1934 Johnson Debt Default Act. This act prohibited any country that still owed money to the United States to borrow more. Also issued was