United States non-interventionism: Difference between revisions

Due to the start of the [[Cold War]] in the [[aftermath of World War II]] and the rise of the United States as a global [[superpower]], its traditional foreign policy turned towards [[American imperialism]] with diplomatic and military interventionism, engaging or somehow intervening in virtually any [[List of wars involving the United States|overseas armed conflict]] ever since, and concluding multiple bilateral and regional military alliances, chiefly the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]]. Non-interventionist policies have had continued support from some Americans even aftersince World War II, mostly regarding specific armed conflicts like thein [[VietnamKorean War|VietnamKorea]] and, [[KoreanVietnam War|KoreanVietnam]] wars or the more recent, [[Syrian Civil War|Syria]], and [[Russo-Ukrainian War|Ukraine]].

The strongest opposition to American entry into the League of Nations came from the Senate where a tight-knit faction known as the [[Irreconcilables]], led by [[William Borah]] and [[George W. Norris|George Norris]], had great objections regarding the clauses of the treaty which compelled America to come to the defense of other nations. Senator [[William Borah]], of Idaho, declared that it would "purchase peace at the cost of any part of our [American] independence."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.historycentral.com/documents/Borah.html | title=William e. Borah, Speech on the League of Nations &#91;November 19, 1919&#93; }}</ref> Senator [[Hiram Johnson]], of California, denounced the League of Nations as a "gigantic war trust."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/06/03/archives/johnson-assails-league-of-nations-californian-calls-it-a-gigantic.html | title=JOHNSON ASSAILS LEAGUE OF NATIONS; Californian Calls It a "Gigantic War Trust" in Speech to Senate. SEES AMERICA SWALLOWED Declares the Monroe Doctrine is Left to the Interpretation of Foreign Nations. FEARS VOTES OF ENGLAND Senator Attacks the Shantung "Secret Treaty" and Plan toProtect France. Sees No War Preventive. Danies Monroe Doctrine Safeguard. Asserts League is Deceptive | newspaper=The New York Times | date=3 June 1919 }}</ref> While some of the sentiment was grounded in adherence to Constitutional principles, most of the sentiment bore a reassertion of [[Nativism (politics)|nativist]] and inward-looking policy.<ref>Selig Adler, ''The Isolationist Impulse: Its Twentieth Century Reaction'' (New York: The Free Press, 1957), 201</ref>

American society in the interwar period was characterized by a division in values between urban and rural areas as Americans in urban areas tended to be liberal while those in rural areas tended to be conservative.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=46}} Adding to the division was that Americans in rural areas tended to be Protestant of British and/or German descent while those in urban areas were often Catholic or Jewish and came from eastern or southern Europe.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=46-47}} The rural-urban divide was seen most dramatically in the intense debate about Prohibition as urban Americans tended to be "wets" while rural Americans tended to be "drys".{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=47}} The way that American society was fractured along an urban-rural divide served to distract public attention from foreign affairs.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=47}} In the 1920s, the State Department had about 600 employees in total with an annual budget of $2 million, which reflected a lack of interest on the part of Congress in foreign affairs.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=47-48}} The State Department was very much an elitist body that recruited mostly from graduates of the select "Ivy League" universities, which reflected the idea that foreign policy was the concern of elites.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=48}} Likewise, the feeling that the United States was taking in far too many immigrants from eastern and southern Europe-who were widely depicted in the American media as criminals and revolutionaries-led to laws restricting immigration from Europe.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=46-47}} In turn, the anti-immigrant mood increased isolationism as the picture of Europe as a place overflowing with dangerous criminals and equally dangerous Communist revolutionaries led to the corresponding conclusion that the United States should have little as possible to do with nations whose peoples were depicted as disagreeable and unpleasant.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=46-47}} The same way that Congress had virtually banned all non-white immigration to the United States likewise led an indifference about the fate of non-white nations such as China and Ethiopia. The debate about Prohibition in the 1920s also encouraged nativist and isolationist feelings as "drys" often engaged in American exceptionalism by arguing that the United States was a uniquely morally pure nation that had banned alcohol, unlike the rest of the world which remained "wet" and was depicted as mired in corruption and decadence.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=46}}

The United States acted independently to become a major player in the 1920s in international negotiations and treaties. The Harding Administration achieved naval disarmament among the major powers through the [[Washington Naval Conference]] in 1921–22. The [[Dawes Plan]] refinanced war debts and helped restore prosperity to Germany. In August 1928, fifteen nations signed the [[Kellogg–Briand Pact]], brainchild of American Secretary of State [[Frank Kellogg]] and French Foreign Minister [[Aristide Briand]].<ref>Adler, 213</ref> This pact that was said to have outlawed war and showed the United States commitment to international peace had its semantic flaws.<ref>Adler, 217</ref> For example, it did not hold the United States to the conditions of any existing treaties, it still allowed European nations the right to self-defense, and it stated that if one nation broke the Pact, it would be up to the other signatories to enforce it.<ref>Adler, 214–215</ref> Briand had sent a message on 6 April 1927 to mark the 10th anniversary of the American declaration of war on Germany in 1917 proposing that France and the United States sign a non-aggression pact.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=48}} Briand was attempting to create a Franco-American alliance to counter Germany as Briand envisioned turning the negotiations for the non-aggression pact into an some sort of an alliance.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=48}} Kellogg had no interest in an alliance with France, and countered with a vague offer for a treaty to ban all war.{{sfn|Sevareid|1978|p=48}} The Kellogg–Briand Pact was more of a sign of good intentions on the part of the US, rather than a legitimate step towards the sustenance of world peace.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}{{POV statement|date=February 2023}}

After [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine]], the Republican Party has been divided on Ukraine's aid, believing that it is not in the interests of the United States to get involved in a "[[proxy war]]" against Russia.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stanley |first=Tim |date=2023-06-15 |title=Taiwan matters more to US Republicans than Ukraine – here's why |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/06/15/taiwan-ukraine-conflict-china-russia-republican-democrat/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> FormerSoon to be 47th President [[Donald Trump]] has called on the United States to push for [[Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|peace talks]] rather than continue to support Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trump says he can end war in 24 hours; Zelenskyy says Biden could in 5 minutes: Ukraine live updates |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/ukraine/2023/07/09/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates/70395471007/ |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

====DeadDeceased====

* [[Mike Gravel]] (1930–2021), former US senator from Alaska (1969–1981), Entered the [[Pentagon Papers]] into Public Record in 1971, Democratic Presidential Candidate in 2008 and 2020. Founder of the [[The Gravel Institute|Gravel Institute]] think tank<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ayesh |first=Orion Rummler, Rashaan |date=2019-05-05 |title=Mike Gravel: Everything you need to know about the 2020 candidate |url=https://www.axios.com/2019/05/04/mike-gravel-everything-you-need-know-about-2020-candidate |access-date=2022-11-28 |website=Axios |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About – Gravel Institute |url=https://gravelinstitute.org/about/ |access-date=2022-11-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

====AliveLiving====

* {{cite book |last1=Sevareid |first1=Eric |title=Between the Wars |date=1978 |publisher=Berkley Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-425-03971003971-47}}

* {{cite book |last=Smith, |first=Glenn H. ''|title=Langer of North Dakota: A Study in Isolationism, 1940–1959''|date=1979 (1979).|ISBN=978-0-8240-3639-3}} Senator [[William Langer]]