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'''American foreign policy''' covers the foreign relations and diplomacy of the United States since 1775. Responsibility is held by the president, the Secretary of State and the [[U.S. Department of State]], the [[National Security Council]], and other agencies such as the departments of Defense and the Treasury.  

'''American foreign policy''' covers the foreign relations and diplomacy of the United States since 1775. Responsibility is held by the president, the Secretary of State and the [[U.S. Department of State]], the [[National Security Council]], and other agencies such as the departments of Defense and the Treasury.  

==American Revolution to 1800==  

==American Revolution to 1789==  

 

American foreign affairs from independence in 1776 to the new Constitution in 1789 were handled under the [[Articles of Confederation]] directly by Congress until the creation of a department of foreign affairs and the office of secretary for foreign affairs on January 10, 1781. The cabinet-level '''Department of Foreign Affairs''' was created on July 27, 1789, by the First Congress. Because of the need to provide for the administration of "home affairs," and the reluctance of Congress to add a fourth department, Congress in September 1789, changed the name to the '''Department of State''' and changed the title of secretary for foreign affairs to secretary of state.  

American foreign affairs from independence in 1776 to the new Constitution in 1789 were handled under the [[Articles of Confederation]] directly by Congress until the creation of a department of foreign affairs and the office of secretary for foreign affairs on January 10, 1781. The cabinet-level '''Department of Foreign Affairs''' was created on July 27, 1789, by the First Congress. Because of the need to provide for the administration of "home affairs," and the reluctance of Congress to add a fourth department, Congress in September 1789, changed the name to the '''Department of State''' and changed the title of secretary for foreign affairs to secretary of state.  

==Early National Era: 1800-1860==

==Early National Era: 1789-1860==

 

==Civil War==

==Civil War==

==Late 19th Century==  

==Late 19th Century==  

==1898-1945==  

==1898-1945==  

===1933-39: Isolation===  

===1933-39: Isolation===  

The rejection of the [[League of Nations]] treaty in 1919 marked the dominance of [[isolationism]] from world organizations in American foreign policy. Despite Roosevelt's Wilsonian background, he and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Cordell Hull]] acted with great care not to provoke isolationist sentiment. Roosevelt's "bombshell" message to the world monetary conference in 1933 effectively ended any major efforts by the world powers to collaborate on ending the worldwide depression, and allowed Roosevelt a free hand in economic policy. The main foreign policy initiative of Roosevelt's first term was the [[Good Neighbor Policy]], which was a re-evaluation of U.S. policy towards [[Latin America]]. Since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. American forces were withdrawn from [[Haiti]], and new treaties with [[Cuba, history|Cuba]] and [[Panama]] ended their status as protectorates. In December 1933, Roosevelt signed the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, renouncing the right to intervene unilaterally in the affairs of Latin American countries. The rise to power of [[Adolf Hitler]] in Germany in 1933 aroused fears of a new world war. In 1935, at the time of Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, Congress passed the Neutrality Act, applying a mandatory ban on the shipment of arms from the U.S. to any combatant nation. Roosevelt opposed the act on the grounds that it penalized the victims of aggression such as Ethiopia, and that it restricted his right as President to assist friendly countries, but public support was overwhelming so he signed it. In 1937, Congress passed an even more stringent act, but when the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, public opinion favored China, and Roosevelt found various ways to assist that nation.  

The rejection of the [[League of Nations]] treaty in 1919 marked the dominance of [[isolationism]] from world organizations in American foreign policy. Despite Roosevelt's Wilsonian background, he and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Cordell Hull]] acted with great care not to provoke isolationist sentiment. Roosevelt's "bombshell" message to the world monetary conference in 1933 effectively ended any major efforts by the world powers to collaborate on ending the worldwide depression, and allowed Roosevelt a free hand in economic policy. The main foreign policy initiative of Roosevelt's first term was the [[Good Neighbor Policy]], which was a re-evaluation of U.S. policy towards [[Latin America]]. Since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. American forces were withdrawn from [[Haiti]], and new treaties with [[Cuba, history|Cuba]] and [[Panama]] ended their status as protectorates. In December 1933, Roosevelt signed the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, renouncing the right to intervene unilaterally in the affairs of Latin American countries. The rise to power of [[Adolf Hitler]] in Germany in 1933 aroused fears of a new world war. In 1935, at the time of Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, Congress passed the Neutrality Act, applying a mandatory ban on the shipment of arms from the U.S. to any combatant nation. Roosevelt opposed the act on the grounds that it penalized the victims of aggression such as Ethiopia, and that it restricted his right as President to assist friendly countries, but public support was overwhelming so he signed it. In 1937, Congress passed an even more stringent act, but when the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, public opinion favored China, and Roosevelt found various ways to assist that nation.  

==Coming of World War II==

==Coming of World War II==

In October 1937, Roosevelt gave the "Quarantine Speech" aiming to contain aggressor nations, that is, Japan, Germany and Italy. He proposed that warmongering states be treated as a public health menace and be "quarantined." See [http://www.vlib.us/amdocs/texts/fdrquarn.html for text]Meanwhile he secretly stepped up a program to build long range submarines that could blockade Japan. In the summer of 1938, sensing war would come, Roosevelt began preparations for hemispheric defense and arms production; he asked for far more airplanes than the Air Corps had envisioned.  

In October 1937, Roosevelt gave the "Quarantine Speech" aiming to contain aggressor nations, that is, Japan, Germany and Italy. He proposed that warmongering states be treated as a public health menace and be "quarantined." See [http://www.vlib.us/amdocs/texts/fdrquarn.html for text]Meanwhile he secretly stepped up a program to build long range submarines that could blockade Japan. In the summer of 1938, sensing war would come, Roosevelt began preparations for hemispheric defense and arms production; he asked for far more airplanes than the Air Corps had envisioned.  

FDR successfully urged Congress to enact the first peacetime draft in American history in 1940 (it was renewed in 1941 by one vote in Congress). Roosevelt was supported by the [[Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies]], and opposed by the isolationist [[America First Committee]]. Roosevelt used his personal charisma to build support for intervention. America should be the "Arsenal of Democracy," he told his fireside audience. In August, Roosevelt's "Destroyers for Bases Agreement" traded 50 old American destroyers to Britain in exchange for base rights in the British Atlantic islands. This was a precursor of the March 1941 "[[Lend-Lease]]" agreement which began to direct massive military and economic aid to Britain, the China and the Soviet Union. After reelection in 1940, with much of Europe under German domination, Roosevelt cautiously prepared for war by extending the Atlantic neutrality zone, pushing the Lend-Lease Act through Congress, and drawing plans for an enlarged army. Roosevelt used the German submarine attacks on the American destroyer "Greer" on 4 September 1941 and the U-boat torpedoing of the destroyer "Kearny" on 16-17 October 1941 as pretexts to extend naval warfare in the Atlantic without congressional approval or the repeal of neutrality legislation. Through the fall of 1941, Roosevelt continued to plan and assemble the necessary military force to combat Hitler, although he never terminated diplomatic relations with Germany and never intended to appeal to Congress for a declaration of war.  

FDR successfully urged Congress to enact the first peacetime draft in American history in 1940 (it was renewed in 1941 by one vote in Congress). Roosevelt was supported by the [[Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies]], and opposed by the isolationist [[America First Committee]]. Roosevelt used his personal charisma to build support for intervention. America should be the "Arsenal of Democracy," he told his fireside audience. In August, Roosevelt's "Destroyers for Bases Agreement" traded 50 old American destroyers to Britain in exchange for base rights in the British Atlantic islands. This was a precursor of the March 1941 "[[Lend-Lease]]" agreement which began to direct massive military and economic aid to Britain, the China and the Soviet Union. After reelection in 1940, with much of Europe under German domination, Roosevelt cautiously prepared for war by extending the Atlantic neutrality zone, pushing the Lend-Lease Act through Congress, and drawing plans for an enlarged army. Roosevelt used the German submarine attacks on the American destroyer "Greer" on 4 September 1941 and the U-boat torpedoing of the destroyer "Kearny" on 16-17 October 1941 as pretexts to extend naval warfare in the Atlantic without congressional approval or the repeal of neutrality legislation. Through the fall of 1941, Roosevelt continued to plan and assemble the necessary military force to combat Hitler, although he never terminated diplomatic relations with Germany and never intended to appeal to Congress for a declaration of war.  

===World War II===

===World War II===

While there may have been miscalculations, Roosevelt did not provoke the attack on Pearl Harbor as a means of getting into war with Germany. Roosevelt's third term was dominated by World War II, in Europe and in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]]. Roosevelt slowly began re-armament in 1938 since he was facing strong isolationist sentiment from leaders like Senators [[William Borah]] and [[Robert Taft]] who supported re-armament. By 1940, it was in high gear, with bipartisan support, partly to expand and re-equip the Army and Navy and partly to become the "Arsenal of Democracy" supporting Britain, France, China and (after June 1941), the Soviet Union. As Roosevelt took a firmer stance against the [[Axis Powers]], American isolationists—including [[Charles Lindbergh]] and [[America First]]—attacked the President as an irresponsible warmonger. Unfazed by these criticisms and confident in the wisdom of his foreign policy initiatives, FDR continued his twin policies of preparedness and aid to the Allied coalition. On December 29, 1940, he delivered his Arsenal of Democracy fireside chat, in which he made the case for involvement directly to the American people, and a week later he delivered his famous [[Four Freedoms]] speech in January 1941, further laying out the case for an American defense of basic rights throughout the world. Germany and the Soviet Union had been allied in 1939-41, so American Communists demanded neutrality and no aid to Britain; they opposed FDR's reelection in 1940. Increasingly the conservative Republican business and professional community in the Northeast rallied behind Britain, and supported Roosevelt's efforts to aid the British war effort. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Roosevelt extended Lend-Lease to the Soviets.  

While there may have been miscalculations, Roosevelt did not provoke the attack on Pearl Harbor as a means of getting into war with Germany. Roosevelt's third term was dominated by World War II, in Europe and in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]]. Roosevelt slowly began re-armament in 1938 since he was facing strong isolationist sentiment from leaders like Senators [[William Borah]] and [[Robert Taft]] who supported re-armament. By 1940, it was in high gear, with bipartisan support, partly to expand and re-equip the Army and Navy and partly to become the "Arsenal of Democracy" supporting Britain, France, China and (after June 1941), the Soviet Union. As Roosevelt took a firmer stance against the [[Axis Powers]], American isolationists—including [[Charles Lindbergh]] and [[America First]]—attacked the President as an irresponsible warmonger. Unfazed by these criticisms and confident in the wisdom of his foreign policy initiatives, FDR continued his twin policies of preparedness and aid to the Allied coalition. On December 29, 1940, he delivered his Arsenal of Democracy fireside chat, in which he made the case for involvement directly to the American people, and a week later he delivered his famous [[Four Freedoms]] speech in January 1941, further laying out the case for an American defense of basic rights throughout the world. Germany and the Soviet Union had been allied in 1939-41, so American Communists demanded neutrality and no aid to Britain; they opposed FDR's reelection in 1940. Increasingly the conservative Republican business and professional community in the Northeast rallied behind Britain, and supported Roosevelt's efforts to aid the British war effort. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Roosevelt extended Lend-Lease to the Soviets.  

==1945-1969: Cold War==  

==1945-1969: Cold War==  

*see [[Cold War]]  

*see [[Cold War]]  

* [[Korean War]]  

* [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], 1962

* [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]  

* [[Vietnam War]]  

* [[Containment]]  

* [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], 1962

* [[Vietnam War]], 1965-73

* [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]

===Truman: 1945-53===  

===Truman: 1945-53===  

[[Harry S. Truman]] had no knowledge or interest in foreign policy before becoming president in April 1945, and depended on the State Department for foreign policy advice. By 1946 he had two valuable aides Clark Clifford and George Elsey. Truman shifted from FDR's détente to [[containment]] as soon as [[Dean Acheson]] convinced him the Soviet Union was a long-term threat to American interests. They viewed communism as a secular, millennial religion that informed the Kremlin's worldview and actions and made it the chief threat to American security, liberty, and world peace. They rejected the moral equivalence of democratic and Communist governments and concluded that until the regime in Moscow changed only American and Allied strength could curb the Soviets. Following Acheson's advice, Truman in 1947 announced the [[Truman Doctrine]] of containing Communist expansion by furnishing military and economic American aid to Europe and Asia, and particularly to Greece and Turkey. He followed up with the [[Marshall Plan]], which was enacted into law as the European Recovery Program (ERP) and pumped $12.4 into the European economy, forcing the breakdown of old barriers and encouraging modernization along American lines. On May 14, 1948, Truman announced recognition of the new state of [[Israel]], making the United States the first major power to do so. After his surprise reelection in 1948, Truman brought in [[Dean Acheson]] as Secretary of State, and promoted the Point Four program of aid to underdeveloped countries. The policy of containing Communism was operationalized by the creation, in 1949, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ([[NATO]]) to oversee the integration of the military forces of its member nations in Western Europe and North America. A further step was taken in 1951 with the establishment of the Mutual Security Agency to coordinate U.S. economic, technical and military aid abroad.  

[[Harry S. Truman]] had no knowledge or interest in foreign policy before becoming president in April 1945, and depended on the State Department for foreign policy advice. By 1946 he had two valuable aides Clark Clifford and George Elsey. Truman shifted from FDR's détente to [[containment]] as soon as [[Dean Acheson]] convinced him the Soviet Union was a long-term threat to American interests. They viewed communism as a secular, millennial religion that informed the Kremlin's worldview and actions and made it the chief threat to American security, liberty, and world peace. They rejected the moral equivalence of democratic and Communist governments and concluded that until the regime in Moscow changed only American and Allied strength could curb the Soviets. Following Acheson's advice, Truman in 1947 announced the [[Truman Doctrine]] of containing Communist expansion by furnishing military and economic American aid to Europe and Asia, and particularly to Greece and Turkey. He followed up with the [[Marshall Plan]], which was enacted into law as the European Recovery Program (ERP) and pumped $12.4 into the European economy, forcing the breakdown of old barriers and encouraging modernization along American lines. On May 14, 1948, Truman announced recognition of the new state of [[Israel]], making the United States the first major power to do so. After his surprise reelection in 1948, Truman brought in [[Dean Acheson]] as Secretary of State, and promoted the Point Four program of aid to underdeveloped countries. The policy of containing Communism was operationalized by the creation, in 1949, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ([[NATO]]) to oversee the integration of the military forces of its member nations in Western Europe and North America. A further step was taken in 1951 with the establishment of the Mutual Security Agency to coordinate U.S. economic, technical and military aid abroad.  

===Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson: 1953-1968===

===Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson: 1953-1968===

==1969 to 1989==  

==1969 to 1989==  

===Nixon and Kissinger: 1969-77===  

===Nixon and Kissinger: 1969-77===  

Kissinger's first priority in office was the achievement of détente with the Soviet Union and China, and playing them off against each other. Recognizing and accepting the Soviet Union as a superpower, Nixon and Kissinger sought both to maintain U.S. military strength and to inaugurate peaceful economic, cultural, and scientific exchanges to engage the Soviet Union in the international system. This policy flourished under Kissinger's direction and led in 1972 to the signing of the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I). At the same time they successfully engineered a rapprochement with Communist [[China]], leading to the astonishing news in 1971 that Nixon would visit China, which he and Kissinger did in 1972. Margaret Macmillan, ''Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World'' (2008) Aware that China and the Soviet Union were at sword's point, with rival claims to be the true Communists, Nixon and Kissinger used the "Soviet card" to win over Chinba by playing up the Soviet threat to the Chinese as a way of promoting closer relations with China. He even hinted at a US-China alliance to oppose the Soviets, and, with Nixon's trips to Moscow, hinted that China had better come to terms lest the US form an alliance with Moscow. The tactics worked, resulting in a friendly relationship with both Beijing and Moscow. As part of the détente, both powers reduced or ended their aid to North Vietnam, thus allowing a settlement of the [[Vietnam War]].Evelyn Goh, "Nixon, Kissinger, and the 'Soviet Card' in the U.S. Opening to China, 1971-1974." ''Diplomatic History'' 2005 29(3): 475-502.  

Kissinger's first priority in office was the achievement of détente with the Soviet Union and China, and playing them off against each other. Recognizing and accepting the Soviet Union as a superpower, Nixon and Kissinger sought both to maintain U.S. military strength and to inaugurate peaceful economic, cultural, and scientific exchanges to engage the Soviet Union in the international system. This policy flourished under Kissinger's direction and led in 1972 to the signing of the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I). At the same time they successfully engineered a rapprochement with Communist [[China]], leading to the astonishing news in 1971 that Nixon would visit China, which he and Kissinger did in 1972. Margaret Macmillan, ''Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World'' (2008) Aware that China and the Soviet Union were at sword's point, with rival claims to be the true Communists, Nixon and Kissinger used the "Soviet card" to win over Chinba by playing up the Soviet threat to the Chinese as a way of promoting closer relations with China. He even hinted at a US-China alliance to oppose the Soviets, and, with Nixon's trips to Moscow, hinted that China had better come to terms lest the US form an alliance with Moscow. The tactics worked, resulting in a friendly relationship with both Beijing and Moscow. As part of the détente, both powers reduced or ended their aid to North Vietnam, thus allowing a settlement of the [[Vietnam War]].Evelyn Goh, "Nixon, Kissinger, and the 'Soviet Card' in the U.S. Opening to China, 1971-1974." ''Diplomatic History'' 2005 29(3): 475-502.  

Nixon resigned in 1974 under the threat of impeachment and was succeeded by [[Gerald R. Ford]], who kept Nixon's policies. The US was not involved in 1975 when North Vietnam invaded and defeated South Vietnam, except to rescue Americans and some Vietnamese supporters. Over a million Vietnamese refugees, and many Hmong from Cambodia, eventually came to the U.S. In 1976 Ford was challenged by [[Ronald Reagan]] for the GOP nomination. Ford won, but the détente policy was the focus of Reagan's attacks, as the GOP moved to the right. [[Jimmy Carter]] continued the détente policy until the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979 destroyed that policy and reopened the [[Cold War]] at a more intense level.  

Nixon resigned in 1974 under the threat of impeachment and was succeeded by [[Gerald R. Ford]], who kept Nixon's policies. The US was not involved in 1975 when North Vietnam invaded and defeated South Vietnam, except to rescue Americans and some Vietnamese supporters. Over a million Vietnamese refugees, and many Hmong from Cambodia, eventually came to the U.S. In 1976 Ford was challenged by [[Ronald Reagan]] for the GOP nomination. Ford won, but the détente policy was the focus of Reagan's attacks, as the GOP moved to the right. [[Jimmy Carter]] continued the détente policy until the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979 destroyed that policy and reopened the [[Cold War]] at a more intense level.  

===Jimmy Carter 1977-81===  

===Jimmy Carter 1977-81===  

===Ronald Reagan and George G.W. Bush 1981-93===  

===Ronald Reagan and George G.W. Bush 1981-93===  

Reagan defeated Carter in 1980 by stressing the failures of both foreign and domestic policy, warning America had become weak at home and abroad. Rejecting detente he called for rollback of the decrepit Soviet Empire, whose only strength was in missile power but which was falling apart in terms of economics, politics and society.  

Reagan defeated Carter in 1980 by stressing the failures of both foreign and domestic policy, warning America had become weak at home and abroad. Rejecting detente he called for rollback of the decrepit Soviet Empire, whose only strength was in missile power but which was falling apart in terms of economics, politics and society.  

====Ending the Cold War====  

====Ending the Cold War====  

==1989 to present==  

==1989 to present==  

===Clinton 1993-2001===  

===Clinton 1993-2001===  

===Bush: 2001-2008===  

===Bush: 2001-2008===  

* [[9-11 Attack]]  

* [[9-11 Attack]]  

* [[Iraq War]], 2003+  

* [[Iraq War]], 2003+  

 

===Obama: 2009- ===

===See also leaders===  

==Bibliography==  

==Bibliography==