To what extent did US involvement in the First World War represent a turning point in foreign policy?

Arugments that it was a turning point

• Break from traditional isolationism
  → Prior 917, US FP characterised by avoidance of European entanglements (Monroe Doctrine)
  → intervening militarily in this major European conflict = the US abandoned this long-standing principle

• Greater political and military role on the world stage
  → American intervention tipped the balance in favour of the Allies , showing US’s growing military and economic power
  → Presented US as a global actor rather than a regional one
  → raised expectations that the US would play a leading role in future international affairs

• Wilsons internationalist vision
  → 14 Points: radical reimagining of US FP - advocating collective security, self-determination, & open diplomacy
  → Wilson’s commitment to the League of Nations further suggested a permanent move towards multilateral engagement and moral leadership in global affairs

• Precedent for Future interventions
  → US involvement in WWI made later participation in global conflict more acceptable and realistic

Arguments that it was not a complete turning point

• US previously went against their policy of isolationism
  → Spanish American war
  → dollar diplomacy
  → was it really a dramatic change?

• US entered reluctantly and pragmatically
  → US motivated by direct threats to national interest (unrestricted submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram)
  → suggests continuity with previous policy

• Return to isolationism after the war
  → Senate’s rejection of the Treaty of Versailles and refusal to join the League of Nations highlighted the enduring strength of isolationist sentiment within US political culture

Evaluation

• US involvement in the First World War can be seen as a turning point in potential rather than practice

• demonstrated America’s capacity and willingness to intervene on a global scale

• in the immediate aftermath of the war, the US failed to embed this shift, limiting the extent to which WWI constituted a genuine transformation

• partial and temporary turning point in foreign policy

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