U.S. Foreign Policy: Key Events and Concepts from Washington to Today

George Washington's Farewell Address

Washington warned against permanent foreign alliances, political parties, and sectionalism. He advocated for neutrality in foreign affairs and national unity.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century belief that American expansion across North America was justified and inevitable. It was used to justify westward expansion and territorial acquisition.

Louisiana Purchase

The U.S. bought approximately 827,000 square miles from France for $15 million, doubling the nation's size. Negotiated by Jefferson, it included land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains.

Indian Removal

The forced relocation of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the Southeast to territories west of the Mississippi River, most notably the Trail of Tears (1838-1839) affecting the Cherokee Nation.

Mexican-American War

Disputes over Texas annexation and the Rio Grande border. The U.S. victory resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, gaining California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

World War I/U.S. Entry into War

Unrestricted German submarine warfare, the Zimmermann Telegram (Germany's proposal to Mexico), and economic ties to the Allies led President Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war.

Woodrow Wilson

His Fourteen Points outlined principles for peace after WWI, including self-determination and the creation of the League of Nations. He advocated for 'making the world safe for democracy.'

League of Nations

The first international organization for maintaining world peace, created after WWI. The U.S. Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, so the U.S. never joined despite Wilson's advocacy.

NYE Committee/Isolationism/America First Committee

The Nye Committee investigated WWI profiteering, leading to neutrality acts. The America First Committee opposed U.S. intervention in WWII, reflecting widespread isolationist sentiment before Pearl Harbor.

Totalitarianism/Dictators

Nazi Germany (Hitler), Fascist Italy (Mussolini), Soviet Union (Stalin), and Imperial Japan (Tojo). These regimes exercised complete control over society and eliminated political opposition.

World War II

December 7, 1941, after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. fought a two-front war against the Axis Powers in Europe and the Pacific, ending with victory in 1945.

Harry Truman

What were Truman's major foreign policy decisions?

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan formed the main Axis alliance. They fought against the Allied Powers (U.S., Britain, Soviet Union, and others).

Appeasement

Britain and France's policy of making concessions to Hitler to avoid war, exemplified by the Munich Agreement (1938). This policy failed to prevent WWII and is considered a diplomatic failure. PREWW2

Neutrality Acts

Laws passed to keep the U.S. out of foreign conflicts by prohibiting arms sales and loans to warring nations. These were gradually relaxed as WWII approached.

The Cold War

The ideological, political, and military tension between the U.S. (capitalism/democracy) and Soviet Union (communism) without direct warfare. It involved proxy wars, nuclear arms race, and global competition.

NATO

Western military alliance led by the U.S. established in 1949.*** North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Warsaw Pact

Soviet-led Eastern European alliance established in 1955.

Truman Doctrine!!!!!!

U.S. policy to provide political, military, and economic assistance to nations threatened by Soviet expansion or communism. First applied to Greece and Turkey, it became the foundation of containment policy.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program providing over $13 billion in economic aid to rebuild Western European economies after WWII. It aimed to prevent the spread of communism by promoting economic stability.

The Korean War

Conflict between North Korea (supported by China and USSR) and South Korea (supported by U.S. and UN forces). It ended in stalemate with an armistice, leaving Korea divided at the 38th parallel.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

13-day confrontation when the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade; Khrushchev agreed to remove missiles in exchange for U.S. removing missiles from Turkey. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war.

The Vietnam War

U.S. military involvement (1955-1975) to prevent communist North Vietnam from conquering South Vietnam. Despite massive U.S. commitment, North Vietnam won in 1975. The war divided American society and resulted in 58,000 U.S. deaths.

Space Race

Cold War competition between the U.S. and USSR for space exploration supremacy. The USSR launched Sputnik (1957) and sent the first human to space; the U.S. landed on the moon (1969).

Evil Empire

Reagan's term used in his speech to describe the Soviet Union, highlighting its oppressive regime and expansionist policies.

Containment

U.S. Cold War strategy to prevent the spread of communism without direct military conflict with the USSR. Developed by George Kennan, it guided U.S. foreign policy from 1947 through the Cold War.

Ronald Reagan

Reagan's foreign policy approach was 'Peace through strength' - military buildup including SDI, confrontational rhetoric against USSR, support for anti-communist movements worldwide, and eventual negotiations with Gorbachev leading to Cold War's end.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

Cold War doctrine that full-scale nuclear war would destroy both the attacker and defender, creating a deterrent to nuclear war. Both superpowers maintained large nuclear arsenals to ensure this 'balance of terror.'

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

'Star Wars' program proposed in 1983 to develop space-based missile defense systems. Though never fully implemented, it pressured the USSR economically and played a role in ending the Cold War.

Brinkmanship

Cold War strategy of pushing dangerous situations to the brink of war to force the opponent to back down. Associated with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in the 1950s.

Détente

Period of relaxed tensions between the U.S. and USSR during the 1970s under Nixon and Ford. Included SALT treaties, increased trade, and diplomatic cooperation, though it ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979).

Glasnost????

Soviet policy of 'openness' introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s, allowing greater freedom of expression, press freedom, and transparency in government. It contributed to the USSR's collapse.

Contras

U.S.-backed rebel groups fighting Nicaragua's socialist Sandinista government in the 1980s. Reagan administration's covert support led to the Iran-Contra scandal when funds were illegally diverted to them.

9/11/Osama Bin Laden

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, killed nearly 3,000 people. It led to the War on Terror, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and major changes in U.S. security and foreign policy.

U.S. and Ukraine Today

The U.S. provides military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion. This support includes weapons systems, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic backing, while avoiding direct military confrontation with Russia.

******U.S. Foreign Policy Through the Years

From Washington's neutrality (1790s) → Manifest Destiny/expansion (1800s) → imperialism (late 1800s) → isolationism (1920s-30s) → interventionism in WWII → Cold War containment → post-Cold War unipolar power → War on Terror → current multipolar challenges.

Theodore Roosevelt

Big Stick Diplomacy-Asserting U.S. power through a strong military and a willingness to intervene in other nations' affairs.

William Howard Taft

Dollar Diplomacy- A foreign policy that sought to expand American influence through economic investment and trade rather than military intervention.

Woodrow wilson

President during World War I, known for promoting the League of Nations and advocating for self-determination and democracy in foreign policy.

Moral diplomacy : Promoting American democratic and ethical values as the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.