Soviet American Relations 1929 - Essay Example

No incident in examining a history of relations between these two powers is independent of other events that occurred prior to or during any such dialogue. To understand the context in which it is written demands an understanding of the milieu of the era. In order to facilitate this, I will first examine briefly the period prior to the Litvinov/Stimson communications from both the American and the Soviet perspective. At the culmination of World War One the United States engulfed itself in what is frequently termed as "Isolationism".

The term infers that foreign policy dictated that the United States not concern itself with outside influence and concentrate instead on building a solid national base. This idea of isolation although embraced by many simply was not the case, nor was it the United State's intention during the 1920's. After World War One many American's felt that, although the Allies were victorious, the reasons for American involvement in the war were politically motivated rather than in the United State's best interest.

More so, the loss of life suffered during the war intensified this feeling. Although not implicitly stated, many, at the time, felt that the United State's involvement was, in effect, to help the British government save face and retain their position as a global power. Although the United States did in many respects remove itself from direct intervention in the world relations, it was far from isolating itself. Much focus was placed on internal strengthening and development within the country, but at the same time America was still a key figure in world diplomacy and politics.

The greatest contention between the United States and the Soviet Union at this time was the fall of the Russian government and the establishment of a Marxist's doctrine in what became the Soviet Union. After World War One Germany and the Soviet Union were virtually 'social outcasts' within the world political scene. Dialogue between the Soviet Union and the United States at the conclusion of the war was further strained by the Soviet Union's realization that American prisoners of war held by the Soviet government could be used as bargaining leverage to gain the United States' legitimization of the new Soviet government.

Having previously negotiated for exchange of prisoners with the Soviet Union, the United States was unwilling to relent to these pressures when the Soviet government withdrew from the agreement and steadfastly refused to acknowledge its world legitimacy. Instead, the United States turned to Britain and France to assist in the negotiation for release of all three countries prisoners of war. The United States although politically refusing to recognize the Soviet Union as a sovereign nation - did so after World War One as it built, developed and strengthened economic ties.

The national agenda of the era was to fabricate a strong economic base within the United States, but foreign investment including investment in the Soviet Union was prevalent by American industry during this period. During such times, as steadfastly as the United States refused to acknowledge the new communistic creation of the Soviet Union,