American Foreign Policy: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Essay Example

The Court fight and the failure to break a series of sit-down strikes have seriously ended his middle-class support," Datlek (1979, p.147). Isolationists thought that alliances could be unsettling, and destabilizing.

In President Hoover's opinion, they were 'provocative actions' that have 'hitherto always cracked up in war itself'. The horrors of the First World War, Versailles treaty, fear of getting drawn into another war, Great Depression, scare of losing uninhibited decision making were a few causes of isolationism. Isolation had many more reasons and excuses: "Belief that the depression had been caused by W.W.I Belief that Europe was unworthy of our support Pacifism-people who hated and abhorred war Belief that arms manufacturers, bankers had caused war Belief that W.W.I had been a tragic mistake for the U.

S "http://www.sagehistory.net/roosevelts/wwii/1920WWII1940.htmFDR initially was more engrossed with the domestic problems and his refusal to peg the value of the US dollar wrecked the International Economic Conference of 1933, to be held in London, which was partially encouraged by Hoover. FDR, instead, maintained Good Neighbour Policy and Pan Americanism and in Buenos Aires Conference, he demonstrated that America was uninterested in domineering weaker nations and he continued economic nationalism and cooperation both.

Still, there existed a certain stalemate between an internationalist president and an isolationist Congress. He recognized USSR, increased foreign trade hoping to alleviate depression, and his Neutrality Act of 1937 famously hurt Spain and made the US a 'silent accomplice of Hitler'. His Quarantine speech in Chicago was intentional; but Americans were too wrapped up in isolationism and events like Panay, the plight of China, and even the armament need of Britain and France did not move the Congress, despite President's efforts, though he eventually succeeded in persuading Congress to send armaments to Britain, which is called America's 'first line of defense'.