Essay on United States Foreign Policy Following World War II

Though the United States was the military power of the world prior to World War II, its foreign policy was one of detachment. The government was determined not to get involved in other countries affairs barring unusual circumstances. A World War provided big enough means to become involved, as many Americans became enraged with the military ambitions of Japan and Germany. Following World War II, Soviet leader Stalin initially agreed to a democratic government in Poland and to free elections in other Soviet-occupied countries, but he ignored his own promises. This caused the United States and Britain to ignore Stalin’s wish of taking a hard line with Germany in settlement talks. The Soviets formed the Socialist Unity party in East†¦show more content†¦The Soviet Union was not the only nation in the postwar era to enact a communist platform. Mao-Tse-Tung and the communists drove Chiang-Kai-Shek’s Nationalists to Taiwan from mainland China. The United Nations did not admit this government until October 25, 1971 and the United States did not recognize the People’s Republic of China until 1979. Korea was temporarily divided into a Soviet occupied North Korea and an American occupied South Korea. These two countries supported two different Korean governments and when the secretary of state Dean Acheson declared that Korea was not inside â€Å"the United States’ sphere of interest† (Stranges, 195), North Korea attacked South Korea believing that the United States would not defend the democratic government of the south. The United Nations came to the backing of the south, which prompted China to send troops because they did not want the United States and South Korea to dominate the Korean peninsula. The war stalled at the 38th parallel in early 1951 and a 151 mile wide demilitarized zone currently divides the two sides. Another incident with China occurred in 1954 when China began bombing Quemoy and Matsu, two small rocky islands 10 miles off the coast of China. The United States became involved by signing the Formosa Resolution in January of 1955. The resolution guaranteed to protect the twoShow MoreRelatedAs Senator Arthur Vandenberg Famously Stated In 1947, â€Å"We1579 Words   |  7 Pagesthe water’s edge.† Vandenberg’s declaration suggests that domestic policy differences should not affect how the United States conducts itself abroad. This notion is especially relevant in understanding the discrepancies – or lack thereof – between foreign and domestic policy in the modern United States. Since its founding, the United States has prided itself on its exceptionalism, with many of its leaders endorsing a â€Å"foreign policy driven more by domestic values than by the vagaries of internationalRead MoreThe United States Trade Policy1741 Words   |  7 PagesSinc e the early 1930s, tariff reduction has been the prevalent theme of United States trade policy. In the future, economic historians will put an emphasis on the way the liberalization of trade over the past forty to sixty years has molded this particular trade policy. Since 1930, tariffs have been gradually reduced to roughly twenty percent of the regular level they were back then. This is a direct result of a sequence of eight multilateral negotiations and around thirty bilateral agreements. HoweverRead MoreThe Cold War And The Soviet Union1122 Words   |  5 Pages The Cold War was a state of political hostility between the U.S and the Soviet bloc, the most powerful nations in the world. The two countries fought together as allies in World War II but toward the end of the War the two nations competing ideologies and visions of the post War prevented them from working together. The Cold War was by far the biggest threat to human existence the world has ever seen, although their was never any declaration of War between the two competing nations, the SovietRead MoreThe United States Foreign Policy1667 Words   |  7 PagesAs Kelly Anderson’s Foreign Policy Analyst, the following memo will address three areas of the United States’ foreign policy. The U.S. has gone through may transition when it comes to its foreign policy. The United States has been an isolationist, neutralist, and internationalist country from the year it was founded to now. The executive branch and the president apply their power to influence and change the nation’s foreign policy. There are specific departments within the Executive Office of theRead MoreAmerica, An Ever Changing World Superpower1504 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica, an Ever-Changing World Superpower America has been viewed in a wide variety of ways on the global stage. From the Progressive Era to containment, the view of the United States as a world power has changed dramatically. The country went through a large process of adopting an isolationist policy during the Progressive Era. This isolationist view was also present pre and post-World War I. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, America took a bold stance and using its industrial power pushed itselfRead MoreThe Policy Of Neutrality During World War II1555 Words   |  7 PagesOn September 5, at its outset, the United States declared and maintained its policy of neutrality in the Second World War. Following ongoing atrocities committed by the Axis powers, however, President Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to limit their strength by freezing their U.S. assets and restricting trade of certain goods. Soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Congress unanimously declared war on Japan. Days later, the rest of the Axis powers, including Nazi Germany, Italy, and their smallerRead MoreWorld War II : The Great People s War1529 Words   |  7 PagesWorld War II (The Great People’s War) was of deep importance to the formation of today’s international relations system, however the following periods after this war between the greatest powers in the world are also of great significance. The analysis of those periods and their impact on world history will be the first approach of this assessment. It is important to clarify that these periods cannot be annualized as isolated events that happened in History, but related events that in a way or anotherRead MoreHispaniola Essay1135 Words   |  5 PagesNevertheless, the United States intervened in other Latin American countries, including the Dominican Republic and Haiti, to prevent social uprisings which threatened to de-stabilize the island of Hispaniola. In 1913 a threat of a revolution in the Dominican Republic brought an American squadron to the c oast. Tensions began to subside until May of 1916, when the next revolution occurred. The U.S. navy landed sailors, while the commanding Admiral threatened to bombard the capital, Santo Domingo, unlessRead MoreThe United States Outlook on Foreign Policy Affairs Essay881 Words   |  4 PagesThe United States Outlook on Foreign Policy Affairs The United States outlook on foreign policy affairs after World War II was influenced by the fear of communist expansionism rather than establishing foreign relations with each country. The U.S. found itself with a conflict between its profound belief in the constitution and democracy and a need for domestic and national security. In 1947, the National Security Act authorized the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency. Its role was toRead MoreThe Cold War : Communism And Capitalism997 Words   |  4 Pages The Cold War When the cold war began, no one thought that it would last as long as it did. Many people thought the war was caused by fighting, and there were some people that thought it was caused by the conflicts of communism and capitalism, so who was right? Well we only know what we read in our history books which says that it was caused by the conflicts of communism and capitalism. Was this the real reason for the cold war? In my essay I will give details about the cold war and tell why