foreign policy history
washington's farewell address
When tension was building in the states, Washington decided to resign from office after his second term. On September 19, 1796 the American Daily Advertiser published Washington's Farewell Address. The main idea was to get rid of the 2 parties (Federalists and Republicans). Washington said that if the parties continued that it would destroy the government. He also worried that special interest groups and foreign nations would dominate and encouraged the future generations to avoid fights between other nations. When Washington left office, the nation was still divided.
war of 1812- impressment
The impressment of American sailors into the Royal Navy was the most important reason for the War of 1812 for Americans. When the British didn't have enough men for the war, they kidnapped Americans from American ships and forced them to serve. Nearly 6,000 Americans were impressed in 1800s. Americans were outraged by this practice and it finally ended in 1815 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris that ended the War of 1812.
monroe doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was first stated by James Monroe during the State of Union Address to Congress in 1823. The Napoleonic wars were the inspiration for the Monroe Doctrine. It was based on American fears related to the monarchies in Europe rising again. The main reason for it was to secure the newly independent colonies of Latin America from Europe coming and taking over.
Manifest destiny
In the 19th century Manifest Destiny was a belief that the destiny of American settlers to expand and move across the continent and spread their traditions and beliefs and enlightening more nations. The American settlers considered Indians and Hispanics to get in the way and deserved for their land to be taken over.
imperialism- late 19th century
Imperialism is the action of empire building. In the late 19th century the U.S and Japan started rising to power. As industrialization increased the U.S. began to experiment with imperialism. It started with the purchase of Alaska from Russia and the purchase of Hawaii. Hawaii soon had an economic motive. After the U.S. defeated Spain in 1898, the U.S. gained the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the Pacific island of Guam.
roosevelt corollary
President Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in his address to Congress in 1904. It gave rights to the U.S. to intervene to "stabilize" the economic affairs of small states in Central America and the Caribbean if they were unable to pay their international debts.
world war 1
The war was fought between July 28, 1914 and November 11, 1918. It was called "The Great War" at the time. There were millions of casualties. It is known for men fighting in trenches from different sides. Lethal new technologies were unleashed and for the first time, a war was not only fought on land, but in the sea, under the sea, and in the sky. It was Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the U.S. against Germany, Austria- Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.
world war 2
The second World War was the most significant period of the 20th century. It brought new technologies that changed future wars, ending European colonialism, the civil rights movement, the modern woman rights movement, and exploring space. It was the Axis nations vs the Allied nations, with the Allied nations winning.
truman doctrine
in 1947 President Truman created the Truman Doctrine. It established that the United States would provide political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat. It reoriented U.S. foreign policy away from its usual stance.
ending the cold war
In the 1980's Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev had many meetings with Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev's reforms led to soviets demanding more freedom. Throughout the 80's many European nations had uproars against their communist governments and the Soviet Union didn't stop them. In late 1989 there was a coup in the Soviet Union. Huge Soviet leaders held Gorbachev's hostage. The Berlin wall was taken down and The Cold War was over.
persian gulf war
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait in early August 1990. When fellow Arab leaders became scared by these actions, they called on the U.S. and other Western nations for help. Hussein wouldn't obey the United Nations demands to withdraw from Kuwait, the Persian Gulf War began. After 42 days of attacks on ground, air, and sea, President Bush declared a cease-fire, but by that time most had already fled Kuwait or surrendered.
war on terrorism
On 9/11/2001 terrorists flew planes into the Twin Towers and killed 2,996 people. After this attack, on September 20, 2001, President Bush delivered an inspirational speech to America that rallied support for the "War of Terror," which would eventually lead to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.