American Isolation In The 1920s Essay

The Roaring Twenties; lights, movies, parties, bootleg liquor. Many Americans are disillusioned to the idea that the 1920s were all of these things, forgetting about the politics of it all. Politics was an integral piece of behind-the-scenes work during the twenties, with one of the most important ideas being that of isolation. The United States had just come out of the World War in Europe, and had once again decided that they had no interest in the involvements of the Old World. America wished to remain removed from the affairs of Europe in the 1920s because they found that being involved was self-defeating, they did not want to become entangled in another World War, and had decided that the best way to deal with Europe was cooperation without commitment.

The acknowledgement of this failure dissuaded them from any desire of interfering in Europe. This failure also resulted in the realization that “meddling in the affairs of others was useless and self-defeating” as the involvement made no difference (Jonas). Involvement in international affairs once again became a dangerous notion, as it had been at the beginning of World War One. Americans had a great desire to fulfill their own destinies, and felt confident in their abilities to do so. We did not want anyone else’s destiny. To quote President Warren G. Harding’s Inaugural Address, “We seek no part in directing the destinies of the Old World. We do not mean to be entangled” (Harding). To be entangled with the Old World could possibly mean being forced into another World War. Everyone knew that the repercussions of a repeat of the last decade would be detrimental. The country would lose men, supplies, and the support of its own people, who wanted nothing more than