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Comparison of the american revolution and french revolution
Comparison of the american revolution and french revolution
What does the Declaration of Independence mean
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The American Greatness, from its founding, changed in the idea of the relationships to other countries. In the founding, America was great because it valued limited government and individual liberty. America broke away from the British government and provided people with the opportunity to pursue their dreams and aspirations. However, in 1950, America saw its greatness as the champion of the democracy abroad. In other words, America went from being an isolated, newly formed country to becoming a “global force “for the good. In the founding, America thrived as an isolated country which pursued the national interest while keeping friendly foreign relations. Fast forward to 1950, America’s primary goal was to spread democracy and provide …show more content…
Following the Declaration of Independence, the objective was to create a self-governing nation without forming any alliances. In other words, America sought an unlimited independence while forming an efficient political, social, and economical foundational pillars. After a long period of dictatorship by the British government, the American Greatness represented a fight for the independence and a process of building the most optimal nation without forming alliances or getting involved in the international issues. Simply, America wanted to isolate itself from all the European “noise” and work on becoming the best version of itself. Contrary to this, FDR’s in the State of the Union Address and the Truman Doctrine represent America as a world’s democratic leader that utilized its financial and military resources to help beat communism in the rest of the world. Communism represented the ultimate evil and America, as a high-power country, felt responsible for eliminating this dangerous threat and maintaining the world’s freedom and peace. In an attempt to do so, America provided a significant financial support and made alliances with other countries who were oppressed by communism. The fight against communism changed the idea of the American Greatness as it put America at the center of the world stage and as the primary democratic leader of many allies in a mutual fight against communist oppression. In 1776, America was a growing nation with the main objective of becoming stronger and isolating itself from the issues in the rest of the world. However, the spread of communism in 1950 and even later compelled America to put international interest in front of the national interest by having allies and providing support and resources to the same allies in the mutual fight against
At the turn of the century, and after gaining our independence, the United States land mass more than doubled through the use of purchasing, annexing, and war. However, the foreign policy of our government took a predominately isolationist stand. This was a national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries. General Washington shaped these values by upholding and encouraging the use of these principles by warning to avoid alliances in his farewell speech. The reasoning behind these actions was that the Republic was a new nation. We did not have the resources or the means to worry about other countries and foreign affairs; our immediate efforts were internal. Our goals that were of primary importance were setting up a democratic government and jump-starting a nation. The United States foreign policy up to and directly preceding the Civil War was mainly Isolationist. After the war, the government helped bring together a nation torn apart by war, helped improved our industrialization, and helped further populate our continent. We were isolationist in foreign affairs, while expanding domestically into the west and into the north through the purchase of Alaska. However, around 1890 the expansionism that had taken place was a far cry from what was about to happen. Expansionism is the nations practice or policy ...
The alliance formed between the US and USSR during the second world war was not strong enough to overcome the decades of uneasiness which existed between the two ideologically polar opposite countries. With their German enemy defeated, the two emerging nuclear superpowers no longer had any common ground on which to base a political, economical, or any other type of relationship. Tensions ran high as the USSR sought to expand Soviet influence throughout Europe while the US and other Western European nations made their opposition to such actions well known. The Eastern countries already under Soviet rule yearned for their independence, while the Western countries were willing to go to great lengths to limit Soviet expansion. "Containment of 'world revolution' became the watchword of American foreign policy throughout the 1950s a...
The wars that America fought was primarily for that reason. The formation of the European Union was a key strategy by United States to ensure that European countries are consolidated under one umbrella that controls the political and economic affairs of the region. United States’ economic mighty, political and cultural appeal and strong military has helped maintain the status as the only truly global power. U.S. used its power to promote democracy and support countries under siege both from internal and external aggressions, a strategy that they also used to promote the interests of American companies and its people. The U.S. foreign policy through the 20th century was meant to take the lead in creating effective international institutions and arrangements to handle new challenges especially those rising from Europe, Asia and Latin America. The U.S. wanted to lead not only because it alone could have helped the international community overcome its problems, but feared that it is most likely to be hurt if it does not act. Following the victory in World War II, the U.S. led the efforts to create United Nations and NATO and also facilitated formation of new regimes in some countries to promote democracy, economic recovery, development, and prosperity which benefited those countries and their people and
As the United States developed into a world economic power, it also became a military and political power. Certain things led Americans to become more involved in world affairs, such as territorial growth. There were also consequences to the nation’s new role, like conflict between citizens and people of power. United States government and leaders had to learn the “hard way”, the challenges and negativity that they would face, such as loss of money and lack of control between certain nations, and the positive effects such as expansion of territory and alliances.
It is somehow strange for today’s reader to find out that the situation with America’s foreign affairs hasn’t changed much. As some clever people have said, “The History book on the shelf is always repeating itself.” Even after nineteen years, Americans think of themselves as citizens of the strongest nation in the world. Even after the September the 11th. Even after Iraq. And Afghanistan.
The United States has had a changing view on the management of foreign policy from neutrality to a defender of democracy. It is characterized by the Monroe Doctrine during the 20th century that states no American interference in European affairs unless the democracy of the western hemisphere were to be threatened. This ideology was later abandoned with the entering of the U.S. in WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam War. The immigrants of this nation were the backbone of the working class that enabled for the U.S. to prosper economically in an open trade. As an established super power the United States has had a series of world relationships that began in 1877 to the progression of today that established the fundamental values of American exceptionalism.
George Washington, the first president of the United States, had written a very important historical speech and document towards the end of his time in office. He had written the Farewell address which focused on helping America understand the importance of preserving unity, acknowledging the rise of political parties forming, strengthening religion and morality, and he stated his position on American foreign policy. He addressed these ideas with strong tone and used incredible amount of dictions that strengthens his tone as well as representing his appeal to ethos to a strong degree. However, today’s society seemed to forget Washington’s position on foreign policy and has created a new form of the policy. But nonetheless as time grew, change occurs. In today’s society Washington’s foreign policy would include many positive and negative manifestations, but it is still a speech and document that will always apply to America.
The American political economy of freedom seemingly was at risk. Thus, the Truman administration switched to an “adversarial relationship”. However, the foreign policy challenge, as Dean Acheson stresses, “was to foster an environment in which our national life and individual freedom can survive and prosper (Leffler, The Specter of Communism, 63).
The Soviet Union began to view the United States as a threat to communism, and the United States began to view the Soviet Union as a threat to democracy. On March 12, 1947, Truman gave a speech in which he argued that the United States should support nations trying to resist Soviet imperialism. Truman and his advisors created a foreign policy that consisted of giving reconstruction aid to Europe, and preventing Russian expansionism. These foreign policy decisions, as well as his involvement in the usage of the atomic bomb, raise the question of whether or not the Cold War can be blamed on Truman. Supporting the view that Truman was responsible for the Cold War, Arnold Offner argues that Truman’s parochialism and nationalism caused him to make contrary foreign policy decisions without regard to other nations, which caused the intense standoff between the Soviet Union and America that became the Cold War (Offner 291)....
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
Out of some of the most turbulent times in history have come the greatest ages of success and prosperity. The 1920’s and 1950’s are two eras that exemplify the spirit of triumph and wealth. In both decades, a nation thrilled by the victorious conclusion of war and the return of their loved ones from war entered into an age of capitalism and materialism, bolstering the economy and with it national pride. Some of features most common to the 20’s and 50’s were consumerism and the accompanying optimistic mindset, the extent to which new ideas entered society, and discrimination in terms of both sexism and racism.
The United States of America has never been content with stagnation. The landmass of the Thirteen Colonies was enough to rival that of the Mother country from which they separated. The forefathers believed that it was the manifest destiny of this nation to eventually claim the expansion from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. By 1890, nearly a hundred years following the original claim of Manifest Destiny, the land that was once open, was now under American control. But no sooner was the Great American Frontier closed, than was the door to East Asian expansion opened with the great gold key of American diplomacy. In a world where imperialism was contagious, and cartographers had to work around the clock to keep up with an ever-changing geopolitical landscape, the United States seized the opportunity to establish herself as a significant world power. With great expansionist minds at her helm, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Howard Taft the United States began to grow beyond her border to claim stake in this wide-open world. This new expansionism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was a different institution than its early to mid nineteenth century counterpart. Still, the drive to exercise the sovereignty of the United State and to propel itself over the world’s stage was the same then as it was in the time of Thomas Jefferson. In order to understand this assertion, attention must be given to three levels of analysis. First, the similarities that exist between the drive and purpose of old and new expansion must be taken into account. Second, the differences in the global political scene must be considered. Finally, there exits differences in the means by which expansion occurred.
“Until early in [the twentieth] century, the isolationist tendency prevailed in American foreign policy. Then, two factors projected America into world affairs: its rapidly expanding power, and the gradual collapse of the international system centered on Europe” . President Woodrow Wilson was the leader who would initiate the ideologies of American diplomacy in the twentieth century. Up until his Presidency, American foreign policy was simply to fulfill the course of manifest destiny, and to remain free of entanglements overseas. Although he could not convince his fellow politicians on Capitol Hill of the probable success of his ideas, he did persuade the fellow writers of the Treaty of Versailles to use his Fourteen Points. America’s role as a political global superpower was established during his Presidency, as well as the modern policy that peace depends on the spread of democracy, and that national interest consists of adhering to a global system of law.
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
...from the building of skyscrapers to the railroads, and imperialism. We have moved all the way westward and what there is to do is to globalize our nation and continue to help improve the nations that we help guide. We first need to make sure that we are practicing democracy, free trade, our values, freedom, and our beliefs. This is what it means to be an exceptional nation. Other nations look to us, and when we don’t respond accordingly or if we don’t practice what we preach, they will call us hypocrites.