Policy Relations - AP Government and Politics

Isolationism was a foreign policy that was dominant in the American political arena throughout the majority of the nineteenth century. It argues that the United States will not get involved in foreign conflicts and will try to remain isolated on the international stage.

The League of Nations was part of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which he released on the eve of the end of World War One. The idea was to form an international body that would oversee international affairs and try to prevent another global conflict from breaking out. It failed in part due to a lack of support in the United States: it failed even to pass Congress, much to Wilson’s dismay.

NATO was created in 1949 as an alliance of the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Turkey to meet the perceived threat of the Soviet Union and the rise of communism. It was primarily a military alliance. Its opposition was the Warsaw Pact, which was formed shortly afterwards between Russia and the communist nations of the Eastern Bloc.

Appeasement is the term given to making concessions to a political or military rival in order to prevent said rival from doing something even worse. It has long been a controversial form of making policy and is most notable in US History for America’s reaction to the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931.

Throughout the initial decades of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union continued to acquire more and more nuclear weapons until each nation possessed the capacity to destroy the planet many times over. In an attempt to mitigate this massive threat to humanity, the two superpowers signed a treaty in 1972 designed to reduce the stockpile of nuclear weapons possessed by both nations. This took place during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

George Washington was particularly concerned about entering long-term alliances with foreign nations, fearing it would draw America into unnecessary conflicts. His fear of political factions warring over the government was a common fear among the founders, best expressed by Madison's Federalist No. 10.

The Monroe Doctrine was coined by President James Monroe in 1823 in an attempt to warn European nations against aggressive actions in the Western Hemisphere. The goal was to strengthen the foreign policy of the United States and to become a real world power.

The Monroe Doctrine was introduced by James Monroe in 1823, the fifth president of the United States. Theodore Roosevelt expanded upon the doctrine during his presidency, but did not introduce the original doctrine. James Munroe is also notable because he was the last Founding Father to be President.

The idea of getting involved in foreign conflicts was incredibly unpopular in America, and the isolationist politicians in Congress tried to keep America out of both of the World Wars as long as possible before the United States eventually entered both of the wars late.

While the Monroe Doctrine is named after James Monroe, this was simply because James Monroe was president at the time. The author of the doctrine was the Secretary of State at the time, John Quincy Adams. Monroe was the Secretary of State before Adams.

The Roosevelt Corollary was made in the interest of intervention. While the original Monroe Doctrine was made solely to warn European nations away from the Western Hemisphere, the Roosevelt Corollary was made to name the United States as the policemen of the Americas.

The Drago Doctrine was announced by Argentina in response to European nations' aggressive debt-collecting actions during the 1902 Venezuela Debt Crisis. It declared that European nations were not allowed to coerce Latin American nations into paying their debts. Roosevelt rejected this Doctrine, and added the Roosevelt Corollary instead, allowing American intervention in countries that couldn't properly conduct their own affairs.

Gunboat diplomacy is most commonly associated with Theodore Roosevelt's aggressive foreign policy. Today, gunboat diplomacy is often used via naval and air deployments to troublesome areas (such as the Strait of Hormuz) to showcase the strength of the American military.

"Big Stick" Diplomacy refers to Teddy Roosevelt, the American president most commonly associated with aggressive shows of strength. Roosevelt argued that a good leader should speak softly, and carry a big stick. The big stick referring to the coercive strength needed to backup threats and diplomatic appearances.

Dollar Diplomacy concerns promising loans and other lucrative economic opportunities to countries to improve diplomatic relations, most commonly associated with William Howard Taft's presidency. Taft's Dollar Diplomacy used incentives, rather than punishments to achieve its goals.

The Carrot and Stick approach involves offering a carrot (positive incentive for good behavior/improved relations), and striking with a stick (negative punishment for bad behavior). The US often used this method in Southeast Asia and the Philippines.

Woodrow Wilson is associated with "moral diplomacy," due to his passionate pursuit of humanitarian policies abroad. Woodrow Wilson accomplished much in his pursuit of a greater global good, winning over countries in agreements many foreign policy experts thought impossible.

While the League of Nations was designed for many purposes, it was a dream of Woodrow Wilson for the purpose of ensuring global peace and humanitarianism. These goals were the foundation of the League of Nations, and a clear example of moral diplomacy.

American isolationism is when the United States withdraws from international conflicts, trade, and disputes, focusing all economic and political power on domestic issues like the American economy and job market, infrastructural and educational development, and social issues.

In fewer words, isolationism is when a country limits its associations with other countries, confining itself to try and be self-reliant.

So for this question, the answer that does not demonstrate isolationism is the one that deals with America being involved in foreign affairs. The Monroe Doctrine has shaped American foreign policy a great deal, as evidenced by several Presidents invoking it. The Monroe Doctrine deals with the relationship among the countries of the Americas (North and South) and dictates that any outside nations are to stay out of the affairs among the countries of the Americas - unless they want to face a military response from the United States.

The other answers in this question all represent a form of isolationism by demonstrating a turn away from foreign affairs. The League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations, never had U.S. participation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to expand the role of the United States on the world stage and engage more deeply in foreign affairs. Congress often rebuffed him (the extreme opposition to the U.S. joining the World Court, for example), and they stayed reluctant to engage in most foreign affairs the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is when America changed military strategy and joined in the Allies' fight in Europe and abroad.

MAD, or mutually assured destruction, is the idea that no country would destroy itself by firing a nuclear weapon at another country armed with nuclear weapons. The attacking country would be destroyed because there would be automatic and equal retaliation from the country being attacked - mutual destruction. This means that despite all of the bravado and showing of military might, neither the United States nor the Soviet Union would launch a nuclear strike against one another, as it would spell doom for the country that launches the attack.

The period of détente is marked by agreements, treaties, and somewhat of a relaxing of hostilities between the United States and the Soviet Union.