USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR I

[SOURCES]
Why did the United States decide to stay isolated from foreign affairs?

(A) Citizens felt they were dragged into World War One.

(B) Citizens felt they should concentrate on domestic problems.

(C) Congress passed neutrality acts preventing the U.S. from taking sides.

(D) ** All of the Above

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -During the 1930s, the combination of the Great Depression and the memory of tragic losses in World War I contributed to pushing American public opinion and policy toward isolationism. Isolationists advocated non-involvement in European and Asian conflicts and non-entanglement in international politics.

Concept note-2: -Isolationists believed that World War II was ultimately a dispute between foreign nations and that the United States had no good reason to get involved. The best policy, they claimed, was for the United States to build up its own defenses and avoid antagonizing either side.

Concept note-3: -However, the watershed regarding the history of U.S. foreign policy was the shift from isolationism to interventionism after World War II. The turning point was signaled by a series of military activities during and after WWII such as the involvement of the US in WWII and the US intervention in Vietnam.