Example research essay topic: American Foreign Policy United States And Japan - 490 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Fdr And Harry Truman: Presidential Leadership In Fdr And Harry Truman: Presidential Leadership In Foriegn Policy FDR and Harry Truman: Presidential Leadership in Foreign Policy In the years after World War I, the United States and Japan were on a collision course in the Pacific. The American Open Door Policy remained the primary obstacle to complete Japanese dominion over China. The United States faced the clear-cut choice of either abandoning China or forcefully opposing Japans expansion. Projected construction indicated that both the United States and Japan would overtake the British navy by the end of the decade.

In Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes welcoming address at the Washington Conference, he outlined a specific plan for naval disarmament calling for the scrapping of sixty-six battleship thinking American, nineteen British, and seventeen Japanese. Three months later, delegates signed a Five Power Treaty, which contained the main elements of Highest proposal: limitation of capital ships in ratio of 5 - 5 - 3 for the United States, Britain, and Japan, respectively, and 1. 67 - 1. 67 for France and Italy. The treaty cooled off the naval race even though it did not include cruisers, destroyers or submarines. In the 1930 s the active world policy turned back into isolationism. There were two factors responsible. First, the Depression made foreign policy seem remote and unimportant to most Americans.

Second was the danger of war abroad. The pacifist movement found a scapegoat in the munitions industry. Senator Gerald Nye of North Dakota headed a special Senate committee that spent two years investigating American munitions dealers. The Nye Committees revelations culminated in neutrality legislation. In August 1935, Congress passed the first of three neutrality acts. President Roosevelt played a passive role in the adoption of the neutrality legislation.

In the Truman era a major departure in American foreign policy occurred in American foreign policy occurred in January 1947, when General George C. Marshall became secretary of state. After taking office he turned to two men, Dean Achean and George Kennan, to handle day-to-day implementation of his policies. In the spring of 1947, a sense of crisis impelled Marshall, Achean, and Kennan to set out on a new course in American diplomacy. It was named containment, after an article by Kennan in Foreign Affairs. The new policy consolidated the evolving postwar anticommunism and established guidelines that would shape Americas role in the world for more then two decades.

On February 21, 1947 the British informed the United States they could no longer afford to aid Greece or Turkey. On March 12, 1947, President Truman asked Congress for $ 400 million for military and economic assistance to Greece and Turkey. The final phase of containment came in 1949 with the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). With NATO the United States committed itself to the defense of Europe. It also was designed to reassure worried Europeans that the United States would honor this commitment.

Research essay sample on American Foreign Policy United States And Japan