Mrs. Ruland's U.S. History Class Project
Isolationism Between WWI and WWII By Tim and Connor
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Between the two World Wars, the United States suffered from a bout of isolationism. Isolationism is a political policy where a country and its people want to prevent becoming entangled in any foreign affairs. As a result, many laws, tariffs, and peoples' organizations were enacted in an effort to accomplish this. The following links provide information on many of the effects and results of isolationism. It also contains information on the origins of the isolationistic policies and the steps led to its end.
This informative site provides a very clear and organized approach to the acts and policies that defined the United States' isolationistic policy between the World Wars. The bullet format of this site makes it very easy to understand, and the covering of many topics make it an excellent place to start any research endeavor. Also, this site is credible due to the fact that it was developed and is maintained by the history department at University of San Diego.
This informative web site, meant for students and interested learners, explains the roots of isolation in the United States all the way to colonial times. The web site also explains that an isolationistic policy is not one of complete seclusion, but of an unwillingness to form bonds or to become involved. This web site is necessary in order to truly understand isolation.
Background to World War II: American Foreign Policy
This web site was created by Henry Sage, a professor at North Virginia Community College. The web site is a valuable source because it explains why the United States adopted an isolationistic foreign policy, and what pulled the United states from it. The author wrote that the disillusionment after the first world war was one of numerous factors that pushed the United States to isolation. It then provides an in depth timeline of the events leading up to the Second World War and the United States' exit from isolation. This strong and reliable web site adds a definitive beginning and end to this period of isolation.
This web site provides an in depth look at the Clark Memorandum of 1928. This repudiation of the Monroe doctrine accepted a more isolationistic policy towards Latin America. The web site then discusses the effects of this memorandum on Latin America. All of this information is encompassed within the greater Good Neighbor Policy formed by President Hoover and President Franklin Roosevelt.
This site is extremely informative. It discusses the America First Committee’s origins, its leaders, and its objectives. The web site also mentions its dealings with Congress and how it interacted with the public. This web site was written by Sheldon Richmond of the Cato Institute of Washington D.C.
This web site gives very detailed information. It follows a cause and effect timeline, beginning with events in the 1930’s and the creation of the acts and ending with U-Boat attacks in 1941 when US merchant ships were allowed to arm themselves. This web site shows how world events over an eleven year period affected the laws. This web site is accurate, as it was created by the US Department of State.
This web site provides great information on the tariff concerning its background, effect on the economy, and affect on the Great Depression, but unfortunately, it is not very concise. Although it does contain good information, about one half of the source does not have information that would concern someone researching this topic.
This site is extremely concise and it addresses the information needed to understand the tariff. It presents to the reader information about the American economy before the tariff, the tariff rate, and the effects the tariff had. However, this source is somewhat brief concerning the effect the tariff had on the United States; the article mostly discusses how European countries acted towards the US in response to the tariff.
This site gives the reader a clear picture of what the act was and how it affected those who wanted to come to the United States. It gives specific quota numbers, and how they changed with the passing of the act. This source also supplies the reader with an actual copy of the act, and two maps that accompanied it during the time period.
Though brief, this source clearly shows the reader who the crusade was composed of, and what their goals were. This source is an abstract from the book Peace and Change by Glen Jeansonne.
Last updated March 28, 2008
© Marcella Ruland 1998-2008, All rights reserved
