History 485

Devine

Study Questions

John M. Carroll, “American Diplomacy in the 1920s”

1. Why have historians continued to disagree about whether American foreign policy was “isolationist” in the 1920s? Why does Carroll see this debate over isolationism as a not particularly useful way of thinking about this period?

2. What three basic elements characterized Republican foreign policy during the 1920s? Why is “independent internationalism” an apt term to describe this overall policy?

3. How did Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover contrast with Wilson in their engagement with and approach to foreign policy? To what extent was their style a reaction to Wilson’s personal, missionary diplomacy?

4. Why did the Republican administrations of the 1920s emphasize economic diplomacy conducted by businessmen in the private sector?

5. Why was the United States concerned about the German reparations controversy?

6. What was the Dawes Plan? How did it contribute to better intra-European relations (the “spirit of Locarno”) but also produce economic instability?

7. Carroll suggests that pursuing disarmament agreements was related to the “economic diplomacy” of the 1920s. How could disarmament agreements help facilitate economic prosperity?

8. How did the doctrine of “continentalism” shape U.S. policy in Latin America? How did U.S. policy in Latin America change over the course of the 1920s? What factors account for the change?

9. According to Carroll, “American was restrained but active in foreign affairs during the 1920s.” What evidence in his article best supports this statement?

Jane Karoline Vieth, “The Diplomacy of the Depression”

1. How did Roosevelt’s views on foreign policy change over time? Why did he change his views?

2. How did Roosevelt conduct foreign policy? How did his personality, his social standing, and his need to consider public opinion all shape his approach to diplomacy?

3. How did Roosevelt’s private views on foreign policy differ from his public statements? Why did FDR believe he could not let his private views become public knowledge?

4. What was the purpose of the Neutrality Acts? What unintended consequences did they produce?

5. How did domestic politics limit Roosevelt’s ability to revise the neutrality laws and to pursue new initiatives in foreign policy between 1935 and 1938?

6. What did Hitler think of the United States? To what extent (if at all) did U.S. policy affect Hitler’s calculations?

7. When historians have assessed FDR’s diplomacy during the 1930s, what criticisms have they made? On what issues have they disagreed with FDR (and with each other)?

Thomas N. Guinsburg, “The Triumph of Isolationism”

1. Why does the author believe that none of the various explanations for American isolationism during the 1930s are entirely compelling?

2. Was Roosevelt committed to isolationism? If not, why didn’t he push back harder against those who were insisting that Congress enact isolationist policies

3. What advantages did the isolationists have over the internationalists in making their case to the public?

4. What were some of the unintended consequences of the isolationists’ successes during the 1930s? How did the isolationists end up helping to precipitate the very abuses of presidential power they warned against?

5. Given the evidence Guinsburg presents, do you believe Roosevelt was too cautious in his response to the isolationists or was he simply accepting political reality?