Examples Of Isolationism In America

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Isolationism in America: The United States has frequently been called ‘an empire’, since the end of World War II, the United States have expanded its influence across the globe. Although the US is not an empire, its influence does lie far beyond its borders. But the definition of the US’s influence on the world has always been pushed further and further. This was as a result of manifest destiny, a political belief in the 19th century that is fundamentally the US’s God-given right to expand its boarders to spread democracy, civilisation and Christianity to the world (Williams, 1954). However, around 1920, American foreign policy shifted towards isolationism. This policy was a direct result of the US’s recent involvement in the first World War…show more content…
The Klu Klux Klan was active and the Nativist Movement against blacks, Jews and foreigners was growing (Williams, 1954). The so called ‘new immigration’ of over 800 000 foreigners in 1920 furthered the dislike of foreigners. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 was passed, establishing a yearly quota limiting immigration (Williams, 1954). This was later replaced by the Immigration Act of 1924, further restricting immigration. The US government also raised tariffs on US exports and imports, to and from Europe in an attempt to strengthen the economy and establish the US as economically independent (Williams, 1954). The tariff rates were raised by nearly 40 percent and this strongly discouraged external trade and made it extremely difficult for the Europeans to pay back their debt to the…show more content…
Trumps missions to ‘make America great again’ and to ‘keep America safe’, have undoubtedly influenced US policies. Trumps decision to ‘close the door’ on refugees, by signing an executive order suspending America’s refugees for four months, with the banning of muslins being one of his election campaign promises (Diamond & Almasy, 2017) . In a national speech, Trump declares an American ‘shut down’ until “our countries representatives can figure out what the hell is going on” (Ye Hee Lee & Kessler, 2016). Trumps executive order is not only limited to Syrian refugees but migrants from all other countries are also restricted (Diamond & Almasy, 2017). In 2016, Trump also announced his intention to build a border wall between the US and Mexico, yet another attempt to restrict migration into the US. Is this ‘shutting of doors’ for migrants a radical chance of US foreign policy? Trumps ‘extreme’ actions are seen as a reasonable response the to ‘extreme’ terrorism the US faces. Trumps policies do seem to be steering in an increasingly isolationist direction. Trump also seems to hold a lot of mercantilist views as well(Diamond & Almasy,
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