Isolationism

Research articles

Isolationism and Domestic Politics
Isolationism has long been seen as a reaction against domestic economic conditions or a threatening international environment, but domestic politics could equally spur such a reaction. Disagreement with current foreign policy or opposition to political parties directing foreign policy may provoke negative feelings on the general prospect of international engagement
The Myth of American Isolationism
International relations scholarship often describes America's foreign policy tradition as having isolationist tendencies or an isolationist dimension, a characterization derived most directly from American security policy in the 1920s and 1930s. This article offers a critique of this characterization.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
History Reference Center This link opens in a new window History Reference Center features cover-to-cover full text for historical encyclopedias and other non-fiction books. The database also includes full text for leading history periodicals, historical documents, and biographies of historical figures, as well as historical photos and maps and historical film and video.

Video

History Brief: 1920s return to isolationism. Duration 3 mins, 09 sec.

Video

A brief history of isolationism in the United States. Duration 1 min 53 sec.

Video

US Neutrality in the 1930s. Duration 6 mins 11 sec.

Website articles

American isolationism in the 1930s 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.
"Divide we stand": looking back to the 1920s to understand the United States today
1930s Isolationism "Leave me alone," seemed to be America's attitude toward the rest of the world in the 1930s. At the dawn of the '30s, foreign policy was not a burning issue for the average American. The stock market had just crashed and each passing month brought greater and greater hardships. American involvement with Europe had brought war in 1917 and unpaid debt throughout the 1920s. Having grown weary with the course of world events, citizens were convinced the most important issues to be tackled were domestic.
Isolationism and U.S. Foreign Policy After World War I
American foreign policy in the 20s
Kellogg-Briand Pact Kellogg-Briand Pact, also called Pact of Paris, (August 27, 1928), multilateral agreement attempting to eliminate war as an instrument of national policy. It was the most grandiose of a series of peacekeeping efforts after World War I.
Sacco & Vanzetti: The Red Scare of 1919–1920 During the Red Scare of 1919-1920, many in the United States feared recent immigrants and dissidents, particularly those who embraced communist, socialist, or anarchist ideology.
Palmer Raids Palmer raids were a series of violent and abusive law-enforcement raids directed at leftist radicals and anarchists in 1919 and 1920, beginning during a period of unrest known as the “Red Summer.”
The immigration Act of 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia.

Video

History Brief: The Red Scare in the 1920s.
Duration 3 mins 59 sec.

HSIE - Modern History Year 12 - USA 1919-1941: Isolationism

Research articles

Video

Video

Video

Website articles

Video

Cover image credits