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Following our involvement in World War One, the United
States entered a nearly two decade long period of
isolation from world affairs. The result was not only a
rejection of leadership and membership in international organizations,
but a restricting of our borders and an anti-foreign
feeling among society.
US Rejects the
Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations
The United States Senate rejected the Treaty of
Versailles for a variety of reasons. Politically, Democratic
President Woodrow Wilson was unpopular with the
Republicans who controlled the Senate. He had also
failed to gather any input from them in negotiating the
treaty and stubbornly refused to allow changes. Wilson's
poor health also stopped his active campaigning for the
treaty among the American people.
The provision that the Senate objected to the most
was US membership in the League of Nations. The
league was the creation of Wilson and was intended as an
international peace-keeping organization, intended to
prevent the reoccurrence of a wide scale conflict like
the "War to end all wars" (WWI). Many
were uneasy at the provisions of the League that called
for common defense and the possible command of US forces
by foreign leadership. These oppositions, along with the
public's desire to distance the US from foreign affairs,
lead to the rejection of US membership.
Without strong support from the US, the League seemed
doomed for failure from the start and never achieved the
lofty goals of world peace intended by its creator.
US Isolationism
Takes Hold at Home
Restriction of Immigration - The United States had
always been a nation formed by and for immigrants. The
heritage of the nation is one of providing an
opportunity for peoples from all over the world to
strive for a better life in America. However, during the
isolationist policies that followed the First World War,
many called for a curbing of immigration as a way to
reduce foreign influence on the nation.
Laws such as the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Emergency
Quota Act severely restricted the numbers of
immigrants allowed into the country.
Protectionist Policies - In an attempt to
protect US businesses and curtail economic ties with
much of the world, the US instituted a series of high tariffs
in the 20's and 30's that limited imports. The reaction
of many nations was to pass retaliatory tariffs on US
products, resulting in a general breakdown of
international trade. This isolation from the world
economically would eventually be one of the contributing
factors in the causing the Great Depression of the
1930's.
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