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THE MAKING OF A NATION - March 28, 2002: 1930s/Foreign Policy
By David Jarmul
VOICE 1:
THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.
(Theme)
I'm Shirley Griffith. Today, Doug Johnson and I tell about American foreign policy during the nineteen -thirties.
VOICE 2:
For much of its history, the United States was not involved in world disputes. Only in the twentieth century did it
become a powerful and influential nation.
President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to see America as a great power. A few years later,
President Woodrow Wilson wanted the United States to become more involved in the world.
Many Americans disagreed. They wanted to stay out of international conflicts. The presidents after Wilson stayed
informed about world events. But they were much less willing to involve the United States than Roosevelt or
Wilson had been. The great economic depression that began in nineteen-twenty-nine reduced Americans' interest
in the world even more.
VOICE 1:
Franklin Roosevelt became president in nineteen-thirty-three.
Franklin Roosevelt was not like most Americans. He knew the international situation well
from his own experience.
Like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, he wanted to expand America's foreign
policies. The terrible crisis of the depression, however, forced him to spend most of his time on
national economic issues. He was able to deal with international issues only very slowly.
One of his most important first efforts was to improve relations with Latin American nations.
VOICE 2:
Thirty years earlier, President Theodore Roosevelt said the United States had the right to intervene in Latin
America. In the years that followed, the United States sent troops to several Latin American countries. Many
political leaders in the area accused the United States of treating them like children. Leaders throughout Latin
America criticized the United States bitterly at a conference in nineteen-twenty-eight.
When Franklin Roosevelt became president, he promised to treat Latin American nations as friends. He called
this his "good neighbor" policy.
VOICE 1:
Roosevelt's new policy had an unfriendly beginning. His administration refused to recognize a government in
Cuba that opposed the United States. Instead, it helped bring to power a new government that showed more
support for the United States.
After that, however, President Roosevelt was able to prove that he wanted to improve relations with the countries
of Latin America.
For example, his administration speeded up plans to withdraw American troops from Haiti. It rejected old treaties
that gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuba. It recognized a revolutionary government in El
Salvador. It recognized the right of Panama to help operate and protect the Panama Canal. And it helped establish
the Export-Import Bank to increase trade throughout the Americas.
VOICE 2:
All of these actions did much to improve the opinion of Latin American leaders about the United States.
However, the most important test of Franklin Roosevelt's new policies was in Mexico.
The Mexican government seized control of oil companies owned by investors in the United States. A number of
influential Americans wanted the president to take strong action. He refused. He only agreed to urge the Mexican
government to pay American investors for the value of the oil companies.
VOICE 1:
As United States' relations with Latin America improved, its relations with Britain got worse.
Britain blamed Franklin Roosevelt for the failure of an international economic conference in nineteen-thirtythree.
It also felt the United States Congress was unwilling to take a strong position against international
aggression by other nations.
Some British leaders had so little faith in Roosevelt that they proposed seeking cooperation with Japan instead of
the United States. New leaders in Japan, however, soon ended this possibility. They presented Britain with such
strong military demands that the British government gave up any idea of cooperation with Japan.
VOICE 2:
One big question in American foreign policy in the nineteen-thirties concerned the Soviet union.
The United States had refused to recognize the government in Moscow after the Bolsheviks took control in
nineteen-seventeen. Yet Franklin Roosevelt saw the Soviet union as a possible ally if growing tensions in Europe
and Asia burst into war.
For this reason, he held talks in Washington with a top Soviet official. In nineteen-thirty-three, he officially
recognized the Soviet government.
VOICE 1:
President Roosevelt hoped recognition would lead to better relations. But the United States and the Soviet union
did not trust each other. They immediately began arguing about many issues.
Within two years, the American ambassador to Moscow urged President Roosevelt to cut diplomatic relations
with the Soviets. Roosevelt refused. Relations between the two countries became even worse. Yet Roosevelt
believed it was better to continue relations in case of an emergency. That emergency -- World War Two -- was
just a few years away.
VOICE 2:
Economic issues played an important part in American foreign policy during the early nineteen -thirties. In
nineteen thirty three, a major international economic conference was held in London.
France and Italy led a movement to link the value of every nation's money to the price of gold. American
delegates to the conference rejected the idea. They argued that it would slow America's recovery from the great
depression. As a result, the London conference failed.
Although President Roosevelt opposed linking the value of the American dollar to the price of gold, he did not
oppose international trade. During the Nineteen-thirties, his administration negotiated new trade agreements with
more than twenty countries.
VOICE 1:
The nineteen-thirties saw major political changes in Asia and Europe. President Roosevelt watched these
developments with great interest. In Japan, military leaders gained control of the government. Their goal was to
Make Japan Asia's leading power.
In Italy, the government was headed by fascist Benito Mussolini. Another fascist, Francisco Franco, seized power
in Spain. And, most important, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party increased their strength in Germany. Franklin
Roosevelt understood much sooner than most western leaders the threat that these new leaders represented.
VOICE 2:
Most Americans shared Roosevelt's dislike for the new fascist movements. However, Americans felt another
emotion much more strongly. It was their desire to stay out of war.
World War One had ended just fifteen years earlier. It was still fresh in the minds of many Americans. A
majority of the population opposed any policy that could involve the United States in another bloody conflict.
VOICE 1:
A public opinion study was made in nineteen thirty seven. The study showed that seventy-one percent of
Americans believed it had been a mistake for the United States to fight in World War One.
So, President Roosevelt was not surprised when Congress passed a law ordering the administration to remain
neutral in any foreign conflict. Congress also refused an administration proposal that the United States join the
World Court.
Franklin Roosevelt shared the hope that the United States would stay out of foreign conflicts. However, Adolf
Hitler and other fascists continued to grow more powerful. The situation forced Americans to begin to consider
the need for military strength.
(Theme)
VOICE 2:
You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English on the Voice of
America. Your narrators have been Shirley Griffith and Doug Johnson. Our program was written by David
Jarmul. The Voice of America invites you to listen again next week to THE MAKING OF A NATION.
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