Shift in United States Foreign Policy

One reason why the United States remained isolated for the first 150 years was because the United States had a weak military and economy. The United States had just gone through the Revolutionary War, so their military was weakened by a large amount. The Revolutionary War had also cost the United States a huge amount of money because it takes a lot of money to fight a war. The United States had borrowed the majority of the money to fight the Revolutionary War from other countries, like Spain and France. If the United States were to practice internationalism they would need a vast amount of money and military power because internationalism consists of fighting many wars, especially since the countries in Europe were almost constantly at war, and other activities that are very costly. Another reason why the United States remained isolated for the first 150 years was because the United States had quite a few domestic problems. Some of these include the building of a new government, the problem of slavery, and the expansion of the United States west. There would be no point in the young United States to practice internationalism when there are so many problems to deal with in the United States. There is no reason for the United States to worry about problems in Europe and around the world when there are enough problems within the United States. Those are two reasons why the United States remained isolated for the first 150 years. One reason the United States was pulled out of isolationism toward internationalism was to make the world safe for democracy. The United States wanted to make sure that communism did not spread to other nations that could be democratic. They wanted to make sure that in every country democracy was obtainable. This could only be done by communicating and interacting with other countries through the process of internationalism. It would be impossible to make the world safe for democracy if isolationism was practiced and the United States was only concerned about itself. Another reason the United States was pulled out of isolationism toward internationalism was to make sure that the United States had a voice in foreign affairs. The United States wanted to make sure that they could enhance their position in the world and global economy. This could only be accomplished through internationalism. The United States also wanted to make sure that they could protect human rights. The United States wanted to make their vision of the world a reality through interacting with other nation, forming compromises, and pushing their views. Those are the reasons the United States was pulled out of isolationism toward internationalism.