Appeasement in American Politics
Appeasement -diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to a dictatorial
power (or powers) in order to avoid a threatened conflict.
Background: Appeasement was used by European democracies in the 1930s who wished to avoid war
with the dictatorships of Germany and Italy, bearing in mind the horrors of World War I.
The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
towards Nazi Germany between 1937 and 1939. His policies of avoiding war with Germany have been the
subject of intense debate for seventy years among academics, politicians and diplomats. The historians'
assessments have ranged from condemnation for allowing Adolf Hitler's Germany to grow too strong, to
the judgment that he had no alternative and acted in Britain's best interests. At the time, these concessions
were widely seen as positive.
Directions: In recent years, the accusation of appeasement has been used, not only by President George
Bush, but also, by Republican candidates for president. Your task is to find information related to the use
of the word “appeasement” by these individuals and address the following. You need to identify two
examples of when it was used.
Example #1
Title of the article: (Where did you locate the reference?)
What was said? (Provide a context for the accusation and who was the charge directed at?)
Where did the accusation take place? (Who was the audience?)
In your judgment, was the accusation justified? (Explain)
Example #2
Title of the article: (Where did you locate the reference?)
What was said? (Provide a context for the accusation and who was the charge directed at?)
Where did the accusation take place? (Who was the audience?)
In your judgment, was the accusation justified? (Explain)
Responding to the critics:
Find and describe a response by the person being accused of “appeasement.” How did he
counter the argument?