20th Century Foreign Policy
Instructions: On the following chart are listed diplomatic situations since World War I in which one of the
three different styles of American Diplomacy was employed. On additional blank copies of the chart (posted
on the wiki), list each event in the appropriate column and write a brief description (including the date and the
president at the time of the event) and an explanation of how it illustrates that particular style of diplomacy.
“Big Stick Diplomacy”
“Gunboat Diplomacy”
“International Police Force”
“Dollar Diplomacy”
“Neo-colonialism”
“Moral Diplomacy”
“Missionary Diplomacy”
Definition: the pursuit of foreign policy
objectives with the aid of conspicuous
displays of military power — implying or
constituting a direct threat of warfare,
should terms not be agreeable to American
interests. During the Cold War, the US
feared the spread of communism and
overthrew some democratically elected
governments perceived to be left-wing or
unfriendly to U.S. interests.
Definition: a foreign policy designed to
increase the sphere of influence or
promote diplomatic interests of the U.S.
through economic means; i.e. loans to
foreign governments, embargos,
promotion of transnational corporations,
globalization / free trade policies, neocolonialism.
Definition: support is given only to
countries whose moral beliefs are similar to
that of the U.S. (i.e. democratic
governments.) It was created as a means of
economically injuring non-democratic
countries (seen as possible threats to the
U.S.) and hopefully increasing the number
of democratic nations. Seeks to promote
human rights and national selfdetermination by using military intervention
to influence other nations' policies.
D-Day Invasion
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Korean War
Brinkmanship
Formation of NATO
CIA overthrow of Iran
Alliance for Progress
Bay of Pigs Incident
Cuban Missile Crisis
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Invasion of Cambodia
USS Pueblo Incident
Invasion of Grenada
Iran-Contra Scandal
Invasion of Panama
Persian Gulf War – “Operation
Desert Storm”
Yugoslav War
2001 Invasion of Afghanistan
2003 Invasion of Iraq
Dawes Plan
Good Neighbor Policy
Japanese Embargo
Lend-Lease Act
Marshall Plan
Truman Doctrine (Greece &
Turkey)
Eisenhower Doctrine (Middle
East)
CIA overthrow of Guatemala
Cuban Embargo
South African divestment
Iraqi sanctions
North Korean sanctions
NAFTA / CAFTA
Taft – “replace bullets for dollars”
League of Nations
Washington Conference
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Good Neighbor Policy
“Arsenal for Democracy”
United Nations
The Cold War
Truman Doctrine
Korean War
Berlin Airlift
Vietnam War
Détente
Panama Canal Treaty
Camp David Accords
War in Somalia
War in Haiti
War in Kosovo
2001 Invasion of Afghanistan
2003 Invasion of Iraq
20th Century Presidential Doctrines
Instructions: Just like T. Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, every president attempts to establish a particular “style” of diplomacy
or brand of foreign policy during his term. Obviously, unforeseen events will ultimately shape a presidents foreign agenda, but
they will all usually approach foreign issues with a basic philosophy which will become known as their “Doctrine”. On the
following chart summarize each president’s foreign policy doctrine; giving examples of specific instances when he applied that
Doctrine. Then in the far right column indicate which of the three original diplomatic styles of Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson
that president’s doctrine most resembles. You will find the following websites most helpful in completing this chart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_doctrines
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/warsanddiplomacy/tp/foreign_policy_doctrines.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/29/presidential.doctrines/index.html
President
Truman
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Johnson
Nixon
Carter
Reagan
G.H.W. Bush
Clinton
G.W. Bush
Obama
Summary and examples of doctrine
“Big Stick”,
“Dollar”, or
“Moral”