AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS

[Pages:36]AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS

American Isolationism Between the World Wars: The Search for a Nation's Identity examines the theory of isolationism in America between the world wars, arguing that it is an ideal that has dominated the Republic since its founding.

During the interwar period, isolationists could be found among Republicans and Democrats, Catholics and Protestants, pacifists and militarists, rich and poor. While the dominant historical assessment of isolationism--that it was "provincial" and "short-sighted"--will be examined, this book argues that American isolationism between 1919 and the mid-1930s was a rational foreign policy simply because the European reversion back to politics as usual insured that the continent would remain unstable. Drawing on a wide range of newspaper and journal articles, biographies, congressional hearings, personal papers, and numerous secondary sources, Kenneth D. Rose suggests the time has come for a paradigm shift in how American isolationism is viewed. The text also offers a reflection on isolationism since the end of World War II, particularly the nature of isolationism during the Trump era.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of U.S. Foreign Relations and twentieth-century American history.

Kenneth D. Rose is Professor Emeritus in History at California State University, Chico, USA. His other publications include The Great War and Americans in Europe, 1914?1917 (2017), Unspeakable Awfulness: America Through the Eyes of European Travelers, 1865?1900 (2014), Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of Americans and World War II (2008), One Nation Underground: The Fallout Shelter in American Culture (2001), and American Women and the Repeal of Prohibition (1996).

AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS

The Search for a Nation's Identity

Kenneth D. Rose

First published 2021 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

? 2021 Kenneth D. Rose

The right of Kenneth D. Rose to be identifed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Rose, Kenneth D. (Kenneth David), 1946? author. Title: American isolationism between the World Wars : the search for a nation's identity / Kenneth D. Rose. Description: New York, NY : Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifers: LCCN 2020049708 (print) | LCCN 2020049709 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367742881 (paperback) | ISBN 9780367742898 (hardback) | ISBN 9781003156956 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: United States--Foreign relations--20th century. | Isolationism--United States--History--20th century. | National characteristics, American. Classifcation: LCC E744 .R815 2021 (print) | LCC E744 (ebook) | DDC 327.73009/04--dc3 LC record available at LC ebook record available at

ISBN: 978-0-367-74289-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-74288-1 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-15695-6 (ebk)

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To the O'Briens, with love.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

ix

Introduction

1

1 America and the Peace Conference

22

2 The Aftermath of Versailles and the Roots of Isolationism

55

3 American Politics and Internationalism in the 1920s

85

4 History, Literature, and Isolationism

119

5 Feeding the Isolationist Beast: Issues, Fears, and Scenarios 169

6 Isolationists: A Gallery

189

7 Isolationism and Politics in the Roosevelt Era

222

8 The Counterinsurgents, the Perils of Neutrality, and

Pearl Harbor

271

Conclusion

312

Index

325

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