American Foreign Policies

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Article 26-1 presents the reasoning of General Marshal after the Second World War. The military leader commented that it was not possible for America to live without preparing itself militarily in order to counter any foreign threat.

According to the general, the international system had changed implying that it was impossible for great states such as America to live without any strategies for coping with external aggression. In his analysis, declaring war on another state required careful planning. America had to come with policies that would allow it to respond to conflicts swiftly.

The army general appreciated the fact that America sacrificed a lot to achieve greatness during the Second World War. The general therefore posited that world peace could only be maintained through threats of war. The US should always prepare to enter into if tranquility is to be realized in the global society. Furthermore, states should form organizations that are charged with the responsibility of maintaining peace in the world. This is clearly captured in the following statement:

In order to establish an international system for preventing war, peace-loving people of the world is demonstrating an eagerness to send their representatives to such conferences as those at Dumbarton Oaks and San Francisco (Johnson 210)

In document27-5, the former head of state, Dwight Eisenhower, gives an analysis of the American society after the Second World War. The head of state mentions some achievements of the war but goes a notch higher to highlight its threats. The head of state claims in the article that the US had to change its policies, both internally and externally in order to suit the changing international system. However, the head of state warns that policies should always be assessed carefully to achieve success. This is captured in the following sentence:

balance between the clearly necessary and comfortable desirable, balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by nation upon the individual, balance between action of the moment and the national welfare of the future (Johnson 248)

Both articles 26-1 and 27-5 suggest that national interests usually guide states in the international system. This implies that there is no government in the international system that can foster unity and understanding among actors.

The international system exists according to the Hobbestain state of nature that is characterized by anarchy, brutality, nasty life and selfishness. General Marshal Advices Americans in article 26-1 that they should strive to form a strong military that would protect their lives and properties in case another war takes place.

The president in article 27-5 observes that the state had to change its foreign and domestic policies to survive in the international system. Even though the general accepts that formation of international regimes would prevent the occurrence of another war, he still holds that the United States should always participate fully in forming those regimes.

From the two articles, it is true that the US changed its foreign policies after the Second World War. Throughout history, the American foreign policies have been determined by either isolationism or interventionism. Before the WWII, the US applied isolationist polices.

This meant that it could not engage in any form of external aggression. The US did not join the First World War until the time when it was concluding.

Furthermore, it was forced to join the Second World War through the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After the Second World War, the US adopted interventionist policies in 1991 and in 2003, in resolving the Middle East conflicts. The US incorporated Truman’s ideas, which suggested that communism was to be contained under all circumstances. The changes and developments in the international system influenced American foreign policies.

Before the World Wars, America applied the policy of isolationism because the system was multi-polar. This means that there were many centers of power in the global system. After the World Wars, the system became bipolar where power was distributed between two powers that is, the US and the USSR. The US had to apply interventionist policies to counter communism.

Works Cited

Johnson, Michael. Reading the American past: selected historical documents: volume II: from 1865. 4th ed. New York: Bedford, 2008. Print.

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American Foreign Policies

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