Civics_Ch11_Homework-two-guide

=**Guide to Homework #2 - Answer on notebook paper**=

1. __Independence and Isolationism__: When the United States won its independence after the Revolutionary War, the country was deeply in debt (nothing like today's debt though) and struggling to build its economy. It was busy seeking solutions to many domestic (inside the U.S.) problems. Most government leaders strongly believed that the U.S. should concentrate on its own development and growth, and stay out of foreign politics. This belief that the United States should avoid involvement in all foreign affairs is known as isolationism.

Avoiding alliances would be difficult though. The French Revolution, inspired in part by the American Revolution, began in 1789. Soon, Britain and France were at war. Many Americans supported one side or the other. In 1793, President Washington issued his Neutrality Proclamation, which said that the U.S. would not take sides with any European country that was at war. The Proclamation, was a statement of U.S. policy. Other countries had their own foreign policies, which often involved the United States against its will. At no time in U.S. history has the policy of isolationism been an easy one to follow. In the late 1700s, President George Washington was faced with a troubled border situation with the British colony of Canada. To the south and west lay Spanish territory, which blocked U.S. expansion westward and threatened trade on the Mississippi River. When U.S. ships ventured east into the Atlantic seeking trade, British or French navy ships often seized them.

Problems with Britain intensified in the early 1800s. British ships were interfering with American trade at sea and capturing American sailors and forcing them to serve on British naval ships. Also, Americans claimed that the British were arming American Indians and encouraging them to attack outposts on the western borders. Despite the fact that Britain's large navy gave it an advantage at sea, American forces held their own against the British. On land, the U.S. army was able to stop British offenses in the East and South. Although the War of 1812 ended in a stalemate - neither side won a clear-cut victory - the conflict had several positive consequences for the U.S. The war produced intense feelings of patriotism among many Americans having stood up to the powerful British. Most importantly, the War of 1812 won the U.S. a newly found respect among the nations of Europe. The treaty that ended the war eventually led to improved relations with Britain. For nearly 100 years afterward, the United States avoided become involved in European conflicts. __**QUESTION: What early foreign policy challenges did the U.S. face?**__

2. __Historical Document - Washington's Farewell Address__: On September 19, 1796 President George Washington's Farewell Address first appeared in a Philadelphia newspaper. In it, Washington offered advice about the nation's foreign policy: "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world...There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate (plan) upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred...from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation...to maintain inviolate (unchanging) the relations of peace and amity (friendship) towards other nations." __**QUESTION: What was Washington's advice on foreign policy? How do you know?**__

3. __United States and International Relations__: After the War of 1812, the United States worried that Europe might interfere in the Western Hemisphere. U.S. leaders developed two policies to address U.S. relations with Europe, Latin America, and Canada - the Monroe Doctrine and the Good Neighbor Policy.

Most of the countries in Latin America won their independence from Spain in the early 1800s. However, President James Monroe worried that other European powers might try to take control of the newly independent Latin American nations. In 1823, President Monroe declared that the United States would consider any European interference in the affairs of any country in the Western Hemisphere an unfriendly act. Monroe's policy came to be called the Monroe Doctrine. A foreign policy doctrine is a statement of policy that sets forth a way of interacting with other countries. The Monroe Doctrine set the course of U.S. relations with both Latin America and Europe for many years.

At first the countries of Latin America welcomed the support of the United States. For example, the United States helped settle a boundary dispute between Venezuela and Great Britain. Later on, some European countries threatened to use force to collect debts owed by Latin American countries. The United States prevented the interference. After Cuba rebelled against Spain in 1895, the U.S. declared war on Spain in 1898 and defeated the Spanish fleet. President Theodore Roosevelt strengthened the Monroe Doctrine in 1904. He announced that the U.S. would police the Western Hemisphere. If Latin American countries could not manage their own affairs, the U.S. would get involved. This policy would become known as the Roosevelt Corollary. A corollary is a statement that follows as a natural or logical result. After the Roosevelt Corollary, many Americans began to invest money in Latin American companies. When internal disorder threatened these investments, the United States sometimes sent troops to maintain peace. U.S. foreign policy in Latin America thus became known as dollar diplomacy.

Although U.S. actions helped Latin American countries, they also created bad feelings. Latin American leaders believed that the U.S. had turned from protector to oppressor. As a result, the United States took steps to improve relations with Latin America. In the 1930s, the U.S. stated that the Monroe Doctrine would no longer be used to justify U.S. involvement in Latin America. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the Good Neighbor Policy. This policy opposed armed intervention by the United States in Latin American affairs. It emphasized friendly agreements. __**QUESTION: Why do you think the U.S. became increasingly involved in Latin America?**__

4. __Wars End Isolationism__: In 1914, when World War I broke out in Europe, the United States attempted to stay out of the conflict. President Woodrow Wilson announced a policy of neutrality. That is, the United States would not assist or favor either side. Neutrality was difficult to maintain. In 1915, a German submarine sank the British ocean liner //Lusitania//. There were Americans on board that were killed. The U.S. protested but Germany continued its submarine warfare in the Atlantic. When German submarines sank U.S. merchant (trade) ships without warning, remaining neutral became impossible. Congress declared war on Germany in 1917. President Wilson declared that the U.S. would fight to make the world "safe for democracy." The victory of the United States and its allies brought hope for a lasting peace. The League of Nations was set up to solve disputes in a friendly fashion and to go to war only as a last resort. The U.S. never joined the League of Nations though. Isolationism once again was the growing public opinion. The beginning of World War II found teh United States in a neutral position once again. However, the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 changed that. The attack shocked the American people, who realized that isolationism in a worldwide conflict was impossible. The United States declared war on Japan and the Axis powers (that included Hitler's Nazi Germany). Even during the war, plans to establish a postwar peacekeeping organization were already underway. In 1945, the United States joined the new United Nations. __**QUESTION: Why do you think many Americans held a position of isolationism?**__

5. __Causes of the Cold War__: During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were allied in fighting Nazi Germany. After the war ended, however, the two countries became rivals. The roots of the conflict lawy in the two countries' different economic systems and forms of government. The United States is a democracy and the Soviet Union was communist, an oppressive style of government. German writer Karl Marx is credited with the ideas that led to the economic and political system known as communism. Under communism, the government owns the means of production - land, capital, and labor (workers) - and decides what products will be made. Marx believed that capitalists treated workers unfairly (which wasn't actually the case) and argued that the workers, called the proletariat, would take over all factories and businesses. In 1917 Communists in Russia staged a revolution and seized control of the government, becoming the first country to set up a Communist system. Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union. For decades, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union maintained the center of government power. The Soviet government made all economic decisions, owned, and managed all of the industries and farms. Since communism is oppressive and doesn't give incentives to work hard, this system led to widespread poverty in the Soviet Union. Those who spoke out against Communism in Russia were punished.

Soon after World War II, the Soviet Union had established Communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, and Poland. The Soviet Union had turned the countries along its borders into satellite nations, or countries controlled by another country. With the nations of Eastern Europe under its control, the Soviet Union tried to increase its power elsewhere. The United States saw this expansion of Soviet power and communism as a threat to U.S. national security and to world peace. The resulting competition for global power and influence became known as the Cold War. On one side was the Soviet Union and its satellite nations. The United States and other noncommunist countries stood on the other side for freedom. Both sides used propaganda (use of the media to discredit the other and make the other look bad), spying, alliances, foreign aid, and other strategies to "win" the war. __**QUESTION: How did the Cold War begin?**__

6. __Policy of Containment__: At the start of the Cold War, President Harry Truman announced the United States would give economic aid to help countries fighting against communism. This policy became known as the Truman Doctrine. The United States also adopted a policy called containment, which was the policy to stop the spread of communism. The first real test of containment came in 1948 in Berlin, Germany. At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into separate zones. The Soviet Union occupied the eastern zone. France, Britain, and the United States jointly occupied the western zone. Berlin, the capital, was located in the Soviet occupied zone, but it was divided also among the four nations. Each country controlled part of the city. In June 1948 the Soviet Union tried to force the democratic occupation troops in West Berlin to leave the city. The Soviets blockaded Berlin by closing all western land routes to the city. Residents of West Berlin were cut off from food and supplies. The United States and Britain began a massive airlift of fuel, food, clothing, and other essential items. This was the Berlin Airlift. More than 272,000 flights brought 2.3 million tons of needed supplies to West Berlin. The Soviets finally agreed to life the blockade in 1949.

After World War II, a full-scale civil war broke out in China. In 1949 Chinese Communists defeated the government led by Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang's forces fled to the island of Taiwan, off the southeastern coast of China. There they set up a government in exile, called Nationalist China, or the Republic of China. The Communists held the mainland - known as the People's Republic of China with the first Communist leader Mao Tse-tung. China remains communist today although they have had to allow more free enterprise in the economy in order to survive. This shows that communism is unsustainable.

In 1949, the Soviet Union demonstrated to the world that it also had developed nuclear weapons. A balance of power, or situation in which countries are about equal in strength, developed between the Soviet Union and the United States. Each country began testing the other for weaknesses. The most dangerous of these confrontations took place in October of 1962, when President John F. Kennedy was informed that the Soviets were building secret missile bases in Cuba. Fidel Castro had set up a Communist government on the island in 1959. Kennedy knew that these missile bases could threaten the United States, so he demanded that the Soviet Union remove its missiles from Cuba. Kennedy declared that the U.S. was ready to take military action if necessary. The U.S. Navy and Air Force were used to search foreign ships bound for Cuba and Army troops were put on alert. As a result of this show of strength and determination, the Soviet Union backed down and agreed to remove its missiles from Cuba.

During the Cold War, the United States also became involved in military conflicts that were limited in scope. A limited war is fought without using a country's full power, particularly nuclear weapons. As a result of an agreement reached after World War II, the Asian country of Korea was divided into Communist North Korea and noncommunist South Korea. In June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to reunite the country under Communist control. North Korea was equipped with Soviet weapons. Chinese troops also began helping the North Koreans. The U.S. government called on the United Nations to halt the invasion. Troops from the United States and 15 other member nations helped defend South Korea. By July 1953, the conflict had reached a stalemate. The two sides agreed that Korea would remain divided into Communist North Korea and noncommunist South Korea. Tensions remain high between the two Korean countries today.

In 1954 several French colonies in Southeast Asia - Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia - became independent. Vietnam, like Korea, was divided into a Communist northern half and a noncommunist southern half. Vietnam, like Korea, was divided into a Communist northern half and a noncommunist southern half. The agreements called for elections to be held throughout Vietnam in 1956 to reunite the country. When the elections did not take place, Communist guerillas (fighters who don't fight in conventional armies but rather use hit-and-run tactics) revolted. Troops and supplies from North Vietnam supported guerilla forces in the south. The North Vietnamese received military supplies from the Soviet Union and China. U.S. officials feared that if South Vietnam fell to the Communists, other countries in Southeast Asia might also fall. The United States sent economic aid and military advisors to South Vietnam and eventually combat troops were sent into action. By 1969 some 540,000 Americans were fighting in Vietnam. In January 1973 a peace agreement was announced and the war came to an end for the United States. South Vietnam was noncommunist when America left. However, in 1975 the Communist government of North Vietnam gained control of the South and established on Communist nation. __**QUESTION: Why did the U.S. become involved in Vietnam?**__

7. __Analyzing Maps__: Look at the map below on the nations that joined NATO in Europe and the nations that were part of the Soviet Union's Communist Bloc, otherwise known as the Warsaw Pact nations. __**QUESTION: Why do you think it was important for Greece and Turkey to join NATO?**__

8. __The End of the Cold War__: The Soviet Union suffered from the costs of the Cold War. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. Faced with a failing economy, citizen unrest, and a political system that wasn't changing, Gorbachev set up a series of reforms including efforts to lessen tensions with the United States. The policies of U.S. President Ronald Reagan were instrumental in brining an end to the oppressive Communist Bloc because President Reagan promoted American free enterprise and the U.S. economy expanding since the free enterprise in the U.S. gives incentive for individuals to work hard and earn wealth. Social change throughout Eastern Europe caused a number of citizens in several Soviet satellite nations to overturn their Communist governments. By 1990 the Communist governments in six Eastern European countries fell. Germany was reunited under a democrat government with capitalism. Also in 1990 a number of Soviet republics, including East Germany rallied for independence from the Soviet Union. In 1991 the Soviet Union dissolved. With the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the oppressive Soviet Union, the Cold War was over. __**QUESTION: How did the Cold War end?**__

9. __Middle East__: More recent foreign policy issues have dealt with the Middle East. Terrorists are individuals who use violence to achieve political goals. Terror attacks were led by al Qaeda on U.S. targets in the 1990s with little response from the American government. However, on September 11, 2001 al Qaeda launched a massive terrorist attack using airplanes as torpedoes hitting the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth plane was heading to Washington D.C. when passengers on board United Airlines Flight 93 fought back. The plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, PA. As a result, the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan since the leadership there, the Taliban, allowed the terror group al Qaeda to operate in Afghanistan. In 2003, the U.S. also went to war in Iraq since oppressive dictator Saddam Hussein wasn't cooperating with United Nations weapons inspectors and was friendly to terrorists against the U.S. Both wars lasted over 10 years but stability is allowing U.S. soldiers to start coming home. The major problem in the Middle East is an ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Palestine is a small eastern Mediterranean region that wants control of Israel. Palestinians are Muslims and Israelis are primarily Jews. Israel allows freedom and is a true friend of the United States. Palestine, like much of the Middle East, is Islamic and the Palestinians are more militant and are major causes of instability in the Middle East. Oppressive nations such as Iran want to eliminate Israel. Iran is attempting to get a nuclear weapon. If they do, there will be massive instability in the Middle East because Iran as well as Palestine, Syria, and the Muslim Brotherhood that controls the Egypt wants to eliminate Israel, the only free nation in the Middle East. __**QUESTION: What are the foreign policy issues involving the Middle East?**__

10. __American Civil Liberties - Freedom vs. Security__: How much freedom do you think Americans are willing to give up to remain secure? After the September 11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the Patriot Act to help law enforcement catch terrorists by tracking their communications and finances. A part of this legislation has been criticized for allowing the government officials to have too much access to private information. For example, under the act, officials can get secret authorization to search people's homes and monitor their phone calls without a search warrant (only the FBI, not local or state police). The purpose is to stop and/or capture terrorists inside the U.S. Critics say it violates privacy. Supporters say it's good since it is targeting terrorists, not any other American citizens. __**QUESTION: What is the purpose of the Patriot Act? Do you support it or not? Explain why.**__

11. __Global Politics and Trade Issues__: Several African nations and have experienced conflicts over the past several decades. For years, South Africa operated under a system of apartheid, or separation of all races. Under apartheid, white South Africans held all political, social, and economic power but made up a minority of the population. The United States and other countries around the world condemned the system of apartheid. Many nations imposed economic sanctions against South Africa in order to bring about political change. Apartheid officially ended in 1993. The country's first free elections were held in 1994. Anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela became the new president of South Africa. In Latin America, the main goal of U.S. foreign policy became that of expanding trade and opening new markets. NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and other trade issues continue to shape relatins between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. A similar agreement with Central and South American countries was approved in 1995. Immigration policy and border security are important issues today. Fighting drug trafficking has also shaped U.S. policy in Latin America. The War on Drugs - an organized effort to end the trade and use of illegal drugs - began in the 1970s. It has become an important part of U.S.-Latin American relations. U.S. foreign aid to some Latin American countries has sometimes been earmarked for fighting drug production and trafficking. Cuba is a communist nation in Latin America. The U.S. had put into place an embargo, or government order forbidding trade, against Cuba. The U.S. government continues to encourage Cuba to allow more freedom. __**QUESTION: What are some ways the U.S. has responded to political and trade issues in the world?**__

12. __Writing__: Explain what you think is the biggest issue that our nation needs to deal with in terms of foreign policy - war on terror, drugs, illegal immigration, trade, or something else. Explain why you think it's the biggest foreign policy issue that needs dealth with. Also explain what you would do if you were in charge. This is an 8 point question so be sure to give a good explanation for all of the points.

Back to the Chapter 11 main page