Course 2, Volume 1A. American Foreign Policy in Growth and Action Page: 70
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AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY IN GROWTH AND ACTION
handclasp of the good neighbor. Let those who wish
our friendship look us in the eye and take our hand.
In December 1936 President Roosevelt jour-
neyed to speak at a meeting of all the American
republics at Buenos Aires. There he
Franklin D. proposed that the Western Hemis-
Roosevelt phere unite for mutual safety. This
expands the was widely interpreted as an invita-
Monroe tion to make the Monroe Doctrine
Doctrine multilateral, but no specific steps
were taken by the conference to
grasp the opportunity. In the several documents
signed at the conference, however, notable ad-
vances in inter-American cooperation were made.
THE BUENOS AIRES PACTS, BUENOS AIRES,
DECEMBER 23, 1936: . . . Article II. In the event
of war, or of a virtual state of war between American
States, the Governments of the American Republics
. . . shall undertake without delay the necessary mu-
tual consultations, in order to exchange views and
to seek . . . a method of peaceful collaboration; and,
in the event of an international war outside America
which might menace the peace of the American Re-
publics, such consultation shall also take place to
determine the proper time and manner in which the
signatory states, if they so desire, may eventually co-
operate in some action tending to preserve the peace
of the American Continent. . . .
-The Consultative Pact.
. . . ARTICLE I. The High Contracting Parties
declare inadmissible the intervention of any one of
them, directly or indirectly, and for whatever reason,
in the internal or external affairs of any other of
the Parties. . . . -The Non-Intervention Protocol.
The Inter-American Conference for the Mainte-
nance of Peace declares: 1. That the American na-
tions, true to their republican institutions, proclaim
their absolute juridical liberty, their unrestricted re-
spect for their several sovereignty and the existence
of a common democracy throughout America. . . .
3. That the following principles are accepted by the
international American communiity: (a) Proscription
of territorial conquest and that, in consequence, no
acquisition made through violence shall be recog-
nized; (b) Intervention by one State in the internal
or external affairs of another State is condemned ;
(c) Forcible collection of pecuniary debts is illegal';
and (d) Any difference or dispute between the Amer-
ian nations, whatever its nature or origin, shall be
settled by the methods of conciliation, or full arbi-
tration, or through operation of international justice.
-Declaration of Principles of Inter-American
Solidarity and Confederation.
The marked improvement in the attitude of the
Latin American nations toward their large andoften mistrusted neighbor to the north gave
added strength to the American policy as it faced
the threats posed by the rise of dictatorships in
the European world.
4. Neutrality and the Threat of War:
1933-1939
Although the major concern of the United
States in the first years of the New Deal was with
domestic recovery and the social advances spon-
sored by the Roosevelt administration, many prob-
lems were posed on the foreign policy front. Pre-
occupation with internal matters could not lessen
the impact upon the United States of fast-devel-
oping affairs abroad, especially in Europe.
Inability of European nations to pay on their
debts to the United States led to the Johnson Act
of April 13, 1934 which prohibited
Europe American individuals or corpora-
defaults tions from loaning money to any
on its debts government in default of its debts
to the United States. By June 15th
every debtor nation in Europe, except Finland,
was in default, and the vexing debt problem re-
mained unsolved.
One far-reaching event of Franklin Roosevelt's
first year in the White House was the recognition
on November 16, 1933 of the Soviet Union and
the resumption of diplomatic rela-
United States tions between the two nations after
recognizes sixteen years of official non-inter-
Soviet Russia course. This action was fully in
accord with accepted American
practice, for the government of the USSR had
fulfilled the customary conditions for both de
facto and de jure recognition for some years.
Domestic politics in the United States had pre-
vented recognition before this, because of the
opposition to recognition by economic and church
groups influential with the Republican party.
When President Roosevelt secured what were be-
lieved to be sincere promises from the Russians in
respect to religious tolerance in the USSR, aban-
donment of Russian propaganda efforts in the
United States, and procedures for
Russia fails the settlement of debt claims by
to keep her American creditors, most objections
promises to resumption of relations were
overcome. The Russians failed to
live up to their part of the pre-recognition agree-70
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Air University (U.S.). Extension Course Institute. Course 2, Volume 1A. American Foreign Policy in Growth and Action, book, April 1959; Alabama. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1077937/m1/84/?rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.