Isolationism

= US Isolationism 1920-1941: = = The Lend-Lease Bill Debate =
 * - During the decades that followed US involvement in WWI, America began to adopt a foreign policy that would insulate our country from the problems that emerged in Europe after the Treaty of Versailles (which, it should be noted, the US Senate refused to ratify). While America openly engaged economically with foreign nations, the government repeatedly adopted isolationist policies in regards to foreign aid, private investments, military support, and foreign alliances. As President Roosevelt proclaimed, we were returning to the policies adopted under George Washington, which called for strict neutrality and an avoidance of entangling ourselves in foreign alliances.**

- You are to take a position on the Lend-Lease Bill, which allocates credit to foreign countries involved in WWII, particularly Great Britain and France. - There are three options (see attached handout). You will be assigned to research one of these options, and using both your resources and prior knowledge, write a defensible argument for your position. - I also encourage you to criticize the other options, clearly and logically explaining how/why your option is better for the country.
 * You task is two fold:**


 * I strongly encourage you all to use the following cites for your information. These sites and articles were selected to compliment the activity and you can get a majority of your information out of these THREE links. The debate instructions themselves were excerpts from the two article provided below.**

[|Foreign Policy Review]
 * - A good website that reviews the foreign policy and isolationist practices of the US in the 1920s and 1930s. Use as a supplement to the materials in your handout.**
 * - A good article providing some background history on isolationist policies in the US c. 1920-1940.**
 * - A good article reviewing the impacts and effects of isolationist practices in the US c. 1920-1940.**


 * The handout and resources for this assignment can be downloaded below. Your response (argument) will be turned in the form of a Wiki Post.