U.S. Foreign Policy from 1899 to the Present - SAT Subject Test in United States History

Germany had, in 1917, resumed its unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Sea and the Atlantic. This threatened United States trade interests and, more significantly, resulted in the deaths of dozens of U.S. civilians when the Lusitania was attacked. Although affinity for the English and economic rivalry with the Germans played a part in the Congressional debates, it was Germany’s use of U-Boats that finally convinced Wilson that war could not be avoided.

The Stimson Doctrine, named after the Secretary of State, Henry Stimson, was issued during the Herbert Hoover administration. It was issued in response to Japan’s invasion of China and the threat of similar territorial expansion in Europe. The Stimson Doctrine states that any territory gained via the use of military force should not be considered valid. It has remained a part of United States’ government policy ever since, although the United States itself has hardly been exempt from using force to expand its territory. It was referenced often as a counter to actions taken by the Soviet Union during the height of the Soviet Empire. Historically, and contemporarily, it has been frequently criticized for achieving little except the alienation of the Japanese. The Kellogg-Briand Pact officially denounced warfare, so could be seen as a reasonable answer here, however it occurred several years earlier and did not specifically refer to how the government should consider territorial gain. The other doctrines generally express ideas contrary to the Stimson Doctrine.

From 1953 to 1979, Iran was ruled as a monarchy by the Shahs, members of the Pahlavi family, with immense Western backing. Under economic and societal pressures, a revolution broke out against the Shah in 1979, led by Islamic radicals under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Deeply disdainful of Western powers, and responding to anger about the United States' global presence and involvement in the Shah's government, the worker at the American embassy in Tehran were held hostage from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. The Americans were released despite the unwillingness to negotiate on the Ayatollah's part, only as Ronald Reagan was sworn in at his inauguration.

The Lend-Lease policy, officially "An Act to Promote the Defence of the United States," was effectively the end of the United States' neutrality in World War II. While it did not officially enter the war, the Act made the United States firmly support the Allies, Great Britain, Free France, and the Soviet Union, with economic aid and war material. From its enactment in March 1941 to the end of World War II, the US supplied the Allies with over in aid and supplies.

The events leading up to WWI are a little crazy in that, taken piecemeal they seem relatively small, but put together, they created one of the most deadly conflicts in history. At any rate, Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Black Hand assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand (of Austria-Hungary—and, coincidentally, the name of a modestly successful band) and his wife. This led to A-H issuing an ultimatum to Serbia, which led to escalation and war, which led to the various different treaties coming into play, which, in turn, led to countries that were not even remotely involved in the original conflict becoming embroiled in a massive war.

The entirety of the referenced line reads as follows:

"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

On December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attacked the US Pacific Fleet, launching America into World War II.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear missiles in Cuban locations during October of 1962. John F. Kennedy was president from 1961 until his death in November of 1963.

The Yalta Conference was convened by Allied leaders Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, the respective leaders of America, Britain, and the Soviet Union. These three nations were the leading powers of the Allied forces in World War II. Adolf Hitler was still leader of Germany in February of 1945, and still fighting the Allies, so all answer choices with Konrad Adenauer should be eliminated.

Kennedy’s line came in a 1963 speech in West Berlin that sought to show solidarity with the “free people” of Berlin. It was also widely seen as a speech which stood against any sense of Soviet aggression in East Germany. Kennedy’s marked anti-communism and Berlin’s place in the Cold War are important starting points to rule out answer choices that do not indicate either of those facts.

Following the culmination of World War II, the economies of Europe were heavily ravaged by the effects of war. The Marshall Plan, implemented in 1948, was designed to assist these countries economically and re-build them to close to their pre-war strength. The intention was to prevent the Western countries from embracing Communism which was taking hold throughout, the even more impoverished, Eastern Europe.

The Contras were an anti-Communist force dedicated to overthrowing the Sandinista government of Nicaragua, led by Daniel Ortega. The Reagan administration had attempted to fund the Contras by selling Arms to Iran, despite an Embargo on trade there since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The Scandal was discovered in November 1986 after Iranian elements leaked information of the arms sales.

The Kellogg-Briand pact was the brain child of United States Secretary of State Frank Kellogg in 1928. It was a treaty, signed by many nations, including the Soviet Union, which officially renounced war as a means of national policy. Although proposed by a United States’ representative, it did not gain majority support in American society and the U.S. continued to heavily invest in its military throughout peacetime.

Several decades of American interference and militaristic action had soured relations heavily between the United States and Latin America by the time of JFKs inauguration in 1960. To combat this Kennedy proposed a ten-year plan called the Alliance for Progress, which he hoped would halt and reverse this trend. The plan called for political stabilization in the region, economic co-operation and generous American aid. Although the plan did help play a role in the growth of Latin American domestic output in the 1960s and 1970s, lack of support from later Presidents and an unwillingness on the part of many Latin American governments to agree to American proposals ultimately lead the plan to be viewed as a failure.

The name given to the crisis that began with the Islamist students' taking of the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran, is called the Iran Hostage Crisis.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The stated aims of the Treaty are to prevent the spread of nuclear weaponry to new countries, to co-operate on the peaceful use of nuclear technology, and to encourage the trend of gradual nuclear disarmament.

In the 1950s the United States found itself needing to fill a power vacuum in the Middle East, following the withdrawal of France and Great Britain. The threat of Soviet influence, or direct control, prompted President Eisenhower to issue a speech that would soon come to be known as the Eisenhower Doctrine. It promised economic and military aid to countries in the Middle East. As well as, assurances that the United States would provide aid and possibly troops to any sovereign nation threatened with invasion by a Communist regime.

The Munich Pact was an agreement made between the major European powers in 1938, which allowed Germany to occupy the Sudetenland, then part of Czechoslovakia. The agreement was primarily the result of British, French, and German diplomatic maneuvering. As part of the agreement, Hitler promised to halt his desire for territorial expansion. At the time it was viewed as a successful measure to avoid war; however it quickly began to be seen as a catastrophically failed and act of appeasement. The Pact was important for the United States, because it precipitated a series of events that would draw the United States into the conflict. Had war in Europe been declared in 1938, as opposed to 1939, the United States would have had less time to prepare, and the whole conflict might have gone differently.

The Potsdam Conference convened in occupied Germany in July and August of 1945. It was a meeting of the heads of state of the victorious powers (the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States). The purpose for the Conference was to sign a series of post-war treaties, to decide how to organize war ravaged Europe and to establish order throughout the world. The United States was represented by Harry S. Truman who had very recently succeeded to the presidency, following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978. The agreement was initially designed to end decades of Arab and Israeli hostilities, but later evolved into a concerted effort to promote bilateral agreements between Egypt and Israel. The agreement represented the culmination of a year’s intense diplomatic work by President Jimmy Carter. The specific terms of the two accords provided for demilitarization of the border between the two nations, the promise that they would work together to establish a legitimate Palestinian governing body, and that both countries would receive regular aid from the United States.