Foreign Policy is how a government interacts with other countries. Presidents usually determine and lead the U.S. in deciding how the U.S. will interact with other countries. Some questions that are determined by foreign policy are: Should we buy and sell things with other countries? Which countries are we friends with? If we have a dispute over land with another country, how will we deal with it? What if another country treats our citizens badly?

Can you think of any ways that our country interacts with the people and government in other countries today?

When the United States was a new country the first Presidents struggled to figure out the best foreign policy for the United States with other countries. In this lesson we will record the foreign policy of the first 5 Presidents.

Watch the slideshow and take notes following the chart.

US Studies by the Minnesota Partnership for Collaborative Curriculum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Foreign Policy of The First Five Presidents

Mr. Berner

Who were the first 5 Presidents?

- George Washington (1789-1797)

-John Adams (1797-1801)

-Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

-James Madison (1809-1817)

-James Monroe (1817-1825)

What is Foreign Policy?

Foreign Policy is the plan or way that one country interacts with other countries.

Neutrality- is a policy of not choosing sides in a dispute or war between other countries

Isolationism is a policy of avoiding political or military agreements with other countries.

In 1796 what countries surrounded the United States?

- Canada was controlled by the British

-Spain controlled Florida and most of the land west of the Mississippi River

-Haiti was controlled by the French

-There were also numerous Native American Indian groups living throughout the continent

George Washington

-When Washington became president the US had a very small, weak military.

-The British refused to remove troops from the Ohio River Valley

-In Europe, France went through a Revolution, then France declared war on the British

Washington and the treaty with France

-France was an ally (friend) with the US. France had supported the US in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain

-In the treaty of alliance with France, the US and France agreed to aid and support each other

-The French and many Americans wanted George Washington to commit US troops to help France against Great Britain

Washington's Problem

-Washington knew that the US was not prepared to help France

-He announced a policy of neutrality: The United States would do nothing to aid France or Great Britain in their war

-Washington used a policy of isolationism- steer clear of alliances with other countries.

Jay Treaty

-Under the advisement of Washington, John Jay (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court) went to Great Britain to convince the British to remove troops from the Ohio Valley.

-The British agreed, and while this was good news for the US, France did not see it that way.

-France was mad because the US had made an alliance with their enemy. France felt like the US had broken their treaty to be allies. In 1796, France began attacking US merchant ships in the atlantic, sinking 316 American ships in one year.

Adams and the XYZ Affair

-While France was sinking US ships, John Adams was elected.

-Adams sent diplomats to France to try to negotiate peace.

-The diplomats were never seen by the French Foreign minister- instead they were met by agents who called themselves "X, Y, and Z"

XYZ and Tribute

-XYZ told Adams' diplomats that no peace talks would happen unless the US paid the French foreign minister a large sum of money- "Tribute"

-Tribute is money given in exchange for protection

-The diplomats refused and went back to the US

Adams- Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute

-Adams urged congress to recruit an army of 10,000 men and build 12 new ships

-The people of the US were outraged- angry at France

-Congress used U.S. warship and privately owned ships to launch a "half War" on the seas

-The US captured more than 80 armed French vessels

-Adams became very popular, but Adams faced the question- was the popular thing, war, the best thing for the country?

Adams and Peace

-In 1799, Adams decided peace was the best answer and sent men to France to work out an agreement

-Most people in the US wanted war with France, they were mad at Adams

-By the time Adam's peace seekers got to France, Napoleon had taken over as leader of France.

-Napoleon made peace with the US, release US prisoners and the US agreed to not hold France liable for lost ships/ property

Peace was not popular- Adams lost the next election

-Adams choose the Olive Branch, another way to say peace

-Because he choose peace, he lost popularity with the people

-Jefferson defeated Adams in the next election, but Adams said he had no regrets- he did what he knew to be best for the country

Jefferson deals with thieves and pirates (for real)

-Adam's peace didn't last for very long, in 1803 Jefferson was back dealing with France and Great Britain (they were fighting again)

-Great Britain had also taken up the practice of Impressment. This meant that the British navy was stopping US merchant ships and searching them for British deserters. Not only were they capturing men who had left the British Navy, they were kidnapping US citizens too!

Kidnappers, Thieves and Pirates! Oh My!

-When the US ship the Chesapeake was stopped by British ship the Leopard, the US refused to allow the British on board to search for deserters, the Chesapeake fired on the US ship and killed or wounded 21 American Soldiers

-American ships also faced threat from the Barbary States of North Africa- Pirates in the Mediterranean were seizing ships and holding crews ransom

Jefferson Battles Pirates

-Jefferson sent ships to the Mediteranean to protect US Merchants and shoot cannons at Tripoli

-The US naval ships also set up a blockade to stop

-The US ship Philadelphia runs aground and the crew is taken for ransom by Pirates

Tripoli Pirates make a deal, but the others need to be destroyed

-Tripoli signed a peace treaty with the US in 1805: They stopped attacking US ships and the US paid them $60,000

-Pirates from Algiers, Morocco and Tunis continued to overtake US ships.

-In 1815 US and European Naval forces finally destroyed the Pirate bases in the Mediterranean

Jefferson's Embargo on France and Britain

-Jefferson tried to make peace with France and Great Britain- stop them attacking ships, stealing merchants cargo and end Impressment- but talks did not work

-Jefferson proposed an embargo- Government order that forbids trades with another country- He wanted the embargo against France and Great Britain until they stopped attacking US ships

Jefferson's Embargo only hurts US citizens

-Put 55,000 US sailors out of work

-Made it illegal to sell things to customers France and Great Britain

-In 1809 Congress repealed the Embargo Act

-France and Great Britain continued their attacks.

Protecting the sailors falls next to Madison

-In 1809 President Madison tries to get France and Great Britain to stop their attacks on US ships

-France agrees first and Madison cuts off all trade with Great Britain

-Great Britain continues Impressment and is also arming the Native American Resistance on the frontier

Madison abandon's isolationism and declares war!

-Losses at sea, National Pride, and a wanting to make the frontier safe for white settlers all lead to War

-On July 17, 1812 Congress declares wr on Great Britain

-At the time the US had only 7,000 troops and 16 ships

A Stalemate, but feels like a victory

-Both sides claimed victory, but the Treaty of Ghent didn't address any of the issues that the US had been fighting for

-Native American Indians were driven out of the Ohio Valley, leaving it safer for white settlers

-Nation Pride for US citizens goes up, "We are so great!"

-US begns to produce their own goods because of the ban

Madison had placed on goods from Europe sparked increased manufacturing

Monroe hopes to return to isolationism, but it doesn't work out

-1817 Monroe becomes President

-US is turning attention away from Eruope and looking at Latin America

-Countries from Mexico to the tip of South America were revolting against Spain

-The US and Great Britain were excited for new countries in Latin America

Europe eyes Latin America- new land for them to colonize?

-Some European countries started talking about helping Spain regain their territories

-In 1823 Great Britain asked the US to join in sending a message to European rulers, "Leave Latin America Alone"

-Monroe wanted to stay neutral, but wasn't sure what to do- if Europe tried to re-take Latin America, maybe they woud want the US too?

Monroe Doctrine

-In 1823 Monroe made a speech to Congress announcing his policy: The Western Hemisphere was no longer opne to European Colonization- Stay out, or we will put you out.

-Europe called it arrogant

-US citizens called it standing up for Freedom

A strong and confident nation

-The Monroe Doctrine told the world that the US was a strong and confident nation, not a weak collection of states.

-The US should be respected by the world

Source

Hart, Diane. History Alive! The United States Through Modern Times. Rancho Cordova, CA: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2014. Book.