Alan Brinkley And Dyer Analysis

In the American Presidency, Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer illustrate the scale of American Foreign Policy greatly differing from 1789 to 1861, with some presidents such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe practicing Isolationism, and others such as James Madison practicing Foreign Involvement, and certain presidents such as Abraham Lincoln practicing a degree of both foreign involvement and isolationism. Many early presidents practiced isolationism because the United States was not in any position to be intervening in any foreign affairs. In Washington's farewell address, he stated that the United States should not get involved in any European affairs. During John Adam's Presidency, he was able to avoid bad relations with France despite having to deal with the XYZ affair, in which French …show more content…
These presidents only got involved in foreign affairs if the need was absolutely necessary. Although while not necessary, they would practice Isolationism. Abraham Lincoln was a president who practiced a degree of both isolationism and foreign involvement. “The President has… implied authority over foreign affairs… as Commander in chief.” (Brinkley 174). During the Civil War, Lincoln was afraid that France and Britain would back the Confederacy because of their great demand for cotton. During an off shore alliance negotiation between the Confederacy and Britain, the Union intervened and took all the British and Confederate diplomats hostage. This was a huge gamble by the Union but ended up paying off. The British were infuriated but since Lincoln took a firm stance with them, the British backed down and decided not to get involved into the American Civil War. That single foreign involvement move could have changed the course of history and the United States today as we know it by possibly allowing the Confederacy and Britain to conspire in an alliance against the Union and bring it to its