How Is George Washington's Foreign Policy Of Isolationism

The first president of the United States, George Washington, sought a foreign policy of isolationism and neutrality, meaning that the U.S. would stay out of affairs regarding other nations. This policy was adopted to protect the security of the nation, though it changed over time as the policy of isolationism became nearly impossible to maintain. However, when John F. Kennedy became president, he rekindled ideas of isolationism for reasons different from Washington: Because “America itself was a poison in and for the world” (Weigel). Throughout history, the ideas reflected in the U.S. foreign policy have been influenced by the president in office, and as shown in the connection between Kennedy and Washington, ideas resurface in the foreign …show more content…
security must “require. a military that must be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of the world. and all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives” (Crawford). The U.S. military, for many years, has played a huge role in the security of the country, and the approaches they take in protecting the nation reflect the moral values fostered by the U.S. foreign policy. Members of the military will do what they are told, as that is what is asked of them. However, in the case that they are given immoral orders, soldiers have the ability to display intelligent disobedience, which is described as the refusal “to follow orders that are either unlawful or will produce harm” (Thomas et al.). So, when faced with orders that challenge the morality of the U.S. foreign policy, soldiers in combat who foster intelligent disobedience may, in turn, refuse to follow these orders. This also becomes a display of moral courage, which is defined in many ways, but specifically in context, is defined as one’s “capacity. to reject evil conformity. and to defy immoral or imprudent orders” (Thomas et …show more content…
foreign policy, the question is begged: To what extent does the United States’ foreign policy influence whether or not U.S. military members will refuse to follow immoral orders that are given to them in combat? Regularly, when the foreign policy fosters moral ideas, it is more likely that members of the U.S. military will consider those ideas in combat to ensure they are employing moral strategies to protect foreign relations with other countries. Furthermore, when the president, who has influence on the policy and is the commander in chief of the military, values morality, those ideas will filter into the U.S. foreign policy, resulting in moral action taken by the military. The United States’ foreign policy is a set of principles that are solely based on the moral and legal concepts associated with higher U.S. officials (Rieff). This policy determines when war is just, which is why the implementation of a moral foreign policy is important because “in starting wars, our common foibles have too often led nations to ‘wrongly think themselves to be in the right’” (Ficarrotta). This implies that nations go to war for reasons that may not reflect the morality of the country as a whole, however, the foreign policy is put in place to prevent unjust wars from