Foreign policy is an extremely difficult and complex aspect of government that all presidents faced, and will continue to face for years to come. During 1945 to 1991, foreign policy proved especially challenging because the public held many different opinions on the issues. Also, America often was not directly affected by communist actions, but would step in to protect the honor of other democracies and ensure that basic human rights were being met all around the world. Between 1945-1991, many changes occurred in United States’ foreign policy due to world that continued to change as events unfolded and new presidents enter in the office with different approaches. However, many things would stay the same over time because they had previously
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Ford would continue many of Nixon’s policies, even with resistance from the country in the context of the “Vietnam syndrome” which included a discredited presidency because both Nixon and Johnson supported feverishly a war that was eventually lost. Congress became the central power of the United States government. When Jimmy Carter ran for President, he modeled his beliefs after the American feelings of anti-intervention. He promised peace and honesty to the American people, which was a fresh and appealing idea. His initial goal for peace was accomplished in the Camp David Accords of 1978, where Carter brought Egyptian and Israeli leaders to the presidential retreat. This resulted in a peace agreement, and this was a huge accomplishment for Carter, as Israel and Egypt are still very friendly countries today. In fact, this was so admired that Bill Clinton attempted and later failed to reach a peace agreement between Israel and Palestinian leaders at Camp David. These are examples of diplomatic methods because no physical force was used; instead peaceful negotiation methods were utilized, which is the most humane and civil manner to work out differences rather than war. In the 1980 election, Carter was beat by Ronald Reagan, likely due to a weak plan with Russia, which only included a boycott of their Olympics. Reagan’s approach to foreign policy was to revive the Cold War, as the Soviet Union is an “evil empire”. He also proposed the “Star Wars program” in which missiles would be put in outer space to shoot down Soviet Union missiles. This terrified the Soviet Union, and helped to put on pressure for an eventual end to the Cold War. When George H.W. Bush became president in 1989, he took a not aggressive approach toward foreign policy. After Gorbachev came to power it the Soviet Union, everything was to change and an end to the war was soon to come. After Polish and Eastern Germany demonstrated
Ford would continue many of Nixon’s policies, even with resistance from the country in the context of the “Vietnam syndrome” which included a discredited presidency because both Nixon and Johnson supported feverishly a war that was eventually lost. Congress became the central power of the United States government. When Jimmy Carter ran for President, he modeled his beliefs after the American feelings of anti-intervention. He promised peace and honesty to the American people, which was a fresh and appealing idea. His initial goal for peace was accomplished in the Camp David Accords of 1978, where Carter brought Egyptian and Israeli leaders to the presidential retreat. This resulted in a peace agreement, and this was a huge accomplishment for Carter, as Israel and Egypt are still very friendly countries today. In fact, this was so admired that Bill Clinton attempted and later failed to reach a peace agreement between Israel and Palestinian leaders at Camp David. These are examples of diplomatic methods because no physical force was used; instead peaceful negotiation methods were utilized, which is the most humane and civil manner to work out differences rather than war. In the 1980 election, Carter was beat by Ronald Reagan, likely due to a weak plan with Russia, which only included a boycott of their Olympics. Reagan’s approach to foreign policy was to revive the Cold War, as the Soviet Union is an “evil empire”. He also proposed the “Star Wars program” in which missiles would be put in outer space to shoot down Soviet Union missiles. This terrified the Soviet Union, and helped to put on pressure for an eventual end to the Cold War. When George H.W. Bush became president in 1989, he took a not aggressive approach toward foreign policy. After Gorbachev came to power it the Soviet Union, everything was to change and an end to the war was soon to come. After Polish and Eastern Germany demonstrated