International Involvement Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Involvement Paper - Essay Example In principle, each state must mind its own business and must respect the business of other independent states. However, in practice, this was not as easy as it seemed because these states related to each other in matters of commercial, political, cultural or humanitarian interests. Pickett (p. 13-14) added that the educational training and mental biases of historians of international relations affected their analysis of how America’s government behaved during the period. Pickett’s short article covered the whole period from the success of the American Revolution in the late 18th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 20th century. Having gained independence from England, the young American state continued to be concerned with the matter of how to guarantee its survival against European nations that were always intent on imperialism or the expansion of their respective empires through conquest. Newly independent from imperialist England, America faced a quandary throughout most of the nineteenth century that touched on the young state’s conscience: since conquest meant having to go against the freedom of other peoples and their governments, how could America justify its involvement in international affairs that may involve going to war? Pickett (1992, p. 14) cited the importance of the Monroe Doctrine as â€Å"the first and – in the nineteenth century – the most important American diplomatic principle. Through the Doctrine the United States first asserted interests in the Western Hemisphere.† The Monroe Doctrine, based on an 1823 Congressional address by President James Monroe, called for U.S. indifference to European affairs and for European powers not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere or the Americas. Thus, until the late nineteenth century, America’s policy was not to engage other nations, i.e., to be internationally isolationist. Several events in the