American Isolationism and World War II
A critical question addressed by many historians is the question of whether or not American isolationism caused the Second World War. Historian Paul Johnson (769) takes the position that "it is also a mythàthat America's unwillingness to engage in World War II àsprang from a deep sense of isolationism, which was America's pristine and natural posture in world affairs." Johnson (769) bolsters this statement by noting that while then-prevalent polls show that about 80 percent of the adult population wanted America to remain neutral until the Pearl Harbor attack, but that its previous history of active engagement on global affairs (including war) demonstrates that America was then and is now "an internationalist country." This brief essay will argue that it is overly simplistic to assert that American isolation "caused" World War II to break out in either Europe or Asia.
Isolationism is defined as "a national policy of abstaining from political or economic countries" or, alternatively, as "the doctrine that a nation should stay out of the disputes and affairs of other nations ("Answers.com, 1)." U-S-History.com (1) notes that isolationism in this instance refers to America's longstanding "reluctance to become involved in European alliances and wars" based on the view "that America's perspective on the world was different from that of European societies and that America could advance the cause of freedom and democracy by means other than war." However, this posture did not necessarily mean that America's policy of refraining, except when absolutely needed (as in the Spanish-American War, the War of 1812, and the First World War), from military engagement in the military conflicts of other countries or regions literally "caused" those countries to use military force against one another with impunity.
In discussing the historical underpinnings of American isolationist policies, Paul S....