 POLITICS IS CONFLICTUAL
Read through the political cartoons linked below. Each one comments on the debate over whether or not the United States should join the League of Nations after World War I.
http://www.authentichistory.com/ww1/cartoons/ww1politicalcartoonsLON01.html
http://hti.osu.edu/opper/display.cfm?id=11
http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/text/versaillestreaty/vercontents.html
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| 1. Who supported America’s joining the league? Who opposed it? What reasons did the different parties give for their stance? |
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Compare the narrative you were able to piece together from the cartoons with the more substantial timeline of the debate provided in the following link. http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/ww1/1919League2.html
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| 2. Summarize the general foreign policy stance that the pro- and anti-league forces adopted during this time. How did these stances conflict? |
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| 3. Which side, if either, won the battle over the league? Which side won in the long run? |
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 Political Process Matters
Read through the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928. |
| 4. To what do signatories agree by signing the document? |
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| Now look over the State Department document titled “Treaties in Force,” especially the section on page 4 titled “Renunciation of War.”
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| 5. What does this mean for U.S. foreign policy? Are U.S. obligations being met? Provide examples to support your argument. |
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| 6. What argument and examples might someone who disagrees with your answer offer in response? What do the contents of the pact and the U.S.’s adherence or lack thereof suggest about the American political process when it comes to foreign policy? |
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 POLITICS IS EVERYWHERE
The United States maintains military bases, airfields, shipyards, and troops throughout the world. Observe the locations of U.S. military installations on the two interactive maps linked below.
http://www.benefits.military.com/misc/installations/Browse_USMap.jsp
http://www.benefits.military.com/misc/installations/Browse_WorldMap.jsp
Use the following map from Mother Jones for a historical and geographical look at U.S. troop deployment. http://www.motherjones.com/military-maps
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| 7. Why, as a matter of foreign policy, might the U.S. government maintain such a widespread military presence? Why might this widespread presence be detrimental to U.S. foreign policy? |
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| 8. What regions have grown in military importance over time, and what do you think sparked the U.S.’s interest in those regions? |
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| 9. How might people in different parts of the world interpret the presence, or lack of presence, of U.S. military forces? |
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