Our nation was built through a war, a war that was won with a promise. In 1778 America and France signed the Treaty of Alliance. This treaty formalized France’s financial and military support for the American colonists during the revolutionary war, in turn, this treaty committed that both nations would hold each other up with mutual support.
As our revolution had ended, and we had become an independent nation, it was now our duty through the treaty to aid France. While treaties had been signed, and moral obligation was weighing deeply within us, our nation was divided. The Federalists leaned towards neutrality, while the Democratic-Republicans were sympathetic toward helping the French Revolutionaries.
Starting in 1789 the French Revolution had begun, and by 1793 President George Washington drafted his Neutrality Proclamation. This proclamation was directed towards the French revolution while also a broader context of neutrality on foreign affairs. Our newly born nation did not have either the financial or military assets to assist in wars that were not directly in affect to us.
Though most of our nation was sympathetic to aiding the French, it would’ve harmed us to do so. There were many variables at play, especially due to how the French went about their own revolution, we weren’t in a position to take on the risks that would’ve followed.
Around a century of building our nation from the ground up, The US had become one of the world’s leading industrial powers. By then we had expanded farther and farther west, and by 1898 after the Spanish-American War the US had become a major player on the World stage, leading to our first significant overseas expansion. Around this time the US became the world’s largest economy by GDP.
With a powerful economy, and a powerful military, we became a powerful country. Yet did this change our view on foreign affairs and our stances on neutrality?
In only a short amount of time from the Spanish-American War, the World began to change. Countries started industrializing, weapons started advancing, and methods of battle became methods of destruction.
1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was assassinated. This caused outrage throughout Europe, initializing what would become the first world war. By 1917, American Congress declared war on Germany due to the unrestricted submarine warfare and Germany’s attempts to ally with Mexico against the US.
While this war was fought due to conflict towards Americans from Germany, this period changed what war was. War has always been violent, but this war changed the world indefinitely.
Shortly after, due to the embarrassment and restrictions placed on countries including Germany during this time, hatred began to arise. World War II started roughly 20 years after the end of the “War to end all wars”.
Once again America had become involved, but this time it was different. While America had knowledge of Japan’s intentions to wake the sleeping giant, America was not as worried. Sources will argue that the attack on Pear Harbor in Hawaii was a surprise attack, while many other sources will say that the US had known prior with time in advance to evacuate. One of the main reasons for this theory is that going into a war would give the US jobs in manufacturing allowing us to get out of the Great Depression, which did end up happening allowing us great economic success afterwards and placing the US as a Global superpower.
Following this chain reaction from the first two World Wars, America found itself within the Cold War. This is where things became dicey, America began fighting proxy wars. As Countries fought for either capitalism, communism, or to maintain neutrality, America found itself pumping out weapons, money, and other means to slow down the risks of the spread of communism, yet wouldn’t this in turn break our neutrality? Wars have been fought by now, lives have been lost, countless American lives shed to the name of foreign wars. While factors came in that affected us, our nation can’t stand to say that we didn’t want these wars to happen. The financial gain and power that we had received from these American lives sacrificed allowed these men to not inherently die in vain, but how would our founding fathers feel about our stances in these fights?
From the First World War to the present time period we have entirely changed our stances on any basis of neutrality. We have formed alliances for the better protection of Global causes, sure. But should we be doing this?
To end the homeless crisis in America we would need around $11 billion to $30 billion annually. To put that into perspective just since October 7th 2023 the American government has funded Israel $173 billion dollars in foreign aid. This money has not been sent for reconstruction, This money has been sent to fund a war. Since 2023 65,502 Palestinians in Gaza have died due to Israeli military action, the UN has reported that the majority of these deaths are civilians. This number of deaths doesn’t account for all that are presumed dead under the rubble nor the deaths that are “indirect” from the starvation and disease due to the collapse of healthcare.
We took a stance on neutrality when this nation was born, our wars have been fought predominantly with a moral compass, yet what happened to that? We need to proclaim our neutrality once again, or else more innocent lives will be lost. We need to be sympathetic towards those who are dying due to foreign issues, but as a nation so divided there is little we can do, yet to turn our backs on those who need it most, to fund the corrupt, to kill the innocent? We are nation that has the ability to aid for just reasons, we are a nation many rely upon but the second we promise allegiances, lose our neutrality, then to lose what this country was built for? We need neutrality when conflicts don’t affect us, yet moral obligation to those who need us.
