American Conceptions of Neutrality: A Summary

The year 1941 was an important turning point in American foreign policy; the country changed from passive abstention in international affairs to active involvement. Before 1941, the United States had regularly been neutral, afterwards no more. This reversal did much to alter the American conception of neutrality but, interestingly enough, the events of 1941 alone are not responsible for the change. America did not possess one conception of neutrality before 1941 and another thereafter. The change was gradual and began earlier. Any attempt to understand the American conception of neutrality must, there-fore, begin with a look at the past. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.