America First (policy)

Political cartoon by Dr. Seuss deriding non-interventionism (1941)

America First refers to a populist political theory in the United States that emphasizes the fundamental notion of "putting America first", which generally involves disregarding global affairs and focusing solely on domestic policy in the United States. This generally denotes policies of non-interventionism, American nationalism, and protectionist trade policy.[1]

The term was coined by President Woodrow Wilson[2] in his 1916 campaign that pledged to keep America neutral in World War I. A more non-interventionist approach gained prominence in the interwar period (1918–1939); it was also advocated by the America First Committee, a non-interventionist pressure group against U.S. entry into World War II.[3]

Decades later, Donald Trump used the slogan in his 2016 presidential campaign and presidency (2017–2021), emphasizing the U.S.'s withdrawal from international treaties and organizations in the administration's foreign policy.[4][5][6] Media critics have derided Trump's use of the America First policy as "America Alone".[7][8][9]

  1. ^ Olson, Lynne (2013). Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939–1941. New York City: Random House. pp. 220, 227, 234, 242, 243. ISBN 978-0-679-60471-6. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  2. ^ Rubino, Rich (January 25, 2017). "Trump Was Not First To Use The "America First" Slogan". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sarles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Shapiro, Ari; Daly, Robert (January 23, 2017). "As Trump Adopts 'America First' Policy, China's Global Role Could Change". NPR. Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  5. ^ "The new nationalism – Trump's world". The Economist. November 19, 2016. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  6. ^ "US election 2016: Trump details 'America First' foreign plan". BBC News. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  7. ^ McTague, Tom; Nicholas, Peter (October 29, 2020). "How 'America First' Became America Alone". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  8. ^ Frum, David (May 30, 2020). "Opinion: 'America First' means America alone – and in a postpandemic world, that would be disastrous". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Glasser, Susan B. "Under Trump, "America First" Really Is Turning Out to Be America Alone". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2020.

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