Good Neighbour Policy

Can a powerful country in a single region have an amicable relationship with its neighbors without dominating them? This is what President Franklin D. Roosevelt set out to do when he introduced the Good Neighbor Policy for Latin America in 1933. At this time, the president stated:

This approach marked a break with the U.S. foreign policy of meddling in the domestic affairs of foreign countries in the western hemisphere in the preceding decades.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Good Neighbor Policy

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) initiated a foreign policy for the Americas called the Good Neighbor Policy. The latter represented an important change in U.S. behavior in the region. Instead of relying on force and using the military to achieve one's goals, Roosevelt wanted to foster cooperation and good relations between different countries in the Americas by using trade, economy, diplomacy, and culture.

Good Neighbor Policy: Definition

The Good Neighbor Policy (1933) was the foreign policy of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration in Latin America.

• The purpose of the Good Neighbor Policy was non-interventionism. Cordell Hull, the U.S. Secretary of State for the Roosevelt administration, also expressed his views against interventionism in the region at the Montevideo Conference that same year. The policy was part of the general trajectory of isolationism and neutrality of the United States in the 1930s. At this time, President Roosevelt mainly focused on domestic issues, especially the recovery from the economic woes of the Great Depression (1929) by using his broad New Deal public works program.

Fig. 1 - Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rio de Janeiro, 1936.

Good Neighbor Policy: Background

The first decades of the 20th century showed a history of U.S. interventionism in the western hemisphere.

Monroe Doctrine

In the early 19th century, the United States was still a young country. In 1823, President James Monroe (1758-1831) introduced the Monroe Doctrine to Congress. This congressional statement became a cornerstone of the early U.S. foreign policy. The president sought to prevent further European colonization in the Americas. Effectively, the U.S. perceived the western hemisphere as its own sphere of influence.

Roosevelt Corollary

President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) made a Congressional statement that came to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904. Roosevelt believed that the United States had the right to defend its interests in the Americas by interfering in the internal politics of foreign countries. Using military means to accomplish one's goals is sometimes referred to as Big Stick Diplomacy after a well-known phrase that Roosevelt used in 1901.

Fig. 2 - Theodore Roosevelt and his Big Stick in the Caribbean, by William Allen Rogers, 1904.

There are many examples of applying this foreign policy thinking. The U.S. supported Panama’s uprising against Columbia militarily, of which it was part in the early 1900s. After Panama’s success, the U.S. continued to back the country financially. The Americans were interested in controlling the Panama Canal which reduced the travel time between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Ultimately, the U.S. kept the canal until 1999.

Cuba was briefly a U.S. protectorate after the Spanish-American War. Despite gaining independence in 1902, Americans maintained significant business interests in that country. When Roosevelt perceived these interests as being threatened in 1906, he stated:

In other words, the U.S. not only considered itself the dominant power in the region but also as the type of power that could meddle in the internal affairs of other countries.

American Imperialism

Imperialism was an important factor in American foreign policy in the first half of the 20th century, particularly after the Spanish-American War (1898).

Fig. 3 - A political cartoon showing the fate of the Philippines—depicted in a racially insensitive way as a terrified child—in the Spanish-American War (1898).

Formal American colonies or protectorates in the first half of the 20th century included:

Dollar Diplomacy

The Dollar Diplomacy of the President William Howard Taft (1857-1930) administration may be considered a precedent of the Good Neighbor Policy. Taft, who led the U.S. between 1909 and 1913, preferred using economy and trade as an instrument of his foreign policy. He described Dollar Diplomacy as follows:

Of course, in reality, the relationship between the U.S. and Latin American countries was often unequal. For example, American businesses bought up land in countries like Guatemala and were able to influence the local governments.

Good Neighbor Policy: Effects and Examples

1930s American foreign policy in Latin America affected the countries in that region in different ways. Overall, the policy succeeded in temporarily easing the tensions there. Trade between the U.S. and Latin American countries also increased.

Fig. 4 - "We fight for the freedom of all,” WWII poster by Edward McKnight Kauffer promoting solidarity in the Americas.

Office of Inter-American Affairs

Eventually, the Good Neighbor Policy led to the establishment of the Office of Inter-American Affairs (1940). The purpose of this institution was to:

• improve relations in the Americas
• foster Pan-Americanism
• promote trade and economic ties
• disseminate cultural initiatives
• counter Italian and German propaganda during World War II.

Fostering good relations with Cuba was another important area of development under the Good Neighbor Policy. The U.S. abolished the Platt Amendment in 1934.

• The Platt Amendment (1903) allowed the U.S. to intervene in Cuban affairs under the guise of protecting Cuban independence after the Spanish-American War (1898). This unequal relationship between the U.S. and Cuba was the American condition for the U.S. troops' withdrawal from the country.

However, the U.S. continued to have significant power in Cuba in the realm of trade. For instance, the U.S. sought to increase its Cuban sugar imports.

Fig. 5 - A German Junkers Ju 52/3m, confiscated by Peru and transferred to the United States Army Air Force, Panama, 1942.

Brazil

Because of its geographic location, Brazil was particularly important to both the Good Neighbor Policy and the Office of Inter-American Affairs during the Second World War. For example. The Americans focused on soft power by using film and animation to promote their interests and the war effort.

Good Neighbor Policy: Significance

The Good Neighbor Policy was an important attempt to use indirect means such as trade, economy, diplomacy, and culture to establish friendly relations in the Americas. Some historians view the latter positively because the Good Neighbor Policy:

• deescalated hostilities and temporarily halted U.S. interventionism in Latin America
• facilitated trade growth and cultural exchange
• got many Latin American countries to back the Allies during World War II.

Others argue that the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America remained unequal. The U.S. inherently interpreted the region as its own "backyard."

Scholars also contrast the 1930s with the Cold War period which negatively affected the western hemisphere. In 1945, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began. The U.S. subscribed to the containment policy which sought to counter its ideological rival all around the world. As a result, the Good Neighbor Policy came to an end. The U.S. increased its interventionism in Latin America.