The document provides an overview of key concepts in American foreign policy including what foreign policy entails, the major components of U.S. foreign policy, and the roles of the president and Congress in shaping foreign policy. It also discusses several important doctrines and organizations that have influenced American foreign policy such as the Truman Doctrine, NATO, the United Nations, and how foreign policy decisions made by the U.S. can impact its citizens.

1. Foreign Policy
Meghan Mumpower
Government CP

2. What is Foreign
Policy?
• Foreign policy is a mix of all of the stands and
positions a nation holds with other countries.
• For instance, the United States foreign policy
includes what the government has said to/about
other countries and what the government does in
other countries.

3. American Foreign
Policy• What are the big parts of American Foreign Policy?
• Treaties and Alliances
• Trade
• The Defense Budget
• Aid (Foreign, Economic, and Military)
• The United Nations
• Nuclear Defense Testing and Disarmament Agreements
• The seas being free of any nation’s control is an inflexible part of America’s
foreign policy.

4. The Presidency
and Foreign Policy
• The president is the chief diplomat of the United States. Due to this, he has to
perform various tasks to ensure he maintains positive relations with many
countries around the world.
• One of the ways the president can promote foreign policy is by negotiating
international agreements. These can include: peace treaties, alliances,
disarmaments agreements, and trade agreements.
• Another way is to create policy statements. Policy statements are formal
documents that the president would write to tell how the nation and its
government would react and deal with certain affairs. For example, during
Reagan’s term as president, he wanted to continue relations in the
Multinational Force and said that the United States had interests in Lebanon.

5. Congress and
Foreign Policy
• Even with foreign policy, Congress still has to exercise various checks and balances
on the president.
• One of the ways Congress can check or stop the President’s efforts for some foreign
policy is with legislation restrictions/funding denials. For example, when Reagan
wanted to make policies in order to continue Multinational Force relations and continue
in Lebanon, Congress officials stopped funding so Reagan could not make his policy
work.
• Another way Congress can shape foreign policy is giving informal advice to the
President. This form is exactly what it sounds like. Members of congress can offer the
Executive Branch advice on what they think should happen regarding affairs, but in
non-official meetings where decisions are not meant to be made. An example is when
Eisenhower decided not to intervene in Indochina after having a meeting with certain
members of Congress.

6. The Truman Doctrine and
its Shadow on Foreign
Policy
• The Truman Doctrine was a statement made by the United States after World
War II. President Truman made this agreement to help all democratic
countries financially, militarily, and politically if they were trying to resist
suppressive authoritarian rulers...aka the Soviet Union. The countries
specifically targeted at the time were Turkey and Greece. By helping them,
the United States would be able to place nuclear missiles on their land (which
just happened to be close to the Soviet Union).
• This doctrine is important to US foreign policy because it set a tone for the
next decades. Much of America’s foreign policy led to combatting Communist
rule in various countries, commonly known events being the Cold war, the
Vietnam War, and the Korean War, and even conflicts with “Red China.”
These affects were not just on the foreign countries as well, but this foreign
policy shaped America’s history by having several periods of red scares. So
much so that even a political party as well as anti-communistic trials were led
by Eugene McCarthy.

7. NATO
• “NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political
and military means (http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/index.html).”
• NATO’s purpose is to protect conflicts and to promote democratic society ideals. The purpose is to
settle disputes without another WWI (similar to the League of Nations). President Wilson came up
the idea of the League of Nations in his 14 points plan, the League of Nations being number 14.
Unfortunately, Wilson fell ill and the United States did not join the League of Nations due to
congressional disapproval and Wilson’s failure to accept revisions. After WWII and the failure of the
League of Nations, the Soviet Union and their domination of smaller countries in the middle east
and eastern Europe spread fear through many nations. Thus, NATO was established by 12 host
countries including the United States in 1949.
• Part of their activities include: decisions and consultations with member countries, operations and
missions, partnerships, and responding to threats.
• Current Events: NATO is currently dealing with the newly established principle of the Strategic
Concept forcing them to deal with crisis in foreign countries before, during, and after. They are
currently making defense treaties with countries in the Mediterranean, Gulf, and even Arabian
countries.

8. The United Nations
• The United Nations is a organization founded by 51
countries after WWII to protect countries, form
alliances, and promote human rights.
• Today the United Nations has 193 member states that
actively participate in keeping peace throughout the
world. The UN deals with a variety of issues due to
their diverse populous of countries providing for.
• Current Event: The UN is trying to support and aid
Gaza through giving food and providing peace
throughout the country. Now, the UN is reporting a
possible cease fire.

9. The World Hunger
Association
• The World Hunger Association was established 1976 to
help educate the public on the causes and effects of
hunger and malnutrition around the world. They help find
solutions, fund organizations that are helping with world
hunger, and promote individual efforts to combat hunger
everywhere.
• A large problem they deal with is malnutrition in third world
countries. Head lines today state that even children in India
are having malnutrition despite being well fed. They have
discovered that the drinking water is a major cause of this.
Water is a major part of their organization’s efforts in
combatting hunger as well as health.

10. How does this Affect
Us as Citizens?
• Foreign policy does not just affect the country the
United States is assisting or associating with.
• If the US is going to war with that country, the
United State’s citizens are going to have to fight. If
we are providing other countries money, our money
supply may be affected.
• The United State’s choices in countries directly
affect the citizens of the country.

11. References
• http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/policy-statement.html
• http://www.worldissues360.com/index.php/presidents-role-in-foreign-policy-14202/
• http://fpc.state.gov/6172.htm
• http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/truman-doctrine
• http://www.nato.int/history/nato-history.html
• http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?
• NewsID=48287#.U8gpiVZH1Ms