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Isolationism in the United States

Origin of the term "Isolationist"
According to historian Walter A. McDougall, the term "isolationism" did not become a common term until the 1930s. It was initially used by Alfred Thayer Mahan - a United States Navy admiral, geostrategist, and historian - in 1890s. Mahan used the term as a slur against his "anti-imperialist critics" to imply that they "were old-fashioned curmudgeons." The people of that time who were called "isolationists" did not use that term to describe themselves, instead saying that they were "neutralists" or "nationalists." In fact, McDougall argues in his book on the history of American foreign policy that the United States' "vaunted tradition of 'isolationism' is no tradition at all, but a dirty word that interventionists, especially since Pearl Harbor, hurl at anyone who questions their policies."

Isolationism in American history
The degree to which the United States' historical foreign policy can be described as "isolationist" is controversial.

Some historians of U.S. diplomacy have long argued that "isolationism" is a misnomer, and that U.S. foreign policy, beginning with Washington, has traditionally been driven by unilateralism. Recent works that have made this argument include Walter A. McDougall's Promised Land, Crusader State (1997), John Lewis Gaddis's Surprise, Security, and the American Experience (2004), and Bradley F. Podliska's Acting Alone (2010).

Opponents of Isolationism
In his 2006 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush criticized isolationism. Bush said that:

"In this decisive year, you and I will make choices that determine both the future and the character of our country. We will choose to act confidently in pursuing the enemies of freedom -- or retreat from our duties in the hope of an easier life. We will choose to build our prosperity by leading the world economy -- or shut ourselves off from trade and opportunity. In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting -- yet it ends in danger and decline. The only way to protect our people, the only way to secure the peace, the only way to control our destiny is by our leadership -- so the United States of America will continue to lead. - President George W. Bush on January 31, 2006"

Cato Institute scholar Justin Logan criticized this speech in an op-ed, writing that "in the real world, the choice is much more complex than simply between the reckless and militant interventionism of Bush's forced democracy policy and the head-in-the-sand posture of isolationism."