The Great Depression and Foreign Affairs

Overview

The Depression is a traumatic national experience which shatters U.S. self-confidence and paralyzes foreign policy, thus leading to further isolationism. The world-wide depression gives rise to national dictators, but we are so preoccupied with domestic problems that we ignore the threat. President Hoover is not equipped to deal with the national crisis. The London Naval Conference insults Japan and when the Japanese invade Manchuria, a preoccupied United States does nothing.