Beginnings of U.S. Foreign Policy
NFL 2000-2001 Policy Topic:
"Resolved: That the United States federal government
should establish a foreign policy significantly limiting the
use of weapons of mass destruction."
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Grover Cleveland's First Inaugural Address
Wednesday, March 4,
1885
"Peace, commerce, and honest
friendship with all nations; entangling alliance with
none."
Fellow-Citizens:
IN the presence of this vast
assemblage of my countrymen I am about to supplement and
seal by the oath which I shall take the manifestation of the
will of a great and free people...
On this auspicious occasion we may
well renew the pledge of our devotion to the Constitution,
which, launched by the founders of the Republic and
consecrated by their prayers and patriotic devotion, has for
almost a century borne the hopes and the aspirations of a
great people through prosperity and peace and through the
shock of foreign conflicts and the perils of domestic strife
and vicissitudes....
The genius of our institutions, the
needs of our people in their home life, and the attention
which is demanded for the settlement and development of the
resources of our vast territory dictate the scrupulous
avoidance of any departure from that foreign policy
commended by the history, the traditions, and the prosperity
of our Republic. It is the policy of independence, favored
by our position and defended by our known love of justice
and by our power. It is the policy of peace suitable to our
interests. It is the policy of neutrality, rejecting any
share in foreign broils and ambitions upon other continents
and repelling their intrusion here. It is the policy of
Monroe and of Washington and Jefferson&emdash;"Peace,
commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling
alliance with none."
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