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:''For the 1927 policy reforms in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, see Good Neighbor policy (LDS Church).''
The '"Good Neighbor" policy' was the policy of the United States Administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in relation to Latin America and Europe during 1933-45. On March 4, 1933, Roosevelt stated during his inaugural address that: "In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor--the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others." This position was affirmed by Cordell Hull, Roosevelt's Secretary of State at a conference of American states in Montevideo in December of 1933. Hull said: "No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another". In December of the same year Roosevelt again gave verbal evidence of a shift in U.S. policy in the region when he stated: "The definite policy of the United States from now on is one opposed to armed intervention".

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Background

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Background

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the sovereignty of many Latin American nations had been routinely undermined by more powerful countries. Whenever a wealthy nation felt its debts were not being repaid in a prompt fashion, its citizens' business interests were being threatened, or its access to natural resources were being unfairly impeded, military intervention or threats were often used to coerce the respective government into compliance. The United States was particularly aggressive in this regard, and had actually invaded and occupied several Latin American nations in the hemisphere for economic reasons.
Constant interventionism became increasingly unpopular in the United States, however. Some felt it was imperialistic for the United States to act in such a manner, devising a foreign policy around the interest of purely economic motivations. Others agreed, but for different reasons. They felt that American intervention in Latin America had bred a culture of resentment and anti-Americanism in the region, which was beginning to manifest in the form of ultra-nationalist and protectionist measures by those countries' governments. In addition, many other people objected to the huge expenses involved in raising armies to help govern Latin American countries. This opposition increased heavily during the Great Depression, as many people believed that the money being used for imperialism could be put to better use to help the people hit by the Depression.

See also

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★ Interventionism (politics)

★ anti-Americanism

External links

★ The Good Neighbor policy