Key Events and Policies of American Foreign Policy

Constitutional Period

British Colonial Administration

1607 - 1775

The Mayflower Compact

1620

State Administration

1775 - 1781

The Articles of Confederation

1781 - 1789

The Federalist Papers are published

1787 - 1788

The Constitutional Era

1789 - 2012

Presidencies and Executive Orders

Washington

1789 - 1797

Washington's Farewell Address

1796

Adams

1797 - 1801

Jefferson

1801 - 1809

Madison

1809 - 1817

Monroe

1817 - 1825

The Monroe Doctrine

1823

Adams

1825 - 1829

Jackson

1829 - 1837

Van Buren

1837 - 1841

Harrison

1841

Tyler

1841 - 1845

The Tyler Doctrine speech

1842

Polk

1845 - 1849

Polk's Inaugural Address

1845

Taylor

1849 - 1850

Fillmore

1850 - 1854

Pierce

1854 - 1857

Buchanan

1857 - 1861

Lincoln

1861 - 1865

Johnson

1865 - 1869

Grant

1869 - 1877

Hayes

1877 - 1881

Arthur

1881 - 1885

Garfield

1881

Cleveland

1885 - 1889

Harrison

1889 - 1893

Cleveland

1893 - 1897

McKinley

1897 - 1901

The Open Door Policy

1899

Roosevelt

1901 - 1909

The Big Stick Speech

1901

The Roosevelt Corollary

1904

Taft

1909 - 1913

The Dollar Diplomacy Period

1909 - 1913

The New Nationalism speech

1910

Wilson

1913 - 1921

"The War Message

1917

The 14 Points

1918

The Pueblo Speech

1919

Harding

1921 - 1923

Coolidge

1923 - 1929

Hoover

1929 - 1933

The Stimson Doctrine

1932

Roosevelt

1933 - 1945

The Good Neighbor Policy

1934

The Quarantine Speech

1937

The Cash and Carry Speech

1939

The Four Freedoms Speech

1941

Truman

1945 - 1953

The Truman Doctrine speech

1947

Eisenhower

1953 - 1961

The Domino Theory speech

1954

The Eisenhower Doctrine speech

1957

Kennedy

1961 - 1963

The Alliance for Progress is proposed

1961

The Kennedy Doctrine speech

1961

Johnson

1963 - 1969

The Johnson Doctrine speech

1965

Nixon

1969 - 1974

The Nixon Doctrine speech

1969

Ford

1974 - 1977

Carter

1977 - 1981

Reagan

1981 - 1989

The Reagan Doctrine speech

1981

Bush

1989 - 1993

Clinton

1993 - 2001

The Clinton Doctrine speech

1999

Bush

2001 - 2009

The Bush Doctrine published

2002

Obama

2009 - 2012

Congresses and Foreign Policy Legislation

Adoption of the Articles of Confederation

1781

1st

1789 - 1791

Adoption of the Constitution

1789

2nd

1791 - 1793

3rd

1793 - 1795

The Neutrality Act of 1794

1794

4th

1795 - 1797

5th

1797 - 1799

The Alien and Sedition Acts

1798

6th

1799 - 1801

The Logan Act

1799

7th

1801 - 1803

8th

1803 - 1805

9th

1805 - 1807

10th

1807 - 1809

The Embargo Act of 1807

1807

11th

1809 - 1811

The Non-Intercourse Act

1809

Macon's Bill No. 2

1810

12th

1811 - 1813

13th

1813 - 1815

14th

1815 - 1817

15th

1817 - 1819

16th

1819 - 1821

17th

1821 - 1823

18th

1823 - 1825

19th

1825 - 1827

20th

1827 - 1829

21st

1829 - 1831

22nd

1831 - 1833

23rd

1833 - 1835

24th

1835 - 1837

25th

1837 - 1839

26th

1839 - 1841

27th

1841 - 1843

28th

1843 - 1845

29th

1845 - 1847

30th

1847 - 1849

31st

1849 - 1851

32nd

1851 - 1853

33rd

1853 - 1855

34th

1855 - 1857

35th

1857 - 1859

36th

1859 - 1861

37th

1861 - 1863

38th

1863 - 1865

39th

1865 - 1867

Reconstruction Begins

1865

40th

1867 - 1869

41st

1869 - 1871

42nd

1871 - 1873

43rd

1873 - 1875

44th

1875 - 1877

45th

1877 - 1879

46th

1879 - 1881

47th

1881 - 1883

The Chinese Exclusion Act

1882

48th

1883 - 1885

49th

1885 - 1887

50th

1887 - 1889

51st

1889 - 1891

52nd

1891 - 1893

53rd

1893 - 1895

54th

1895 - 1897

55th

1897 - 1899

The Teller Amendment

1898

56th

1899 - 1901

57th

1901 - 1903

58th

1903 - 1905

59th

1905 - 1907

60th

1907 - 1909

61st

1909 - 1911

62nd

1911 - 1913

63rd

1913 - 1915

64th

1915 - 1917

65th

1917 - 1919

The Trading With the Enemy Act

1917

66th

1919 - 1921

67th

1921 - 1923

68th

1923 - 1925

69th

1925 - 1927

70th

1927 - 1929

71st

1929 - 1931

The Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act

1930

72nd

1931 - 1933

73rd

1933 - 1935

The Platt Amendment

1934

74th

1935 - 1937

The Neutrality Act of 1935

1935

The Neutrality Act of 1936

1936

75th

1937 - 1939

The Quarantine Act of 1937

1937

Foreign Agents Registration Act

1938

76th

1939 - 1941

The Neutrality Act of 1939

1939

The Quarantine Act of 1939

1939

The Act of Havana

1940

77th

1941 - 1943

Lend-Lease

1941

78th

1943 - 1945

The Magnuson Act

1943

79th

1945 - 1947

International Organizations Immunities Act

1945

The United Nations Participation Act

1945

The Anglo-American Loan Agreement

1946

80th

1947 - 1949

The Marshall Plan begins

1948

81st

1949 - 1951

82nd

1951 - 1953

The Mutual Security Act

1951

83rd

1953 - 1955

84th

1955 - 1957

85th

1957 - 1959

86th

1959 - 1961

87th

1961 - 1963

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

1961

The Fulbright-Hays Act

1961

88th

1963 - 1965

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964

89th

1965 - 1967

90th

1967 - 1969

91st

1969 - 1971

92nd

1971 - 1973

93rd

1973 - 1975

The Case-Church Amendment

1973

The War Powers Act of 1973

1973

Foreign Assistance Act of 1974

1974

The Hughes-Ryan Amendment

1974

The Jackson-Vanik Amendment

1974

The Jackson–Vanik Amendment

1974

94th

1975 - 1977

The Arms Export Control Act

1976

95th

1977 - 1979

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

1977

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

1978

96th

1979 - 1981

The Taiwan Relations Act

1979

97th

1981 - 1983

98th

1983 - 1985

The Caribbean Basin Initiative

1984

99th

1985 - 1987

The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act

1986

100th

1987 - 1989

101st

1989 - 1991

102nd

1991 - 1993

The Military Force Against Iraq Resolution

1991

The Cuban Democracy Act

1992

The Toricelli Act

1992

103rd

1993 - 1995

104th

1995 - 1997

Helms-Burton Act

1996

Iran and Libya Sanctions Act

1996

105th

1997 - 1999

The Leahy Law

1997

106th

1999 - 2001

The RP-US Visiting Forces Act

1999

The African Growth and Opportunity Act

2000

The Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act

2000

The Taiwan Security Enhancement Act

2000

107th

2001 - 2003

Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Terrorists

2001

The Iraq War Resolution

2002

The Sudan Peace Act

2002

108th

2003 - 2005

SALSRA

2003

Global Antisemitism Review Act

2004

The Belarus Democracy Act

2004

109th

2005 - 2007

Darfur Peace and Accountability Act

2006

110th

2007 - 2009

Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007

2007

FISA Amendments Act of 2008

2008

111th

2009 - 2011

112th

2011 - 2013

Supreme Courts and Judicial Decisions

The Jay Court

1789 - 1795

The Ellsworth Court

1795 - 1801

The Rutledge Court

1795

Ware v. Hylton

1796

The Marshall Court

1801 - 1835

Foster & Elam v. Neilson

1829

The Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

1831

Worchester v. Georgia

1832

The Taney Court

1835 - 1864

United States v. Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad

1841

Scott v. Sandford

1856

The Prize Cases

1861

The Chase Court

1864 - 1873

ex parte Milligan

1866

United States v. Klein

1871

The Waite Court

1873 - 1888

The Head Money Cases

1884

The Fuller Court

1888 - 1910

Botiller v. Dominguez

1889

United States v. Wang Kim Ark

1898

United States v. Wong Kim Ark

1898

The Lochner Era

1899 - 1937

Pearcy v. Stranahan

1907

The White Court

1910 - 1921

Selective Draft Law Cases

1918

Missouri v. Holland

1920

Block v. Hirsch

1921

The Taft Court

1921 - 1930

Gitlow v. People

1925

Whitney v. California

1927

The Hughes Court

1930 - 1941

Ashwander v. TVA

1936

United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation

1936

United States v. Belmont

1937

De Jonge v. Oregon

1939

The Stone Court

1941 - 1946

ex parte Quirin

1942

United States v. Pink

1942

Korematsu v. United States

1944

The Vinson Court

1946 - 1953

United States v. Lovett

1946

Woods v. Cloyd W. Miller Co.

1948

Woods v. Cloyd W. Miller Co.

1948

American Communications Assn. v. Douds

1950

Johnson v. Eisentrager

1950

Johnson v. Eisentrager

1950

Dennis v. United States

1951

Adler v. Board of Education of the City of New York

1952

Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer

1952

The Warren Court

1953 - 1969

Pennsylvania v. Nelson

1956

Slochower v. Board of Higher Education of New York City

1956

Ullmann v. United States

1956

Reid v. Covert

1957

Watkins v. United States

1957

Kent v. Dulles

1958

Perez v. Brownell

1958

Trop v. Dulles

1958

Barenblatt v. United States

1959

Shelton v. Tucker

1960

Communist Party v.. Subversive Activities Control Bd. No. 12

1961

Scales v. United States

1961

Aptheker v. Secretary of State

1964

Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Board

1965

United States v. Brown

1965

Zemel v. Rusk

1965

Afroyim v. Rusk

1967

Keyishian v. Board of Regents

1967

Menominee Tribe v. United States

1968

The Burger Court

1969 - 1986

Welsh v. United States

1970

New York Times Co. v. United States

1971

United States v. United States District Court

1972

Johnson v. Robinson

1974

Schick v. Reed

1974

Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War

1974

Dames and Moore v. Regan

1981

Rostker v. Goldberg

1981

The Rehnquist Court

1986 - 2005

Boos v. Berry

1988

Beard v. Greene

1998

Rasul v. Bush

2004

The Roberts Court

2005 - 2013

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

2006

Boumediene v. Bush

2008

Bureaucratic Evolution

The Kirkpatrick Doctrine essay is published

1981

The Powell Doctrine enunciated

1990

The Contract with America is enunciated

1994

Wars, Military Expeditions, & Occupations

Dunmore's War

1774

The American Revolution

1775 - 1783

The Chicamauga War

1776 - 1794

Little Turtle's War

1785 - 1795

The Quasi-War

1798 - 1800

The First Barbary War

1801 - 1805

The Chesapeake–Leopard Affair

1807

Tecumseh's War

1811 - 1813

The Little Belt Affair

1811

The War of 1812

1812 - 1815

The Creek War

1813 - 1814

The Peoria War

1813

The Second Barbary War

1815

The First Seminole War

1817 - 1818

The Winnebago War

1827

The Black Hawk War

1832

The First Sumatran Expedition

1832

The Second Seminole War

1835 - 1842

The Second Creek War

1836

The Aroostook War

1838 - 1839

The Second Sumatran Expedition

1839

The Mary Carver Affair

1842

The Mexican-American War

1846 - 1848

The Perry Expedition of 1853

1853

The First Fiji Expedition

1855

The Watermelon War

1856

The Second Fiji Expedition

1858

The American Civil War

1861 - 1865

The Formosa Expedition

1867

The Hawai'ian Coup

1893

The Rio de Janiero Affair

1894

The Spanish-American War

1898

The Philippine Insurrection

1899 - 1902

The Venezuela Affair

1902

The Santo Domingo Affair

1904

Occupation of Cuba

1906 - 1909

The US/Mexican Border Wars

1910 - 1919

The Pacho Villa Expeditions

1914 - 1917

Occupation of Haiti

1915 - 1934

Occupation of the Dominican Republic

1916 - 1924

The First World War (US participation)

1917 - 1918

The American intervention in the Russian Revolution

1918 - 1922

Occupation of Nicaragua

1923 - 1928

The Second World War (US participation)

1941 - 1945

The Korean War

1950 - 1953

The San Juan Revolt

1950

Operation PBSUCCESS

1954

The Vietnamese-American War

1955 - 1975

Occupation of the Dominican Republic

1965 - 1966

The Grenadan War

1983

Airstrikes on Libya

1986

The Panamanian War

1989

The First Iraqi-American War

1990 - 1991

The US Expedition in Somalia

1992 - 1993

Occupation of Haiti

1994 - 1995

The Kosovo War

1998 - 1999

The Afghani-American War

2001 - 2012

The Second Iraqi-American War

2003 - 2011

The Libyan War

2011

Other Significant Events

Winthrop's "City Upon a Hill" Sermon

1630

The Treaty of Westphalia

1646

The King's Proclamation Line of 1763

1763

The Declaration of Independence

1776

The XYZ Affair

1797 - 1798

The Louisiana Purchase

1803

The West Floridian annexation

1810

The Floridian annexation

1819

Liberia established

1822

The Texan Revolution

1835 - 1836

The Texan Annexation

1845

Alta California annexation

1848

The Gadsden Purchase

1854

The Trent Affair

1861

The Emancipation Proclamation

1863

The Alaskan Purchase

1867

"The United States Looking Outward" published

1890

The Baltimore Crisis

1891

The De Lôme Letter

1898

The Hawai'ian annexation

1898

The Boxer Rebellion

1899 - 1901

The Zimmerman Telegraph

1917

The League of Nations founded

1919

The Washington Conference

1921

The Lausanne Conference of 1932

1932

The Ludlow Amendment movement

1935 - 1940

The Lend-Lease Program begins

1941

The Bretton Woods Period

1944 - 1971

The International Monetary Fund is established

1944

The Warsaw Uprising

1944

Beginning of the Cold War

1945

The United Nations founded

1945

The Yalta Conference

1945

"Sources of Soviet Conduct" is published

1946

The Greek Civil War

1946 - 1949

The Berlin Airlift

1948 - 1949

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development founded

1948

The Hungarian Uprising

1956

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident

1964

The Brezhnev Doctrine is enunciated

1968

The Prague Spring

1968

Sino-American Rapprochement

1971

Soviet-American Détente Begins

1971

The Soviet-American Détente

1971 - 1979

SALT II talks

1972 - 1979

Soviet-American Détente Ends

1979

The Afghani-Soviet War

1979 - 1989

End of the Cold War

1989

The September 11th Attacks

2011

Treaties, Protocols, and Memoranda

The Taunton Agreement

1671

The Treaty of Easton

1758

The Treaty of Paris of 1763

1763

The First Treaty of Fort Stanwix

1768

The Franco-American Treaty of Alliance

1778

The Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce

1778

The Franco-American Treaty Separate and Secret

1778

The Declaration for Suspension of Arms and Cessations of Hostilities

1783

The Treaty of Paris of 1783

1783

The Second Treaty of Fort Stanwix

1784

The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship

1786

The Jay Treaty

1794

Pinckney's Treaty

1795

Treaty of Tripoli

1797

Treaty of Tunis

1797

The Convention of 1800

1800

The Second Treaty of Tripoli

1805

The Monroe–Pinkney Treaty

1806

The Treaty of Ghent

1814

The Anglo-American Convention of 1818

1818

The Rush-Bagot Treaty

1818

The Adams–Onís Treaty

1819

The Russo-American Treaty of 1824

1824

The First Hawai'ian-American Treaty

1826

The Siamese-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce

1833

The Webster–Ashburton Treaty

1842

The Treaty of Wanghia

1844

The Mallarino–Bidlack Treaty

1846

The Oregon Treaty

1846

The Treaty of Cahuenga

1847

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago

1848

The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty

1850

The Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty

1854

The Convention of Kanagawa

1854

The Harris Treaty of 1856

1856

The Harris Treaty of 1858

1858

The Treaty of Tianjin

1858

The First Geneva Convention

1864

The Bancroft Treaties are enacted

1868 - 1937

The Burlingame Treaty

1868

The Hawai’ian-American Treaty of Reciprocity

1875

The Berne Convention

1886

The Convention of 1889

1889

The Treaty of Hawai'ian Annexation

1897

The Treaty of Paris of 1898

1898

The First Hague Convention

1899

The Tripartite Convention of 1899

1899

The Boxer Protocol

1901

The Hay–Pauncefote Treaty

1901

The Hay-Banau Varilla Treaty

1903

The Herrán-Hay Treaty

1903

The Treaty of Portsmouth

1904

The Taft–Katsura Agreement

1905

The Second Geneva Convention

1906

The Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907

1907

The Second Hague Convention

1907

The International Opium Convention

1912

The Bryan–Chamorro Treaty

1914

The Lansing–Ishii Agreement

1917

The Treaty of the Danish West Indies

1917

The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine

1919

The Treaty of Versailles

1919

Treaty of Trianon

1920

The Hungarian-American Treaty of Peace

1921

The Treaty of Berlin

1921

The Five-Power Treaty

1922

The Nine-Power Treaty

1922

The Geneva Protocol

1925

The Clark Memorandum

1928

The Kellogg-Briand Pact

1928

The Third Geneva Convention

1929

The London Naval Treaty

1931

The Montevideo Convention

1933

The Treaty of Velasco

1936

The Atlantic Charter

1941

The Cairo Declaration

1943

The Casablanca Declaration

1943

The Moscow Conference Declaration

1943

The Tehran Conference

1943

The Bretton Woods Agreement

1944

The Chicago Convention

1944

The Mexican-American Treaty of 1944

1944

The Potsdam Agreement

1945

The Potsdam Declaration

1945

The United Nations Charter

1945

The Yalta Agreement

1945

The Bermuda Agreement

1946

The Treaty of Manilla

1946

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

1947

The Paris Treaties of 1947

1947

The Rio Pact

1947

The Charter of the Organization of American States

1948

The Genocide Convention

1948

The Universal Declaration on Human Rights

1948

The Fourth Geneva Convention

1949

The North Atlantic Treaty

1949

The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty

1951

The Convention on Refugees

1951

The Filipino-American Mutual Defense Treaty

1951

The Treaty of San Francisco

1951

The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty

1954

The Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty

1954

The Austrian State Pact

1955

The Baghdad Pact

1955

International Atomic Energy Agency Conference

1957

The 1958 US–UK Mutual Defense Agreement

1958

The Antarctic Treaty

1959

Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan

1960

The Columbia River Treaty

1961

The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs

1961

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

1961

The Nassau Agreement

1962

The Chamizal Settlement of 1963

1963

The Hot-Line Memorandum

1963

The Limited Test Ban Treaty

1963

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations

1963

The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

1966

The Outer Space Treaty

1967

The Non-Proliferation Treaty

1968

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

1969

The Boundary Treaty of 1970

1970

The Patent Cooperation Treaty

1970

The Convention on Psychotropic Substances

1971

SALT I

1972

The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

1972

The Shanghai Communique

1972

The Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War

1973

The Détente Joint Communique

1973

The Paris Peace Accords of 1973

1973

The Threshold Test Ban Treaty

1974

The Biological Weapons Convention

1975

The Helsinki Accords

1975

The Torrijos–Carter Treaties

1977

The Camp David Accords

1978

The Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations

1979

The Carter Doctrine speech

1980

The Geneva Convention on Conventional Weapons

1980

Convention Against Torture

1984

The Plaza Accord

1985

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

1987

The Montreal Protocol

1987

Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Convention

1988

The Paris Charter

1990

The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

1990

The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany

1990

START I

1991

The Rio Convention

1992

START II

1993

The Chemical Weapons Convention

1993

The Oslo I Accord

1993

NAFTA

1994

The Kremlin Accords

1994

The Memorandum on Relations with Native American Tribal Governments

1994

GATS

1995

The Dayton Agreement

1995

The World Trade Organization founded

1995

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty opened for signature

1996

Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage

1997

The Rome Statute

1998

The Istanbul Protocol

1999

The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime

2000

The Optional Protocol Child Slavery, Prostitution, and Pornography

2000

The Optional Protocol on Children in Armed Conflict

2000

The Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants

2000

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons

2000

Russia withdraws from START II

2002

SORT

2002

The Treaty on Open Skies

2002

US withdraws from ABM

2002

The Convention Against Corruption

2003

CAFTA-DR

2004

New START

2010