The gendering of people and nations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The gendering of people and nations - Essay Example The policies of Woodrow Wilson were centered around the promotion of progressive American ideals and reforms. Liberalism was the belief in basic human rights such as the right to freedom of religion and free speech. The United States also promoted the system of democracy to ensure that vestiges of colonial rule were eliminated, in favor of political institutions that promoted active participation by the people in the formation and functioning of Governments. The development of the Truman doctrine and the Marshall Plan, as well as American leadership in the development of the United Nations and NATO are all means by which America has sought to enhance the levels of support it receives from other international countries for its democratic principles. During the first world war, President Woodrow Wilson opposed the German submarine warfare against commerce as a â€Å"war against all nations† and clearly articulated the objectives that must be sought to be attained – â€Å"our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 1 This clearly sets out the direction in which American foreign policy was to be headed; it was to focus upon the propagation of basic human rights across the world, since America was the sole champion of such rights and the progressive reforms taking place in the country were also to be echoed in foreign relations. When the preservation of such principles have entailed the United States entering into war, it has been adequate as a propellant, for instance during the first world war, when the motive behind entering the war was to resist German imperial ism and to make the war a safer place for democracy to thrive. One example of implementation of American values and principles on civil rights may be noted in the representation of women in the new international organizations