‘THE WALL’ ISN’T NEW: IT’S JUST NOT METAPHORICAL ANYMORE AUTHOR // LUCY PENNINGTON Throughout America’s history of ‘independent internationalism’, the aim of US foreign policy has been to reap the economic benefit of international participation but remain politically extricated from international crises. US domestic and foreign policies aim to recoil from all foreign ‘threats’ to their democratic system. Over time, these perceived ‘threats’ have appeared under the guise of 1920s’ progressivism, communism, Islam and immigration - all of which were met with an equal yet opposite display of restrictive power to deplete their tainting of ‘traditional’ American values. ‘The Wall’ isn’t new: it’s just not metaphorical anymore. President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall is the physical manifestation of centuries of US self-interested interventionism, behind the façade of isolationism and protectionism. ‘The Wall’ reflects the century-old contradictory aspiration to remain economically in the world and politically out of it. Trump’s measures are drastic, but his ideals are not unexpected when evaluated in light of his historical context, where political isolationism is a key thread woven into the American political psyche. Historically, America contributed to international affairs where it was self-beneficial. However, they tend to do so from behind
their political wall. This is especially seen in the First World War, where the US joined the Allies not only because of President Woodrow Wilson’s internationalist beliefs, but also because of their economic ties to the Allied forces and the obvious benefits of involvement in the post-War treaty process. With Europe in crippling debt, America’s emergence as the newfound hegemony following the War brought increased economic responsibility. However, desiring to stay out of another war and distance themselves from polemic or detrimental international affairs, America built their wall. In the late 1920s to early 1930s, the wall manifested as conservatism. Three consecutive Republican Presidents exponentially raised tariffs to protect US business from foreign competition, economically extricating the US from international markets. This was similarly reflected in social policy, where harsh immigration restrictions were put in place. But from their entrance into the War in 1917, the conservative, stringent policy of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), ordering Europe to ‘mind its own business’, could no longer act as the cornerstone of US foreign policy. By negating the hegemonic responsibility to stimulate international trade, the US fell into the Great Depression, proving their economic wall ineffective – as the
