Herbert Hoover, Occupation Withdrawal, and the Good Neighbor Policy

• Published in: Presidential studies quarterly Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 623 - 639
• Main Author: McPherson, Alan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-12-2014; Wiley Periodicals, Inc; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Center for the Study of the Presidency
• Subjects: American history; Central America; Diplomacy; Ethics; Foreign policy; Haiti; Historians; Hoover, Herbert; Latin America; Management; Military policy; Military withdrawals; Morals; Neighbors; Nicaragua; Paternalism; Policy analysis; Presidents; Presidents (Government); Public administration; Tariffs; Troop withdrawal; United States foreign relations; United States; Latin America; Haiti; Cuba; United States > US; Dominican Republic; Western Hemisphere; Panama Canal
• ISSN: 0360-4918; 1741-5705
• DOI: 10.1111/psq.12153

Historians still associate the Good Neighbor Policy in Latin America almost exclusively with Franklin Roosevelt while admitting that Republican administrations before his set some precedents. This article argues more forcefully for recognizing the work of Herbert Hoover in establishing the major pillar of the policy—the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Latin America. More attuned than previous presidents to dissenting voices throughout the Americas, Hoover abandoned the rhetoric of paternalism toward Central America and the Caribbean and understood the moral and economic damage that occupation was doing to the United States. His diplomatic footprint was most visible in withdrawals from Nicaragua and Haiti.