The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast

Episode: American Foreign Policy: Victory of Liberal Internationalism
Date: September 24, 2025
Host(s): Jeremiah Regan, Juan Davalos
Guest Lecturer: Professor Anton

Episode Overview

This episode, the fifth lecture in the "American Foreign Policy" series, examines the pivotal transition in U.S. foreign policy during and after World War II. The discussion explores the context and consequences of America's adoption of "liberal internationalism"—a sharp departure from the earlier founding tradition of non-intervention—highlighting the causes, conduct, and aftermath of WWII, including the onset of the Cold War. Professor Anton guides listeners through the philosophical, political, and practical changes in American policy and their lasting global impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding Context: From Founding Principles to Progressive Foreign Policy

• Superficial WW2 Narratives:
  Many Americans simplify the cause of American entry into World War II as a direct response to Pearl Harbor. Professor Anton stresses the importance of looking deeper into context, including American actions and policy shifts preceding the attack ([00:12–01:13]).

• Non-Intervention vs. Internationalism:
  The Founders considered acts like embargoes or sending arms to belligerents as acts of war, reflecting a default policy of restraint. Progressive foreign policy, which gained prominence in the 20th century, redefined such actions as humanitarian aid rather than acts of war ([01:13–01:49]).

• FDR’s “Four Freedoms”:
  The episode features a reading from FDR’s 1941 speech, laying out a global vision based on:

  • Freedom of speech
  • Freedom of worship
  • Freedom from want
  • Freedom from fear
    This vision stretches New Deal ideas to an international scale ([01:49–03:18]).

"We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms..."
— FDR, read by Jeremiah Regan ([01:32])

2. American Hesitance and Policy Shifts Pre-Pearl Harbor

• Public Opinion and Historical Memory:
  There was widespread reluctance among Americans to enter WWII due to the traumatic and seemingly fruitless experience of World War I ([04:02–06:10]).

• Unprecedented Actions by Roosevelt Administration:

  • Dramatic expansion of the defense budget
  • Instituting the first peacetime draft
  • Large-scale “Louisiana Maneuvers” war games
  • Engagement in undeclared naval conflict with Germany, notably via the Lend-Lease Act ([06:10–12:00])

"A peacetime draft had never happened before in American history. It's certainly a conscription on your liberty."
— Prof. Anton ([07:48])

• Lend-Lease Act:
  The U.S. “formally” maintained neutrality but actively supplied Britain, provoking German retaliation against American shipping ([12:00]).

3. The U.S. and Japan: Escalating Tensions

• Japanese Atrocities and U.S. Response:
  The “Rape of Nanking” horrified American and global opinion but was not enough to push the public toward intervention ([13:12–15:15]).

• Economic Warfare:
  The 1941 oil embargo—critical, as Japan’s industrial economy was dependent on American oil—pushed Japan into a corner, helping set the stage for Pearl Harbor ([15:15–16:54]).

"The Roosevelt administration essentially put Japan into a corner, made them feel that there was no possibility of any kind of peaceful resolution..."
— Prof. Anton ([16:45])

• Diplomatic Belligerence vs. Military Readiness:
  Anton criticizes FDR's strategy of economic pressure without simultaneous military preparedness in the Pacific ([16:54–18:03]).

• Pearl Harbor and Public Opinion:
  Pearl Harbor irrevocably shifted public sentiment, though Americans naturally prioritized war against Japan, while elites and the administration focused on defeating Germany first ([19:50–21:18]).

"Roosevelt never entirely played it straight with the American people... the war in Europe was clearly prioritized."
— Prof. Anton ([20:48])

4. Total War: Unconditional Surrender and the War's End

• Allied Strategy:
  WWII was prosecuted as a fight to unconditional surrender—no negotiated settlements as after WWI—resulting in total military, economic, and political domination of the Axis powers ([23:26–27:22]).

"At the Tehran Conference, the Allies settled on unconditional surrender... No armistice, no negotiations."
— Prof. Anton ([23:45])

• Atomic Endgame:
  The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japanese surrender, illustrating the horrific scale of modern “total war” ([26:39–27:37]).

"It is my earnest hope... that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past."
— Japanese Surrender Remarks ([27:45])

• Moral Consequences & Postwar Responsibility:
  With the utter defeat of the Axis, the Allies felt compelled to reconstruct the vanquished—encapsulated in the “Pottery Barn rule”: if you break it, you buy it ([27:59]).

5. Ascendancy of Liberal Internationalism

• Collapse of Isolationism:
  The war's end saw the marginalization of non-interventionism in American political thought. Both Democratic and Republican elites largely embraced internationalism ([29:00–30:20]).

• New Global Role:
  The U.S. takes up the burden of rebuilding Europe and Japan, setting the stage for its superpower status and the development of new international institutions.

6. The Murkiness of the Cold War’s Beginning

• Breakdown of Allied Unity:
  Immediate postwar conflicts arose, particularly with the Soviet Union, which began to violate accords and assert control over Eastern Europe ([31:35–33:58]).

• Notable Moment: Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech:
  Churchill names the division of Europe and the new threat of Soviet expansion ([33:58]).

“An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent.”
— Winston Churchill ([33:58])

• Key Crises:

  • Soviet interference in Greece and Turkey
  • The Berlin Blockade and the Western response via the Berlin Airlift ([34:10–37:06])

• Rise of “Containment” Doctrine:
  George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” and the famous “X” article laid the intellectual foundations for America’s Cold War policy ([37:06–41:14]).

"His explanation boils down to two things: One is because they're Communists... The second is because they're Russians."
— Prof. Anton on Kennan’s analysis ([39:30])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• FDR’s Four Freedoms ([01:32])
• Professor Anton on Liberty and the Draft:
  “What can be more constraining to your liberty than to be drafted into the army?... It certainly is a conscription on your liberty.” ([07:48])
• Lend-Lease as a Turning Point:
  “With Lend Lease, the United States maintained its formally neutral posture in the war, but it was obviously siding with Great Britain.” ([12:00])
• On the Collapse of Isolationism:
  “By the end of the war and really long before the end of the war, isolationism or non interventionism was considered to be a completely discredited ideology or point of view.” ([29:00])
• Churchill’s Iron Curtain:
  “An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of central and eastern Europe.” ([33:58])
• On the Roots of Soviet Conduct (Kennan’s Analysis):
  “One is because they're Communists... The second is because they're Russians.” ([39:30])

Important Timestamps

• 00:12: Juan Davalos introduces the theme—context around WWII entry
• 01:13: Jeremiah Regan on founding vs. progressive policy, FDR’s Four Freedoms
• 04:02: Prof. Anton begins main lecture—public hesitancy about entering WWII
• 06:10: Shift to expansion of U.S. military and undeclared naval conflict
• 11:52: U.S. commitment to “arsenal of democracy,” i.e., Lend-Lease
• 13:12: Impact of the Rape of Nanking on public opinion
• 15:15: Oil embargo’s role in pressuring Japan
• 19:50: Pearl Harbor: shift in public opinion
• 23:26: Unconditional surrender policy explained
• 26:39: Atomic bombings and Japanese surrender
• 27:59: Postwar occupation and responsibility
• 33:58: Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
• 37:06: The Berlin Blockade and Airlift
• 39:30: Kennan’s “Long Telegram” and containment
• 41:14: Cross-promotion and course information (end of substantive content)

Tone & Style

The conversation maintains Hillsdale’s characteristic scholarly yet accessible tone. Professor Anton is clear, methodical, and occasionally wry, bringing history alive through memorable analogies (e.g., the Pottery Barn rule) and pop culture references (Casablanca). The hosts, Regan and Davalos, provide thoughtful framing and draw out connections between past ideas and today’s ongoing debates over American global engagement.

Summary for the Uninitiated

This episode makes clear how America’s approach to the world fundamentally changed in the WWII era—moving from a narrow, self-contained “city on a hill” ethos to actively shaping the international order. The transformation, driven by both idealism (FDR’s “Four Freedoms”) and harsh necessity (total war, unconditional surrender), set the stage for the later confrontation with the Soviet Union, and influences debates in U.S. foreign policy to this day.

The discussion provides crucial background for understanding not only U.S. involvement in WWII but also the ideological roots of the Cold War and America’s ongoing role on the world stage.