The Good Neighbor Policy--though ultimately abandoned in the face of the Communist threat--significantly affected America during Roosevelt's time as president.
During this period, the US and Latin America underwent a reciprocal cultural exchange. Not only did the US do away with its interventionist policies; it reshaped Americans' views of Latin American people and culture. The exchange that occurred as a result of the Good Neighbor Policy briefly united a hemisphere.
Yet, during the cold war, this policy was turned on its head. Hemispheric defense, promoted with the rhetoric of the Good Neighbor Policy, enforced a one sided exchange: US values, at all costs.
During this period, the US and Latin America underwent a reciprocal cultural exchange. Not only did the US do away with its interventionist policies; it reshaped Americans' views of Latin American people and culture. The exchange that occurred as a result of the Good Neighbor Policy briefly united a hemisphere.
Yet, during the cold war, this policy was turned on its head. Hemispheric defense, promoted with the rhetoric of the Good Neighbor Policy, enforced a one sided exchange: US values, at all costs.