“In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor - the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others - the neighbor who respects his obligations and respect”
-Franklin D Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, 1933
International Conference of American States (1933)
Roosevelt’s Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, attended this conference in Montevideo, Uraguay at which the visiting nations signed the Convention on Rights and Duties of States.
Article 8 of this treaty states: "No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another.” |
This treaty entered into force on December 26, 1934.
Throughout the Americas the spirit of the good neighbor is a practical and living fact. The twenty-one American Republics are not only living together in friendship and in peace; they are united in the determination so to remain.
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Address at Chautauqua, N.Y., 1936
Trade
Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and later World War II, the opening of good trade relations between the US and Latin American countries benefited both regions' economies and national interests.
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Timeline
1933
Contracted Moore-McCormack to create the Good Neighbor Fleet: ten cargo ships and three ocean liners that were shared between the US and Latin American countries 1933-34 Removed all remaining troops from Nicaragua and Haiti, hoping to better relations and allow independence in Latin American countries 1934 Annulled the Platt Amendment with the Treaty of Relations, allowing Cuba to regain control of their country, leaving only the US base- Guantanamo Bay |
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