Question

when the british poet john donne wrote in 1624 that “no man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent” he defined an inescapable condition that pertains not only to individuals — it shapes the fate of countries. our founding fathers were aware of the hazards and burdens of belonging to the family of nations, and busy as they were creating their own society, they wanted to keep their coexistence with others down to a minimum. president george washington said so in september 1796 in his famous farewell address. turning to the subject in his 32 - page list of things the nation should and should not do, he cautioned that: “it is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world,” and added that “the great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is... to have with them as little political connection as possible.”
theodore roosevelt and his big stick in the caribbean by william allen rogers is in the public domain.
guiding questions
which of the following best describes the founding fathers position on foreign policy?
a they believed that america should work with other nations when it benefited america.
b they believed that america should expand by taking over other nations.
c they believed that america should minimize its dealings with other nations.
d they believed that america was too weak to interact with foreign countries.

Explanation:

To determine the Founding Fathers' foreign policy position, we analyze the text: "Our Founding Fathers were aware of the hazards and burdens of belonging to the family of nations, and busy as they were creating their own society, they wanted to keep their coexistence with others down to a minimum." This shows they wanted to minimize interactions with other nations. Option A suggests working with others (contradicts), B suggests expansion (contradicts), D suggests America was too weak (not stated). So C matches the description.

Answer:

C. They believed that America should minimize its dealings with other nations.