Still thinking about sanctions and blockades, zooming out to a broader timeline.
Wilson played the blockade game ferociously. After he was gone we turned against it, remaining firmly impartial and non-interventionist until we were ACTUALLY ATTACKED BY AN ACTUAL FOREIGN NATION on 12/7/41. Harding didn’t quite start the rebellion but he did lead it. Coolidge, Hoover, and FDR continued.
We didn’t sign Versailles and didn’t actively participate in punishing Germany. US companies continued doing business with Germany, kept their German branches in full operation. We also did business with Russia, though our ties were never strong before or after the Revolution. Ford kept its Russian factory running through the 20s, and other companies sold to USSR. We also sold military equipment to Japan for its war against Russia.
We were properly mercantilist from 1920 to 1941, in the same way that China is properly mercantilist now. We didn’t take sides, didn’t use trade as a weapon, didn’t force other countries to conform to our culture. Our branches in other countries didn’t require total US material; most of them used local parts and designed local variations. We weren’t onshoring to destroy other countries or offshoring to destroy our own country. We just made extra money by foreign trade. That’s all.
The Wilson evil started again in 1946 and continues now, with a few brief letups at times.
Polistra's Mill 