Foreign policy was a main component of American policy since the advent of the ratified Constitution, so deeply ingrained that the principles of international relations preoccupied the founding fathers even before for America to gain its independence. of Great Britain in 1776. Initially compartmentalized in the Articles of Confederation, foreign policy has taken many forms since the creation of the Foreign Department by the First Congress in 1789, from the "isolationism" of John Quincy Adams to the " monument of example” of Thomas Jefferson. on direct involvement in foreign affairs. While experience, geography, and a focus on homeland over international security shaped 19th-century foreign policy, Woodrow Wilson's American ideals. After initial reservation, Franklin Roosevelt ignored popular isolationist sentiment in Congress in the late 1930s and early 1940s by committing resources to France and Britain supporting his war efforts against the Germany. During his Four Freedoms speech in 1940, Roosevelt echoed Wilsonian idealism, citing America's obligation to protect and defend free nations, and ultimately committed the nation's military to the defense of democracy both at home and abroad. The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor gave Roosevelt the ultimate justification for America's declaration of war, a more Jacksonian approach to foreign policy, but Wilsonian ideals served as a broad basis before and during the war. The distinctive factor that demonstrates Wilson's influence lies in the foreign policy approaches of successive presidents who themselves were not Wilsonian, yet used his American philosophy of exceptionalism in expression and action. While many successive presidents may have approached foreign relations under non-Wilsonian pretexts, the common theme was conversion to Wilsonian principles as a model for success either in victory or in achieving the desired outcome. Wilson's ideals of democracy, nation-building, interventionism, and capitalism remain essential elements of American foreign policy, and despite the advent of new or renowned methodologies, American presidents are most often returned to his ideas.