At the end of the 1800's America had been exploring its new found role as a world power. The U.S. dove into foreign affairs and peaked internationally with the Wilsonianism of WWI. However, after this great war, the U.S. withdrew back to its isolationist attitude. Contrastingly, European citizens sought foreign escape from their war-torn continent. As these Europeans flocked to American shores, the new American isolationist culture opposed them. American culture, along with its politics, had become nativist.