In a famous statement made in his 1933 inaugural address, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared: "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." This declaration, which became popularly known as the "good-neighbor policy," described the United States' declared approach to Central and South America during the Roosevelt presidency.
The principle that one country should avoid conflict by acting as a "good neighbor" to other countries located nearby has direct application to states within our federal system, all of which serve as sovereigns within their respective state boundaries. When utilizing shared resources such as surface or ground water or air that crosses state boundaries, fair and equitable use of those resources is important to preserve interstate comity. In the modern era, the various branches of the federal government establish and enforce good-neighbor principles, sometimes balancing the need for national standards against states' rights to regulate their citizens' activities.
