
Beginning with Haiti and running through the
1830s, most of the colonial possessions in Central
and South America gained their independence.
1. “. . . the American continents . . . Henceforth not
to be considered as subjects for future
colonization by any European powers”

2. that the political system of Europe was
different from the U.S., and we would “consider
any attempt on their part to extend their system
to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to
our peace and safety”

3. the U.S. will not interfere with existing
European colonies in the western hemisphere

4. the U.S. will keep out of the internal affairs
of European nations and their wars

 Guerilla
revolutionaries in
Cuba
 USS

Maine
Invasion of Cuba
 Attack

of Manila Bay
Victory
 U.S. doesn’t ‘own’
Cuba, but. . .
 We can protect Cuba
 Permanent base at. . .
• Guantanamo Bay
 Taft
and Roosevelt’s
approach to Latin
America
 Encourage
American
bankers to invest in
countries, supported
by the United States
military
 Haiti, Guatemala,
Nicaragua, Honduras
The Panama Canal - 1903
U.S. supports revolution against Colombia, then signs
treaty with new Panama for land and rights to build Canal
The Roosevelt Corollary - 1904
Since the Monroe Doctrine prohibited intervention in
Latin America by Europeans, the United States was justified in
intervening first to forestall the actions of outsiders.
“chronic wrongdoing . . . may in America, as elsewhere,
ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation, and in
the Western Hemisphere the adherence of the United States to the
Monroe Doctrine may force the U.S., however reluctantly, in
flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or importance, to the exercise
of an international police power”
The Good Neighbor Policy - 1920s
Harding Administration (1921) agreed to pay Colombia $25
million for America’s use of Panama Canal rights
1924 - American troops left the Dominican Republic
1925 - U.S. marines left Nicaragua, return next year due to
civil war, stay until 1933
1928 - U.S. - Mexican relations improve over compensation
due America because of Mexican civil war
1928 - Pan-American Conference in Havana
1933 - FDR supported a resolution declaring no nation “has
the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another”
Cuba - 1959 - ?
January 1, ‘59, Fidel Castro’s guerillas defeat dictator
Fulgenicio Batista’s government forces. At first, the U.S. is
sympathetic to Castro’s revolution, but they quickly realize his
socialist/communist tendencies, and they change approaches.
The Bay of Pigs - April 1961 - New President Kennedy
accepts Ike’s plans, supports invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles,
armed with U.S. weapons.
JFK has a change of heart, turns into fiasco
Cuban Missile Crisis - October 1962
The Alliance for Progress - 1961
Kennedy’s attempt to make peace in Latin America
“a free and prosperous Latin America” that would be less
likely to support Communist-inspired revolutions
U.S. pledged $20 billion dollars to help establish better
schools, housing, health care, and fairer land distribution.
Some countries (Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Central
America) did improve their nations. Others saw dictators keep
money to prop up their control.