REGENTS REVIEW – FOREIGN POLICY
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Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) – The French Revolution led
Washington to enact this policy.
Jay’s Treaty – The U.S. wanted Britain to stop impressment. This treaty said nothing
about impressment but the British agreed to leave the Northwest Territory. Some
Americans wanted to impeach Washington.
Pinckney’s Treaty – Spain provided the U.S. with the right to navigate the Mississippi
River.
Citizen Genet – French dude who wanted support from the U.S. He tried to upset
American neutrality.
XYZ Affair – The U.S. sent three men to negotiate with the French to stop
impressment. They wanted a bribe just to meet. We said, “ millions for defense but
not one cent for tribute.”
Adams fought the Quasi War with the French.
Barbary Pirates – Jefferson had a conflict off the coast of Northern Africa.
War of 1812:
Causes: War hawks who wanted to expand into Canada and Florida. This included
Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Native American attacks in the Northwest
Territory. This included the Battle of Tippecanoe. (William Henry Harrison)
Impressment of ships. The Chesapeake was attacked by the British Leopard ship.
1. Embargo Act – Jefferson asked Congress to end trade with everyone.
2. Madison repeals the Embargo Act and replaces it with the Non-Intercourse Act.
This stated that the U.S. could trade with everyone except Britain and France.
3. Macon’s Bill No. 2 – This allowed the U.S. to reopen trade, but if one country
agreed to stop impressment, the U.S. would end trade with the other.
Major events: Dolly Madison saved the portrait of Washington from the burning
White House. Star Spangled Banner was written. Battle of New Orleans was fought
by Jackson AFTER the Treaty of Ghent was signed.
Results: Status Quo – nothing changed. Increased in nationalism, manufacturing.
This led to the Era of Good Feelings. The Federalist Party disappeared from the
country.
1823 Monroe Doctrine – The U.S. said that the western hemisphere was closed to
Europe. STAY OUT.
Mexican American War (1846-1848) – Cause: There was a border dispute. The U.S.
believed it was the Rio Grande and the Mexicans believed it was the Nueces River.
This was AFTER the annexation of Texas. Texas was the Lone Star Republic for ten
years. The gag rule in Congress prevented them from discussing slavery.
Results of the War. The U.S. was victorious. The Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo
provided the U.S. with the Mexican Cession. This land included California, Colorado,
Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and part of Wyoming. Should this land be free
or slave?
David Wilmot said all this land should be free. This free soil platform was called the
Wilmot Proviso and was rejected by Congress.
Compromise of 1850.
1. California as a free state.
2. Rest of Mexican Cession based on popular sovereignty. (Lewis Cass)
3. Stricter Fugitive Slave Law
4. Banned the slave trade in Washington D.C.
5. $10 million to Texas for a strip of land
President Zachary Taylor died during the negotiations. This compromise was put
together by Stephen Douglas and Henry Clay as FIVE separate bills. They were
signed by Millard Fillmore.
Spanish American War (1898-1899)
 During the Gilded Age, there was a rise in big business. This led to a greater demand
to acquire new markets to sell goods and acquire land for raw materials. The
European nations had already embarked on an imperialist agenda. The Berlin
Conference was a meeting to discuss dividing up Africa for the European countries.
 Causes:
1. Humanitarianism – The Cubans were being mistreated by the Spanish. General
Valeriano Weyler was called “Butcher.”
2. Economic Interests – The U.S. had $50 million invested. The Cubans were
burning the sugar fields.
3. Yellow Journalism – Newspapers began exaggerating the stories of the atrocities
in order to sell papers. Pulitzer and Hearst.
4. DeLome Letter – The Spanish mocked President McKinley by calling him weak.
Teddy Roosevelt referred to him as having the backbone of a “chocolate eclaire.”
5. Sinking of the Maine – This U.S. battleship exploded off the coast of Havana.
There were 262 Americans on board. The U.S. blamed Spain but later found out
in 1971 that it was spontaneous combustion.
Secretary of State John Hay referred to this as a “splendid little war.”
Results of the War – WORLD POWER; TURNING POINT
1. Treaty of Paris – The U.S. received Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines for $20
million.
2. Filipino Revolution for three years led to more deaths than in the Spanish-American
War. Emilio Aguinaldo was the revolutionary.
3. Open Door Policy – The U.S. proclaimed that China was open to trade for everyone.
This led to the Boxer Rebellion in which Chinese killed foreigners.
4. Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Big Stick Policy – Speak softly and
carry and big stick.
The U.S. will become the international police. The first attempt to enforce this was
in the Dominican Republic.
5. Panama Canal – The U.S. received the authority from Britain with the HayPauncefote Treaty. First, we were going to build it through Nicaragua. The U.S.
made an offer to Colombia that was rejected, so we then encouraged the
Panamanians to revolt.
6. Platt Amendment – The Cubans added this to the new constitution. The U.S.
received Guantanamo Bay.
7. Russo-Japanese War – TR received the Noble Prize for settling this conflict.
8. Great White Fleet – TR ordered the navy to sail ships around the world to show off.
9. Dollar Diplomacy – President Taft encouraged businesses to invest in Latin America.
World War I (1914-1918)
Causes of the War: MANIA – Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism and….
Asssassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand from Austria-Hungary by Gavrilo Princip,
a Serbian nationalism of the Black Hand.
The U.S. was NEUTRAL.
However, the U.S. traded more with the Allies (Great Britain and France.)
 German unrestricted submarine warfare.
 Lusitania – A British cruise ship with 198 Americans on board, was attacked by the
Germans.
1916 Wilson ran for reelection on a slogan “He kept us out of war”
 Zimmerman telegram – Germany sent this message to Mexico. If Mexico attacked
the U.S., Germany would help them get back Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. This
note was allegedly intercepted by the British.
 Results:
 Fourteen Points – Wilson’s plan for world peace
 Treaty of Versailles – Germany had to pay reparations, Germany had to accept guilt
for the war, Germany lost territory, Germany had to demilitarize and … LEAGUE OF
NATIONS.
 The Senate, led by Henry Cabot Lodge, refused to ratify the treaty because of Article
X of the League of Nations, compelling members to defend each other.
 This group was called the Irreconcilables. Wilson did NOT get the treaty ratified.
1920s – Isolationism
 Kellogg-Briand Pact – 62 nations signed this to outlaw war
 Washington Naval Conference limited the number of ships in a ratio
 Dawes Plan – U.S. bankers loaned money to Germany to help them pay back the
Allies who could then pay us back. (????)
1930s – Great Depression
 Stimson Doctrine – Under Hoover, the U.S. refused to recognize nations taken by
force after Japan invaded Manchuria
 Good Neighbor Policy – FDR tried to make amends in Latin American after his
cousin caused them to hate us
World War II (1939-1945)
 Axis Powers – Japan, Germany and Italy caused all of the trouble with their
aggressive foreign policies
 Nye Committee – Senator Gerald Nye concluded that the U.S. went to war in 1914 to
help bankers get rich. This made it difficult for FDR to get involved in WWII.
 Neutrality  Cash and Carry  Lend Lease Act  Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941 The
U.S. military base in Hawaii was attacked by Japan.
End of the war
Italy and Germany surrendered first.
Japan refused to do so.
Manhattan Project was the top secret plan to build the atomic bomb. Even Vice
President Truman did NOT know about. This led to Truman ordered an atomic bomb
attack on Aug. 6, 1945 (Hiroshima) and then again on Aug. 9, 1945 (Nagasaki).
COLD WAR (1945-1991)
 Some historians suggest that the second atomic bomb on Japan (Nagasaki) was to
intimidate the Russians.
 Cold War – ideological struggle; war of words; proxy wars; between the United
States (democracy and capitalism) vs. the Soviet Union (communism and
dictatorship)
 Containment – George Kennan believed that the U.S. should stop the spread of
communism. Later in life, he said we should have used economic means more than
fighting on the battlefield.
 Truman Doctrine – U.S. gave aid to Greece and Turkey to stop the spread of
communism
 Marshall Plan – a package of economic aid to western European nations as long as
they did not turn communist
 Berlin Blockade – the Soviets attempted to cut off West Berlin with a blockade; the
Allies responded with the Berlin Airlift
 Korean War (1950-1953) – North Korea invaded South Korea. United Nations
police action (Soviets were boycotting the UN because it failed to recognize
communist China); General Douglas MacArthur led the troops; he was pushed back
by the Chinese and wanted to drop an atomic bomb on them; Truman refused and
fired MacArthur after he was publicly criticized
 Home Front: Second Red Scare; espionage; Loyalty Review Boards; oaths (NYC
teachers); Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed; McCarran Internal Security
Act – communist groups had to register with the government; Hollywood Blacklist;
Joseph McCarthy said he had a list of 205 known communists in the government
although he never gave a name; McCarthyism
 Kennedy
1. Bay of Pigs Invasion – failed effort to overthrow Fidel Castro
2. Cuban Missile Crisis – Kennedy set up a naval quarantine around Cuba as the
Soviets were sending missiles; after 13 tense days, the Soviets agreed to send
the missiles back and we agreed to never invade Cuba and remove missiles from
Turkey
 Vietnam War
 Gulf of Tonkin Incident – two U.S. ships (C. Turner Joy and the Maddox) were
allegedly attacked off the coast of North Vietnam
 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave LBJ the authority to use troops to defend American
interests. The only two congressmen to vote against this were Wayne Morse and
Ernest Gruening. Morse even said that this would be the worst decision the nation
had ever made.
 Vietnam War: Vietcong, “Charlie”, can’t tell the enemy, jungles, Agent Orange,
guerrilla warfare, My Lai massacre; draft lottery
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1968 – Tet Offensive – this was a surprise attack on New Year’s Day; even though it
wasn’t a devastating military defeat, it was televised and led to greater protesting in
the U.S.
LBJ announced that he would NOT seek reelection.
Chicago Democratic Convention – taxi drivers, telephone operators, bus drivers all
on strike; Yippies were protesting in the park threatening to lace the water with
LSD; Pigasus; Robert Kennedy was assassinate by Sirhan Sirhan BEFORE this
Convention. Hubert H. Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy were running for the
nomination.
At 11 pm, the police went to Grant Park and physically assaulted the protesters.
They were chanting “the whole world is watching.”
Nixon, the Republican, won the election.
Vietnamization – Nixon said he would gradually remove the troops and allow South
Vietnam to fight the war. But secretly, he expanded the war into Cambodia. Kent
State was the location of a protest about this attack. Four students were killed by
the National Guard.
Pentagon Papers were released by Daniel Ellsberg to the New York Times.
1973 War Powers Act – this restricted the rights of the president to use troops; he
can use troops for 60 days but then must tell Congress. Without approval, he has an
additional 30 days to send them home.
Carter:
1. Panama Canal was returned in 2000
2. Camp David Accords – peace treaty with Egypt and Israel
3. Pardoned draft dodgers
4. Hostages were held for 444 days. They were released on Reagan’s inauguration.
Reagan
1. Iran Contra Affair – the U.S. secretly sold weapons to Iran. Iran helped get the
hostages released. We then diverted the money to the Contras in Nicaragua.
2. Reagan won the Cold War.
George Bush – the Berlin Wall came down (1989)