1880 - 1929
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From Colony to Superpower Gilded Age 1877-1893
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1882 must control an isthmus canal
Many domestic problems- time of rapid change (railroad,
steam, telegraph, 1st rush of globalization, increase in poverty,
competition and struggle pushed by Darwinism theory)
Low concern for external threats
Non-entanglement became holy writ
More than ever drawn to far of places
 Adventure, opportunity, and commerce
Rush for empire by all countries
Immigration with high birth rate pushes us to second most
populated country by 1900
U.S. number one economic growing city
Greater individual liberties
Killed off Native Americans
Sent agriculture and industrial products across the globe
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Roots of American Empire found in Post-Civil
War
Claims to “non-interference being strictly
observed”
Foreign Recreation driven by driven countries?
Missionaries go to far off nations to
Christianize “backwards” people
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Immigration
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How did immigrants of ethnic groups change and push United States for foreign policy
Economy
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“Gilded Age politicians and businessmen thus set out to protect existing foreign markets and find new ones“
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“Certain of the superiority of their institutions and conscious of their rising power, they increasingly claimed that their
rightful place was at the head of the American nations. They believed they could assist their southern neighbors to be more
stable and orderly. For reasons of both economics and security, they sought to roll back European influence and increase their
own.” (Herring 290)
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Pre- Spanish American War
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“What was once called the Spanish American War was the pivotal event of a pivotal decade, bringing the “large policy” to
fruition and marking the United States as a world power” (Herring 309)
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Do you agree “no war in history has accomplished so much in so short time with so little loss?”
What were the two sides of the argument over the Philippines?
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Was the war something done “for” Cubans or done “to” Cubans?
How has the Philippian war bring “disillusionment” to the “nation’s imperial mission?”
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Why was “isolation…no longer possible or desirable?”
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Good Intentions 1901-1913
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How did diplomatic expectations and U.S. infrastructure change with Theodore Roosevelt pushing the presidency to an
“imperial state”?
In what ways did immigrants play a role in U.S. foreign policy?
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How did dollar diplomacy work itself out in Latin America?
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Arthur 1881 – 1885
Cleveland 1885 – 1889
Harrison 1889 – 1893
Cleveland 1893 – 1897
McKinley 1897 – 1901
T. Roosevelt 1901 – 1909
Taft 1909 – 1913
Wilson 1913 - 1922
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Crucial first steps in building a modern navy
Construction of steam-powered steel cruisers, steel rams, and steelclad gunboats
Curb corruption and incompetency within the Navy
Naval War College was established in Newport, Rhode Island, and
the Office of Naval Intelligence was created
Even in 1889, naval coaling stations were limited to Honolulu,
Samoa, and Pichilingue in Lower California
Secretary of state, James G. Blaine
Advocating the construction of a canal across the Isthmus of
Panama
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, negotiated a treaty with
Nicaragua that ceded a stretch of land to the United States for
construction of the waterway
Congress refused to ratify this treaty
Violated an existing treaty with Great Britain
Each nation pledged not to obtain exclusive control over any canal
built through the Isthmus of Panama
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Cleveland shunned foreign entanglements and imperial ambitions
Revolutions in both Hawaii and Cuba and chose not to acknowledge
either
Although he did send ships to Venezuela to compel the British to accept
arbitration
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Cleveland's interference in the Venezuelan boundary dispute was his most
controversial foreign policy decision
Principal agenda was to oppose territorial expansion and entangling
alliances
Samoa was another matter altogether. Because the United States had
treaty rights to establish a naval base on the island, Cleveland reacted
strongly when Germany tried to install a puppet monarch
Hawaii: Cleveland tried to pressure the revolutionary government into
handing power back to Queen Liliuokalani
Cleveland washed his hands of the affair in frustration
He did send troops to Panama and Rio de Janeiro during his Presidency
In Cuba, Cleveland wanted to remain neutral, refusing to support the
insurrection against Spanish rule and urging instead that Spain adopt
reforms that would lead to gradual independence
The matter remained unresolved at the end of his second term
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International affairs engaged Harrison's administration more than any president
since Lincoln. The first Pan-American conference was held in 1889
Established Samoa as an American protectorate with Germany and England as
partners, and tried to annex Hawaii following a revolution (the Senate rejected the
annexation)
Pressured Chile to pay reparations for harm done to American sailors in Valparaiso
Harrison negotiated reciprocal trade agreements that set the pattern for American
trade policy in the years to come.
He convened the first modern Pan-American Conference in October 1889 and also
boldly negotiated the establishment of a protectorate over the Samoan Islands with
Germany and Great Britain
Harrison appointed the nation's leading black leader, Frederick Douglass, minister
to Haiti.
Harrison supported the expansion of the Navy, begun by President Chester Arthur,
into a world-class fleet of seven armored ships
He failed to secure a coaling station in Haiti
Could not convince Congress to guarantee the bonds of a private company trying to
build a canal in Nicaragua, nor did he achieve the annexation of Hawaii
Legacy: launched the nation on the road to empire, inspired Theodore Roosevelt's
"Big Stick" diplomacy, vigorous trade agenda, negotiating substantial reciprocal
trade agreements with key American trading markets -- novel actions that set the
pattern for American trade policy in the twentieth century
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McKinley's Open Door policy to China mandating that trade with the Chinese be open to all
western nations equally
The new century would be the first in U.S. history in which no frontier existed for them to
conquer
New frontiers were integral to national greatness
No modern nation could be a great nation without a powerful navy, a superior merchant fleet,
and overseas colonies
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These individuals looked beyond American shores for new frontiers, world markets, and overseas
colonies
Fears of overseas expansion: too costly, non-white peoples into the American nation, deviate from
the traditional isolationist stance of the nation's foreign policy, an economic threat
China emerged as a major foreign policy concern
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This idea greatly influenced political leaders
Especially as Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan, among others, scrambled throughout the
1890s to establish their own "spheres of influence" in that nation. Fearful that the Europeans and Japanese
might close Chinese ports to U.S. commerce, McKinley authorized Secretary of State John Hay to issue an
"Open Door" note on China
All commercial nations on an equal footing in China
Declared U.S. support for a non-colonized and independent China
One of the most important policy statements ever issued by the U.S. State Department
In June 1900, a group of Chinese nationalists who objected to foreign intrusions in their country
massacred numerous western missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity
Also laid siege to the foreign community of diplomats in Peking
Without seeking congressional approval
Several gunboats to assist a combined expeditionary force
China was forced to pay an indemnity in excess of $300 million, $25 million of which went to the
United States
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America should be strong and ready to defend its interests around the world
Latin America consumed a fair amount of Roosevelt's time and energy during his first term as
President. Venezuela became a focus of his attention in 1902 when Germany and Britain sent
ships to blockade that country's coastline. The European nations had given loans to Venezuela
that the Venezuelan dictator refused
to repay
Roosevelt felt aggrieved by their actions and demanded that they agree to arbitration to
resolve the dispute
Dominican Republic
European investors had appealed to their governments to collect money from a debt-ridden
nation Latin American nation
Dominican government appealed to the United States, Roosevelt ordered an American
collector to assume control of the customs houses and collect duties to avoid possible
European military action
Roosevelt formulated what became known as the Roosevelt Corollary
stated that the United States would not accept European intervention in the Americas
To preempt such action and to maintain regional stability
United States would intervene in any Latin American country that manifested serious
economic problems
United States would serve as the "policeman" of the Western Hemisphere, a policy which
eventually created much resentment in Latin America
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Assert U.S. influence in foreign lands through investment and trade
Did not shy away from displaying American military might to protect
U.S. business interests
When revolution threatened in Honduras and Nicaragua, Taft
dispatched troops to safeguard U.S. citizens and property
More committed to the expansion of U.S. foreign trade than was
Roosevelt
Encourage U.S. investments in South and Central American, the
Caribbean, and the Far East
U.S. military was a tool of economic diplomacy. He invited U.S. banks to
rescue debt-ridden Honduras with loans and grants, and he sent 2,700
U.S. marines to stabilize Nicaragua's conservative, pro-U.S. regime
when rebels threatened to overthrow its government
Seeking commercial advantages in Central America aggravated the
existing ill will that had been generated by Roosevelt's military
interventions in Panama and Santa Domingo
Pan-American Conference. This conference was intent on finding ways
to curtail U.S. commercial penetration, influence, and intervention
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Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy was based on an altruistic yearning to impart the benefits
of constitutional democracy on other nations. To his detractors, his approach was seen as
condescending and naïve
Wanted to “strike a new note in international affairs”
Wanted to condemn imperialism and endorse democracy and peace
According to this policy, the US would only lend a helping hand to those Latin American
nations which had a democratic government and supported the interests of the US. The idea
behind this was to resort to economic pressure to influence and control the other nations. The
US being a major player in the world economy, it was difficult for the other nations to
maintain a stable economy of their won without the SU support. Wilson banked on this very
fact and tried to force these nations into submission with his moral diplomacy
Wilson set out to raise the moral tone of American foreign policy by denouncing dollar
diplomacy
To seek special economic concessions in Latin America was "unfair" and "degrading." The
United States would deal with Latin American nations "upon terms of equality and honor."
Woodrow Wilson and his secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, came into office with
little experience in foreign relations but with a determination to base their policy on moral
principles rather than the selfish materialism that they believed had animated their
predecessors' programs
He also permitted Secretary of State Wilham Jennings Bryan to negotiate conciliation treaties
with 21 nations. The distinctive feature of these agreements was the provision for a "coolingof' period of one year, during which signatories agreed, in the event of a dispute, not to
engage in hostilities.
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Mexico
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Refused to recognize General Huerta who had seized power illegally
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"I will not recognize a government of butchers," he said. This was unconventional, since nations do not
ordinarily consider the means by which a foreign regime has come to power before deciding to establish
diplomatic relations.
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Wilson refused to recognize General Victoriano Huerta, Wilson demanded that Huerta hold free elections
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His stance encouraged anti-Huerta forces in northern Mexico led by Venustiano Carranza
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German merchantman laden with munitions was expected at Veracruz, Wilson ordered the city occupied
to prevent the weapons from reaching the Huertistas
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Mexican officials arrested a few American sailors, which pushed Wilson to order the U.S. Navy to occupy
the port city of Veracruz
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This weakened Huerta's control, and he abandoned power to Carranza, whom Wilson immediately
recognized as the de facto president of Mexico
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Pancho Villa moved to provoke a war between the Carranza government and the United States by
stopping a train in northern Mexico and killed 16 American passengers in cold blood. Then he crossed
into New Mexico and burned the town of Columbus, killing 19
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Wilson, without securing permission from Carranza, sent an expedition of 7,000 U.S. soldiers commanded
by General John "Black Jack" Pershing into Mexico in pursuit of Villa
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Alarmed by the danger of war, Wilson reaffirmed his commitment to Mexican self-determination and
agreed to discuss methods of securing the border area with the Mexican government
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Early in 1917 Wilson withdrew all U.S. forces from Mexico
Other nations
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In 1916, Wilson practiced an old-fashioned form of imperialism by buying the Virgin Islands from their
colonial master, Denmark, for $25 million
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Congress promised the residents of the Philippine Islands independence
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Puerto Rico achieved territorial status, and its residents became U.S. citizens
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Responded to revolution in Haiti by sending in American marines to restore order, and he did the same in
the Dominican Republic in 1916
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Because of the strategic importance of the Panama Canal, he was unwilling to tolerate "unrest" anywhere
in the Caribbean
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In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy
objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or
constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior
force.
The British diplomat and naval thinker James Cable spelled out the nature of gunboat
diplomacy in a series of works published between 1971 and 1994. In these, he defined the
phenomenon as "the use or threat of limited naval force, otherwise than as an act of war,
in order to secure advantage or to avert loss, either in the furtherance of an international
dispute or else against foreign nationals within the territory or the jurisdiction of their
own state." He further broke down the concept into four key areas:
Definitive Force: the use of gunboat diplomacy to create or remove a fait accompli (a
French phrase which means literally "an accomplished fact." It is commonly used to
describe an action which is completed before those affected by it are in a position to
query or reverse it. Perhaps the nearest English equivalent is a "done deal").
Purposeful Force: application of naval force to change the policy or character of the
target government or group
Catalytic Force: a mechanism designed to buy a breathing space or present policy
makers with an increased range of options
Expressive Force: use of navies to send a political message - interestingly this aspect of
gunboat diplomacy is undervalued and almost dismissed by Cable.
Notable examples:
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Panama separation from Colombia
Great White Fleet (1907
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Not much interest in foreign affairs (very
isolationist)
Some desire to compete with Europe
Social Darwinism will encourage expansion-white
Americans are indeed the fittest(?)
Rudyard Kipling-take up the white man’s burdenduty to civilize and Christianize the “backward”
peoples of the world
Alfred Thayer Mayan-expand the merchant fleet
and the navy-create new markets and make a
profit
Those against expansion-U.S. a vast countryplenty to do here--- people opposed imperialism:
empire building, expanding the nations authority
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Four themes of diplomacy
The most obvious theme is the land and commercial
expansion that drove the nation outward between 1750
and the 1940’s.
 Second theme is the steady centralization of power at
home, especially in the executive branch of government
after 1890. Foreign policies that Americans have desired
since the nineteenth century are most effective carried
out by a strong presidency.
 Third, “isolationism”, maintaining a maximum amount
of freedom of action
 Fourth, importance of the transitional 1850 to 1914 era, a
time when Americans attitudes underwent change and
ushered in modern U.S. foreign policy
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Monroe Doctrine of 1823
Faced with threats of foreign intervention from several
European powers in the western hemisphere
 To combat the intervention Monroe came up with the
following policy
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The W. hemisphere was closed to further European
colonization
U.S. would not interfere with the existing conflicts of
Europeans
The U.S. would not interfere in the internal affairs of any
Europeans
Any attempt by the European powers to intervene in the
W. hemisphere would be regarded as “dangerous to our
peace and safety.”
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Never had a newly independent nation risen so far so
fast as did the United States between 1776-1900
After the triumph over Spain in 1898 brought the U.S.
new holdings in the Caribbean and the western Pacific
McKinley won the 1896 election and intended to
control foreign policy himself
In so doing, became the first modern chief executive,
expanding the Constitution’s commander in chief
powers, setting the precedent for the “imperial
presidency” of the 1960’s and 1970’s
Built a political coalition so powerful that only one
Democratic presidential nominee would be elected
between 1896 to 1932.
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McKinley took oath in March of 1897 as a revolution raged just
ninety miles from U.S. shores
1894-1895, the U.S. tariff policy had kept out Cuban sugar from
mainland markets.
The island went into an economic tailspin, and a revolution
against Spanish colonialism raged
Washington preferred to hold Spain fully responsible for
protecting U.S. lives and property, while pushing the Madrid
government to give Cuba autonomy
Spain refused to move Cuba towards autonomy. It’s great 400
year empire had rotted away to little more than Cuba, Puerto
Rico, and a few small islands
No government in Spain could surrender these last holdings and
expect to remain in power
Spain dispatched 150,000 troops under General Valeriano
“Butcher” Weyler.
Insurgents burned U.S. property in hope of forcing McKinley's
intervention
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Technological breakthroughs in making paper and
setting type had made mass distribution of papers
easy
William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitizer
sought readers through sensational front page
stories, and nothing was more sensational than the
events in Cuba, unless of course it was a war with
Spain
McKinley was not moved by the press and feared
war would drag the U.S. back into the economic
crises it was finally emerging from in 1897
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McKinley, moreover, opposed war because it could
lead to demands for annexing Cuba, which would
raise constitutional problems
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Can the constitution safely stretch across water to take in
new states without tearing apart?
Bringing Cuba in to the Union would also incorporate a
multiracial society at a time when whites were already
having problems dealing with black Americans and
millions of newly arrived immigrants
McKinley pressed Spain to grant reforms and
Madrid began to do so, but McKinley criticized it
as too little too late
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Spain lost control, in late 1897, riots erupted in
Havana
McKinley moved a warship, the Maine, into
Havana Harbor to protect U.S. citizens and
property
Six days later, on February 15, an explosion shook
the Maine, settling into the muck of the Harbor,
taking more than 250 U.S. sailors with it
Yellow journalist, citizens, and congressmen
would scream for war
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Rebels in the Philippines had begun war against
Spanish rule
The islands could become a key military base from
which to protect U.S. interests in Asia
McKinley and Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Theodore Roosevelt closely watched these islands
Roosevelt sent his Pacific fleet to attack the islands
in case of war with Spain
Germany and Japan were grabbing at Asian
territory which forced the Presidents hand to
begini the quest for Asian Markets
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McKinley carefully prepared his policy to deal
with the Cuban and Asian crises at once.
After the Maine, he moved rapidly to prepare the
country for war
Between March 20 and 28, the President sent a
series of demands to Spain
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Pay reparations for the Maine, declare a truce, and
negotiate for Cuban independence through U.S.
meditation
Spain did all of them, but Cuban independence, no
Madrid government could do this and remain in
power
April 11, sent a message to Congress asking for
war on grounds that the struggle in Cuba
threatened lives, U.S. property, and tranquility in
the U.S.
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The President did not want war
He did want results that only war could bring
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Protecting property in Cuba
Stopping the revolution before it turned towards U.S.
Restore confidence in U.S. Business community,
giving himself a free hand to deal with the Philippines
crisis
For these reasons, McKinley took the country
into war in April 1898
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Congress included in its war resolution the Teller
Amendment which declared that the U.S. was not
entering into war to conquer territory.
McKinley was not interested in annexing Cuba, but
did want Hawaii
Vital bases for U.S. ships heading toward the Philippines,
and when Japan sent warships to the Hawaiian islands he
ordered U.S. ships to prepare for action
 Could not get senate vote to annex Hawaii
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Dewey in the Philippines sent word that he had just
taken the Philippines, two days later McKinley got the
senate and house to annex Hawaii
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The islands then fit within a bigger plan developing in
foreign policy
By early August, Hawaii was a territory, Americans
had won their easiest contest yet and had become a
power in the western Pacific
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This led the U.S. to believe that Cuba could be
taken by sea and built the navy for action, not the
army
The main U.S fleet got ready to fight the Spanish
fleet sailing across the Atlantic to Cuba
An important ship, the Oregon, arrived after a 68
day voyage around Cape Horn
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U.S. fleet quickly cut off four vessels in Santiago
Harbor, trying to flee 12 U.S. vessels destroyed the
entire Spanish fleet at the cost of 1 American life
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Made Americans understand the need for a canal across
Central America
Gave war a good name, easy and cost free
Roosevelt emerged as a national hero
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McKinley decided to annex the Philippines Islands
Filipinos could not run their own country
 Revolutionaries were divided and one radical faction
threatened property
 Civil War would allow our commercial rivals in the Orient to
seize the islands for themselves
 Protect the naval base at Manila
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Sent U.S. troops before Dewey had won
On the evening before the vote for annexation Filipinos
attacked U.S. soldiers
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The revolt against U.S. control had begun
They had originally welcomed the U.S. that defeated
Spain, then turned to hostility when they found out
U.S. intended to stay
War erupted and lasted for another 3 years
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The United States, Cuba, and the Platt Amendment, 1901
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The Platt Amendment, an amendment to a U.S. army
appropriations bill, established the terms under which the United
States would end its military occupation of Cuba (which had begun
in 1898 during the Spanish-American War) and “leave the
government and control of the island of Cuba to its people.”
The Platt Amendment’s conditions:
 Prohibited the Cuban Government from entering into any
international treaty that would compromise Cuban independence or
allow foreign powers to use the island for military purposes.
 The United States also reserved the right to intervene in Cuban
affairs in order to defend Cuban independence
 Other conditions of the Amendment demanded that the Cuban
Government agree to sell or lease territory for coaling and naval
stations to the United States. (This clause ultimately led to the
perpetual lease by the United States of Guantánamo Bay.)
 Finally, the amendment required the Cuban Government to
conclude a treaty with the United States that would make the Platt
amendment legally binding, and the United States pressured the
Cubans to incorporate the terms of the Platt Amendment in the
Cuban constitution.
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TR personally exemplified central themes of post-1890
foreign policy
Willingness to use force to obtain order
 An emphasis on a special U.S. responsibility to guarantee
stability in Latin America
 Belief that Anglo Saxon (a person of European origin fitting a certain socio-economic
and/or ethnic profile.) values and successes gave Americans a right to
conduct such policy
 Americans wanted no more land, they wanted economic
markets abroad
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Believed that great leadership could use this economic
power to prevent disorder and revolution
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American goods could create happier, more stable societies in
the Caribbean and C. America
This became known as $dollar diplomacy$
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TR had inherited a position whose powers had already
multiplied during the post-1860 era
Believed it was his duty to do anything that the needs
of the Nation demanded unless such action was
forbidden by the Constitution of the laws
The more Americans supported a vigorous foreign
policy, the more they were going to get a vigorous
president
A young Woodrow Wilson said the “office will be as big and
as influential as the man who occupies it.”
 TR believed that only the President could conduct foreign
policy b/c congress is too large and unwieldy
 He even used his power as commander in chief to dispatch
troops as he saw fit in Latin America
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Thus was born the 20th century “imperial Presidency”
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Roosevelt colorfully demonstrated that an aggressive foreign
policy created a strong President and vice versa
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TR knew what he wanted to do with his new
powers: U.S. controlled isthmus canal in Central
America
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First he had to solve some other foreign issues:
 A boundary dispute between Alaska and Canada
 Agree to have 6 impartial jurists arbitrate the dispute
 He appointed 3 non impartial jurists
 Canada appointed 2
 And England 1, who promptly voted for the Americans and
handed Roosevelt the land
 For not the 1st or the last time, Canadian interest were
sacrificed for the sake of U.S.-British friendship
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Signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
 Agreement nullified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 and
gave the United States the right to create and control a canal
across Central America
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A French company already was building in Panama (a
province of Columbia), we offered $10 million plus
$250,000 annually for the six mile zone
Columbia legislature rejected it and demanded more
money
TR spread the word he would not be displeased to see
Panama revolt from Columbia
Needing little encouragement and with help from
Washington Panamanians revolted in November 1903.
 U.S. warships prevented Columbia troops from landing and
two days later Roosevelt recognized the new nation
 Signed a treaty giving Panama $10 million plus $250,000 a
year for a ten mile strip that cut the country in half
 U.S. also fully guaranteed Panama’s independence
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TR was determined to build a canal, most Americans
overwhelmingly approved his actions
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TR understood the importance of and how it
needed to be enforced, Monroe Doctrine
Danger to the doctrine came not from European
powers anymore, but frequent revolutions in the
smaller Caribbean and Central American nations
In ‘02-’03 Germans, French, and British used force
to collect debts from Venezuela
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TR could not tolerate major European intervention In the
region, but if he opposed it, the Europeans would
demand that he make the Latin Americans behave
properly
From this he outlined his corollary to the doctrine
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President Theodore Roosevelt's assertive approach to Latin America and the
Caribbean has often been characterized as the "Big Stick," and his policy came
to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
Although the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 was essentially passive (it asked that
Europeans not increase their influence or recognize any part of the Western
Hemisphere), by the 20th century a more confident United States was willing
to take on the role of regional policeman.
In the early 1900s Roosevelt grew concerned that a crisis between Venezuela
and its creditors could spark an invasion of that nation by European powers.
The Roosevelt Corollary of December 1904 stated that the United States would
intervene as a last resort to ensure that other nations in the Western
Hemisphere fulfilled their obligations to international creditors, and did not
violate the rights of the United States or invite "foreign aggression to the
detriment of the entire body of American nations."
As the corollary worked out in practice, the United States increasingly used
military force to restore internal stability to nations in the region. Roosevelt
declared that the United States might "exercise international police power in
'flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence.'"
Over the long term the corollary had little to do with relations between the
Western Hemisphere and Europe, but it did serve as justification for U.S.
intervention in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.





Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Panama
had all been brought within the American orbit within
six years
Roosevelt’s corollary anticipated U.S. policy toward
Latin America for the rest of the twentieth century.
Between 1898 and 1920, U.S. troops entered Latin
America countries no fewer than 20 times
The corollary opened a new era in hemispheric
relations
In 1911, the Monroe Doctrine was expanded even more
with the Lodge Corollary


Declared U.S. opposition to the sale of any strategic area to a
non-hemispheric company that might be an agent for a foreign
government
The Monroe Doctrine resembled U.S. industry and
Presidential powers: it grew larger all the time



Believed in order in Latin America and believed
enough money (dollar diplomacy) could do this
Thought more constructive foreign affairs could
be achieved by using the nations rapidly growing
capital resources and downplaying Roosevelt's
emphasis on military force
Dollar diplomacy could create orderly societies by
helping develop the unindustrialized nations and
happily make a nice profit for American investors

Dollar Diplomacy, 1909-1913
From 1909 to 1913, President William Howard Taft
followed a foreign policy characterized as "dollar
diplomacy." Taft shared the view that the goal of
diplomacy was to create stability and order abroad that
would best promote American commercial
interests. The goal of diplomacy is to improve
financial opportunities, but also to use private capital
to further U.S. interests overseas.
 "Dollar diplomacy" was evident in extensive U.S.
interventions in the Caribbean and Central America,
especially in measures undertaken to safeguard
American financial interests in the region.
 In spite of successes, "dollar diplomacy" failed to
counteract economic instability and the tide of
revolution in places like Mexico, the Dominican
Republic, Nicaragua, and China.


U.S. had reached a point where it both needed Latin
American markets and possessed the excess capital to
develop in the hemisphere


The south had the raw materials and the north the
manufacturers
Railroad builder from Brooklyn built a major rail
system in Costa Rica and then developed banana
plantations so that the trains would have cargo
Thus began the United Fruit Company, or “the octopus”
 By WWI they owned the banana market, the rail system,
shipping, banking, and governments in Costa Rica and
Honduras


U.S. bankers were acquiring Nicaraguan banks and
railroads in return for loans that kept the government
afloat

Taft and Wilfrid Laurier signed a U.S.-Canadian
tariff agreement



Taft’s view: Deal could integrate Canada into a vast
hemispheric industrial complex controlled by the United
States
Aimed at changing trade to north and south rather than
between Canada and Britain
Careless U.S. politicians started talking about the
annexation of Canada through this

Infuriated and frightened Canadian
Conservatives killed the agreement



“Wilsonian” became a term to describe later
policies that emphasized internationalism and
moralism and that were dedicated to extending
democracy
Looked back upon as the chief executive who
had the largest vision of the nation’s future and
who had first confronted challenges that
continued to plague them
Wilson became the greatest military
interventionist in U.S. history

Francisco Madero overthrew the 34 year old
dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz





U.S. interests were not pleased; under Diaz U.S. investments
were at $2billion, owned 43% of property, 10% more than
Mexicans themselves owned
A number of armed groups tried to grab power and
captured Madero, and Victoriano Huerta took control
Many countries recognized Huerta’s government, but
Wilson refused, objecting to his use of force to gain
power
President began supporting Huerta’s enemies
especially Venustiano Carranza
To undermine Wilson, Huerta held a free election
supported by England, which he handily won





April of 1914 Huerta arrested 7 U.S. sailors on
shore leave for wondering into a forbidden area
Wilson went to Congress for military force
While congress stalled, Wilson learned that a
German ship was going to unload arms for Huerta
Wilson ordered ships to occupy the port and firing
broke out killing 19 Americans and 300 Mexicans
Huerta was removed and Carranza assumed
power


Carranza, refused to work with Wilson, so
Wilson then aided anti-Carranza forces like Pancho Villa
Carranza announced Mexico’s claim to all of its subsoil
mineral rights, which threatened U.S. oil companies


Because of this, Carranza destroying Villa’s forces,
and WWI, Wilson reluctantly recognized
Carranza’s government in late 1915
Villa responded by terrorizing AZ and NM, killing
17 Americans, and 18 in Mexico itself
Carranza reluctantly allowed U.S. troops to
track down the killers
 6000 men led by John J. Pershing never captured Villa
but did clash with Carranza’s troops
 Because of the U.S. entrance into WWI Wilson began to
come to terms with Carranza



Wilson declared he wanted “orderly processes” in
Latin America as well as stability in the markets
Already had troops in Nicaragua because of U.S.
investments under Taft; owned 51% of banks and
railways


U.S. now loaned a bankrupt government another million for
the rest of the banks and railways
Next ordered Marines to Haiti because of internal
rebellion and sticking to the Monroe Doctrine

Treaty was signed giving U.S. control over the country’s
foreign affairs, financial affairs, and the right to intervene
when U.S. thought it was necessary
 Marines stayed for another 19 years

Disorder in Dominican Republic led to U.S. sponsored
elections, but would not allow U.S. to oversee finances

Wilson ordered in Marines, U.S. investors took over large
sugar and real-estate holdings


Wilson’s goal was to remain “neutral in fact as well as
in name”
Germans were exercising submarine warfare
May 7, 1915 sunk the British Lusitania and killed 128
Americans
 U.S. anti-German opinion grew hot; marked a turning point


Wilson had to decide if banks should grant credits and
loans to both sides
Wilson quietly allowed loans to be floated, “our foreign
commerce is just as essential to our prosperity as our domestic
commerce”
 Allies would borrow 2.5 bill in the next two years
 This decision turned the U.S. from the world’s largest debtor
to the worlds biggest creditor, making it the worlds economic
superpower of the twentieth century



War aims and stakes for victory were rising
1915 Wilson started his “preparedness campaign”






Train males for possible combat
Showed countries he meant business and appease
growing anti-German sentiment
Would have a strong base to mediate an end to the
conflict
Military leverage against both sides at the end of the war
March of 1916 French liner the Sussex was sunk
injuring several Americans drawing U.S. closer to
war
Realized he would have to join the war in order to
attend the peace conference to push his long range
ideals

Open market places, competition, and minimum of
government involvement, and a league of nations

Aimed to release government restraints so that U.S.
banks could rapidly set up overseas operations




Webb-Pomerene Act: freed corporations from antitrust
laws, thus allowing them to combine legally to conquer
foreign markets
Edge Act: removed government restraints so that U.S.
banks could rapidly set up overseas operations
Sponsored bill to enlarge navy
January of 1917 Germany launched an all out sub
warfare



March 1st Britain intercepted the Zimmerman telegram to
Mexico from Germany, asking them to ally for U.S.
property back after the war
March 18th three U.S. ships were torpedoed to the bottom
of the Atlantic
April 6th war resolution passed in congress


Wilson had learned that in such a conflict, the
United States could no longer be both neutral and
prosperous. Nor could it be neutral and hope to
have a decisive voice in constructing the postwar
peace
“If the war is too strong for you to prevent, how is
it going to be weak enough for you to control and
mold to your liberal purposes?”


Anti war voice of Randolph Bourne
America could no longer be neutral and have the
freedom to sell anywhere it pleased
Principles Wilson wanted after the war:(part of his 14 points)

1.
Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be
no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy
shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.
A.
2.
3.
Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, alike in peace and in
war.
The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the
establishment of equality of trade conditions among all the nations
A.
4.
5.
6.
14.
No secret treaties
Worldwide open door for trade
…National armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent
with domestic safety.
…impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, …interests of the
populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable
claims of the government whose title is to be determined.
The evacuation of all Russian territory, a sincere welcome into the
society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and,
more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need
and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister
nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will.
A general associations of nations must be formed under specific
covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political
independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.


Paris Peace talks started January of
1919 mainly by the big three, Wilson,
Lloyd George, and Georges Clemenceau
Wilson believed that the treaty may have issues, but a
properly created league of nations could correct these
over time


Drew up 26 articles for his league of nations
U.S. congress accepted the treaty but did not accept
the League
Feared being drawn in to defend the interests of such colonial
powers as Britain and France
 Feared the league would mean an increase in contacts with
the poison infected areas of the world


1921 U.S. signed separate peace treaties with
Germany and Austria



Harding was voted in to office in 1921
Harding was bequeathed the
problems of containing the Soviet
Union and a world threatened with revolution
“perfect nonsense” to assume that U.S.
membership in the league could have
prevented the horrors of the 1930’s

With the eruption of war

Patriotic fever within English Canada
 Flocked to recruiting stations, got involved with war
effort at home, determined to contribute to British
Empire’s battle in Europe

French Canada felt removed from Britain’s plight
 Little attachment to the imperial mother country
 Still enraged that Ontario banned French as a language
of instruction in its schools (bill 17)

400,000 volunteered for service, fewer than 1 in 20
were French and 70% were recent immigrants from
England

Prime Minister Robert Borden
Made two promises that he would struggle
upholding
 He promised Britain that Canada would uphold a
military force overseas of 500,000 men
 He also promised his people back home that there
would be no obligatory military service known as
conscription
 Dead and wounded numbers mounted and jobs
became plentiful causing voluntary enlistment to
drop
 This forced Borden to introduce three Acts


With an election coming up soon and knowing
that possible conscription would lose him votes he
passed 2 of the 3 acts:
Military Voters Act: extended vote to overseas soldiers,
also women nurses
 Wartime Elections Act: women who had close male
relatives serving overseas were granted the right to vote


With victory in the 1917 election, Borden passed
the Military Service Act in January of 1918.
It caused 400,000 men to be liable for military service
 In the French city of Quebec there was outrage, protests,
and marches






Only about 125,000 men were ever conscripted and
only 25,000 of them were ever sent to the front
Fortunately for Borden the war ended within a few
months
This issue left the people distrustful and divided
over their government
Conservatives were virtually shut out of Quebec
and the west for the next 50 years
Consequently, the military benefits of conscription
were slight, while the political consequences were
great


The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace
treaties at the end of WWI, ending the state of
war between Germany and the Allied Powers.
It was signed on June 28, 1919, exactly five
years after the start of the war.
Although the armistice signed on November
11, 1918 ended the actual fighting, it took six
months of negotiations at the Paris Peace
Conference to conclude the peace treaty.

The main terms of the Versailles Treaty were:
(1) the surrender of all German colonies as League of Nations mandates;
(2) the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France;
(7) occupation and special status for the Saar under French control; (8)
demilitarization and a fifteen-year occupation of the Rhineland;
(9) German reparations of £6,600 million;
(10) a ban on the union of Germany and Austria;
(11) an acceptance of Germany's guilt in causing the war;
(11) provision for the trial of the former Kaiser and other war leaders;
(12) limitation of Germany's army to 100,000 men with no conscription, no
tanks, no heavy artillery, no poison-gas supplies, no aircraft and no airships;
(13) the limitation of the German Navy to vessels under 100,000 tons, with no
submarines;
Germany signed the Versailles Treaty under protest. The USA Congress
refused to ratify the treaty. Many people in France and Britain were angry that
there was no trial of the Kaiser or the other war leaders.

Three major factors due to WWI in Latin America:
Growth of U.S. economic dominance in the region and the
changing character of world economy
 The beginnings of mass politics
 The spread of nationalism





The consequence of this event was that all American
nations were thrown into a condition of acute financial
and commercial disturbance
Harsh reminder of L.A. of their vulnerable position
within this European-dominated framework
Trade with the U.S. which was growing before the war,
received a tremendous boost during the conflict
Also an increased flow of capital from the U.S. this
being particularly important in Chile and Peru, where
the mining sectors came to be almost completely
controlled by large US corporations


The greater economic role of the U.S. in South
America was one aspect of her rise to the leading
position within the international economy in the
postwar period
The impact of the war made nationalism very
much more prominent and broadened its appeal


Economic and cultural nationalism that developed
during the war and in the 1920s represented the growing
disenchantment with the European social model so
idealized by the Latin American elite before 1914 and the
turning instead to a celebration of local culture and
traditions
With the “advanced” nations at each other’s throats it
became difficult to sustain the idea that Europe
represented a higher form of “civilization” or “progress”




The war tarnished the European image of progress and
civilization “…obliging a turning toward America”
The war did, however, stimulate the formation of a
more genuine economic critique of the country’s
dependent economic position
War seems only to have confirmed the views of
leading Chilean critics that a greater degree of
economic independence was necessary
These reactions were all fueled by two great
revolutions of the time, Mexican and Russian
Russian demonstrated the possibilities of a proletariat
revolution and gave great encouragement to the embattled
working class
 Mexican, offered not only a symbol of national liberation, but
also made heroes of the Indian and Mestizo masses, offering
an American alternative to the discredited European model



In many respects the war marked a major
economic, political, social, and cultural watershed
for Latin America
Peru


1914 coup marked a long time alignment of the military
with the oligarchy, ending two decades of civilian rule
War had a roller coaster effect on the Peruvian economy
 Export markets were temporarily cut off provoking
recession
 When trade overseas was restored, the stimulating demand
on Peruvian products caused inflation
 Growth rates of workers in sugar, cotton, and copper
industries accompanied with anarchist ideas made the labor
movement that much more militant

Mex. and Russ. rev. spread radical new doctrines here
too, rediscovering Incan past