America Becomes A World Power
Define Imperialism:
In 1823 President James Monroe announced the Monroe Doctrine. In this statement Monroe
said:
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The U.S. would try to stop any attempt by European countries to establish new colonies
in the Americas (Western Hemisphere).
The U.S. would try to stop any European country that wanted to reconquer a country that
gained independence.
Monroe said that the U.S. would not interfere in
Who do the people on the right side of the
colonies that were still under European rule, like
cartoon represent?
Cuba and Canada.
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Define the Monroe Doctrine:
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What is Uncle Sam doing?
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Why is the placement of his hat significant?
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What is “the white man’s burden”?
Who are the two “white men” in the cartoon?
What are these two men doing?
Why do you think one of these men is wearing a red cross armband?
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Roosevelt Corollary
Convinced that all of Latin America was vulnerable to European attack, President Roosevelt
dusted off the Monroe Doctrine and added his own corollary. While the Monroe Doctrine
blocked further expansion of Europe in the Western Hemisphere, the Roosevelt Corollary went
one step further. Should any Latin American nation engage in "chronic wrongdoing," a phrase
that included large debts or civil unrest, the United States military would intervene, Europe was
to remain across the Atlantic, while America would police the Western Hemisphere. The first
opportunity to enforce this new policy came in 1905, when the Dominican Republic was in
jeopardy of invasion by European debt collectors. The United States invaded the island nation,
seized its customs houses, and ruled the Dominican Republic as a protectorate until the situation
was stabilized.
President Roosevelt coined the phrase “Speak softly, but carry a big stick”. This led to his
foreign policy being called “Big Stick Diplomacy”. Roosevelt felt that America should work
patiently to achieve our goals overseas, but not be afraid to use force (a big stick) if necessary.
Do you agree with the idea of the Roosevelt Corollary? Explain.
Why would Americans support the Roosevelt Corollary?
Why would Americans oppose the Roosevelt Corollary?
Dollar Diplomacy
Define Diplomacy:
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The term "Dollar Diplomacy" refers to the use of diplomacy to promote the United States
commercial interest and economic power abroad by guaranteeing loans made to strategically
important foreign countries. The Dollar Diplomacy is primarily associated with the
administration and the foreign policy of Secretary of State Philander C. Knox and President
William Taft - hence the well-known phrase 'Taft's Dollar Diplomacy'. Taft and Knox used
'Dollar Diplomacy' in several countries in Central America including the Dominican Republic,
Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Colombia. 'Dollar Diplomacy' was also used to aid the stability of
Caribbean countries such as in Honduras and Haiti. By using Dollar Diplomacy Taft attempted
to extend the American sphere of influence in China and also to Liberia in West Africa.
President William Taft justified his 'Dollar Diplomacy' as a natural extension of the Roosevelt
Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine which asserted the right of the United States to intervene to
"stabilize" the economic affairs of small states in Central America and the Caribbean if they were
unable to pay their international debts. President Roosevelt had used diplomacy to "speak softly
and carry a big stick" in foreign affairs. President Taft did not favor 'big stick' diplomacy
preferring a more subtle stance based on the power of the dollar rather than the might of the
military. This foreign policy did not work as well as Taft had hoped.
Complete the chart below that shows examples of how Taft used Dollar Diplomacy:
Country
Action Taken By The U.S.
Result
Nicaragua
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Honduras
China
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