How does the American position in the Pacific create power
and trade opportunities for the United States?
©2012, TESCCC
US History Unit 04 Lesson 01
 Spheres of influence
 U.S. Secretary of State John Hay – “Open Door”
policy for trading rights
 Boxer Rebellion – a year of natural disasters
contributed to a rebellion of farmers and works
against foreign influences
 Isolationist Japan opened to commerce
 Commodore Matthew Perry
 1894 – defeated China
 Russo-Japanese war – defeated Russia
 Theodore Roosevelt – mediates peace between
Russia and Japan with the Treaty of Portsmouth, he
wins the Nobel Peace Prize as a result
U.S. needed to keep
foreign powers out of
the Caribbean to keep
it secure.
U.S.
Caribbean
Interests
Caribbean region was
a valuable market for
American goods and
investment, especially
agricultural goods.
A canal in Central
America was
necessary to create
easier access
between the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans.
 American possession
 Congress passed a resolution before the Spanish-
American war NOT to annex Cuba.
 “protectorate”
 Platt Amendment
 An amendment that forbade annexation of Cuba.
 It dictated the conditions for the withdrawal of United
States troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the
Spanish-American War and defined the terms of CubanU.S. relations, until it was abrogated by the 1934 Treaty
of Relations.
 Isthmus of Panama
 President Roosevelt tried to negotiate with Colombia
to let the U.S. build the canal in an area that was a
part of Colombia.
 President Roosevelt eventually worked with
Panamanian leaders to gain control of a 10-mile strip
of land – the Panama Canal Zone.
 10 years to complete
 Geography – different elevations
 Series of locks were designed by engineers to address
this issue
 Dr. Walter Reed discovered that mosquitoes spread
yellow fever.
 Dr. William Gorgas (U.S. Army) discovered how to
reduce the spread of yellow fever – drained swamps,
cut down vegetation, treated standing water with oil
to prevent mosquito breeding
Human Factors
 Panamanian Revolution
supported by the U.S.
 The U.S. divided
Panama with the Canal
Zone which causes
tension in the region
through the 20th century.
 Jimmy Carter returns
the Canal Zone to
Panama in 1999.
Physical Factors
 Canal Zone is a 48 mile
international waterway
that allows ships to pass
between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans.
 The canal saves about
8,000 miles as the
alternate route in a
journey around Cape
Horn at the southern tip of
South America.
 Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
 “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
 “Dollar Diplomacy” - encouraged American
investment in the Caribbean
 Sent in the U.S. Marines to collect debts in Latin
America if a country struggled to repay its American
loans
 Policy was “watchful waiting”
 Sent troops to Haiti, Nicaragua, and the Dominican
Republic to protect American interests
 Purchased the Virgin Islands – expanding colonial
empire
 Sent General John J. Pershing to lead an American
Expeditionary Force to Mexico to put down rebel
troops led by Pancho Villa