Foreign Policy
1865 - 1914
SETTING THE CONTEXT
IMPERIALISM:
You will need to understand the following basic concepts as a context for our study of U.S.
imperialism. You probably already have studied most or all of these concepts in earlier
years.
•The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 defined United States foreign policy in the Americas for the
rest of the nineteenth century and beyond. It declared that the United States had an interest
in the Western Hemisphere and that European powers must not meddle in the affairs of any
developing nations there. The United States was a young nation in 1823 and did not really
have the power to back up the Monroe Doctrine. However, the policy was used to justify the
sending of U.S. troops into Mexico in 1866 (to intimidate the French) and the purchase of
Alaska in 1867.
•The idea of manifest destiny gained popularity in the 1830s and 1840s. (The term was
coined in 1845 by newspaper columnist John L. O’Sullivan.) As people began settling the
western territories, wresting control of the land from the original Native American
inhabitants, many Americans came to believe that it was their nation’s “manifest destiny” to
possess the entire North American continent. Later in the century, this idea easily gave way
to larger dreams of expanding America’s influence around the world.
SETTING THE CONTEXT continued
•By the late nineteenth century, the growing industrial economy of the United States was
producing more goods than the nation could consume. This overabundance of industrial
goods led the United States to look for new markets abroad.
•European nations such as England, Spain, France, Russia, Portugal, Germany, and Belgium
had already carved up Africa and large parts of Asia into colonies and “spheres of influence”
by the late 1900s. To remain competitive, the United States reacted to European
imperialism by looking for a way to secure its own economic future through a policy of
expansionism.
Economic Gain
Militarism
Nationalism & Social Darwinism
International Darwinism
A playoff of Darwin’s theory of only the
STRONG SURVIVE
Only nations with strong political, religious
and military strength would survive the
conquest of other nations
Nations needed more sources of raw materials
Worldwide markets in agriculture and
industry were developing
Imperialism
 Missionaries
 Protestant Americans had a duty to spread Christianity and
Western Ideals
 “Superior” civilization traveled to Africa, Asia, and Pacific Islands
brought medicine, science, and technology to less fortunate.
 Politicians
 Republican candidates allied with business leaders.
 Henry Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt were eager to build
U.S. power through global expansion
Imperialism Cont...
 Naval Power (Alfred T. Mahan)
 Idea that a strong navy was crucial to a country’s ambitions of
becoming a world power.
 Naval strategists persuaded Congress to finance the construction
of modern steel ships
 Used oversea islands as supply stations
 By 1900, the U.S. was 3rd largest naval power
 Popular Press
 Press editors printed adventure stories about exotic places.
 Used stories to increase public interest for larger U.S. role
in world affairs.
~ Leading Republican in 1850s and 1860
~ Secreatary of State under Lincoln and
Andrew Johnson
~ Helped to prevent Britain and France
from entering Civil War on South side
~ Gained rights to build a canal in
Nicaragua
~ Persuaded the annexation of Midway
Island
~ Purchased Alaska for the U.S.
William Seward
1801-1872
« No one will ever be President of the United States
who spells Negro with two g ’s. »
Alaska
~ Both Russia and Great Britain
claimed the territory
~ Russia assumed control and
established colonies but had
to sell due to economic burdens
~ Purchased for 7.2 million (2
cents/acre) in 1867 after Seward’s
lobbying
Hawaii
~ 1893 American settlers aided in overthrow of
Queen Liliuokalani
~ Cleveland opposed Republican efforts to annex
Hawaii
~ Spanish-American War gave Congress and
President McKinley pretext to complete annexation
in July 1898
~ Hawaiian islands became territory of U.S. in 1900
~ Hawaii became 50th state in August 1959
Spanish-American War
~ Growth of wave of Jingoism (intense form of nationalism
calling for aggressive foreign policy)
~ Cuban revolts cause Spain to send 100,000 troops to
Cuba
~ Yellow journalism printed false accounts of Spanish
atrocities in Cuba. Americans urged Congress to intervene.
~ Spanish minister Dupuy de Lôme wrote highly critical
letter of McKinley (printed on front page of NY Journal)
More Causes
~ U.S. Battleship Maine exploded in Havana
killing 260 Americans (Yellow press accused
Spain)
~ McKinley demanded cease-fire in Cuba.
Spain agreed but public still wanted war.
~ McKinley declared war
“Remember the Maine!”
Fighting the War
~ First shots fire in Manila Bay, Philippines and the
last shots were fired a few months later
~ Teddy Roosevelt ordered fleet commanded by
Commodore George Dewey to Philippines
~ Spanish fleet in Manila Bay soon pounded by U.S.
navy
~ 5,000 American soldiers died from typhoid, malaria,
and dysentery in Cuba
~ 500 American soldiers died in battle
“Kill every one over ten.” - Gen. Jacob H. Smith
“Criminals Because They Were Born Ten Years Before We Took the
Philippines” (New York Journal – May 5, 1902)
Treaty of Peace
Treaty more controversial than war
Philippine question took many months longer to
resolve than the war with Spain
Most controversy came between imperialists and
anti-imperialists
Imperialists prevailed and Treaty of Paris was
ratified 57 to 27, two votes short of anti-imperialist
victory
Results of the War
Insular (island) cases in Supreme Court ruled
Constitutional rights not automatically extended to U.S.
territories
U.S. troops remain in Cuba from 1898 to 1901
Congress made withdrawal of troops conditional upon
Cuba’s acceptance of Platt Amendment of 1901 – Cuba was
granted independence in 1902, including restrictions on rights of Cubans and granting to the
U.S. the “right to intervene” to preserved order in Cuba.
Election of 1900 McKinley and Bryan were candidates for
Republicans and Democrats respectively
McKinley had larger margin of victory than in 1896
U.S. power shown from outcome of war
Open Door Policy & China
~ In the 1890’s Russia, Japan, Great Britain, France and
Germany had all established spheres of influence in
China
~ Each country could dominate trade and investment
within their sphere and shut out competitors
~ Sec. of State John Hay proposed the concept of an
Open Door, by which all nations would have equal
trading privileges in China. No nation rejected his
proposal and Hay declared all had accepted his Open
Door Policy
More Open Door
~ In 1900 the Boxers attacked foreign settlements
and murdered dozens of Christian missionaries
~ U.S. troops participated in an international force
that marched into Peking and quickly succeeded in
crushing the Boxer Rebellion
~ Hay wrote a second note to imperialistic powers
stating U.S. commitment to preserve China’s
territorial integrity and safeguard “equal and
impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese Empire”.
East Asia
~ The U.S. and Japan’s relations during Roosevelt’s
presidency were at first friendly but grew increasingly
competitive
~ Imperialistic rivalry between Russia and Japan led to war
which Japan was winning. To end the war Roosevelt
arranged for a conference at Portsmouth, NH in 1905
~Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906
~ Though both Japan and Russia agreed to the Treaty of
Portsmouth Japanese nationalists blamed the U.S. for not
giving their country all that they wanted from Russia
More East Asia
~ In the “Gentleman’s Agreement” the Japanese gov’t
secretly agreed to restrict the emigration of Japanese
workers to the U.S. in return for Roosevelt persuading CA to
repeal its discriminatory laws toward Japanese-Americans
~ To demonstrate U.S. naval power Roosevelt sent a fleet of
battleships around the world from 1907 – 1909
“THE GREAT WHITE FLEET”
~ In the Root-Takahira agreement in 1908 mutual respect for
each nation’s (U.S. & Japan) Pacific possessions and
support for the Open Door Policy in China was agreed upon
More East Asia
~ The purpose of all applications of Roosevelt’s Big
Stick Policy was to maintain peace between rival
nations
~ Roosevelt directed U.S. participation at the Second
International Peace Conference at the Hague in 1907,
which discussed rules for limiting warfare
Roosevelt and the Monroe Doctrine
~ The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine declared
the U.S. would intervene in Santo Domingo and other Latin
American countries rather than Europeans which would be a
blatant violation of the Monroe Doctrine
~ U.S. sailors and marines would occupy the country’s major
port to manage collection of customs taxes until European
debts were satisfied
~ The long term result of this corollary was poor U.S.
relations with the entire region of Latin America
Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy
~ Roosevelt’s motto was to “speak softly and carry a
big stick”
~ Roosevelt attempted to build a reputation of the
U.S. as a world power
~ As a strategic necessity for holding onto Puerto Rico
in the Caribbean to the Philippines in the Pacific, the
U.S. needed a canal through Central America to
connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Theodore Roosevelt
More Big Stick
~ As a result of a bloodless revolt Panama became
independent of Colombia and signed a treaty granting
the U.S. long term control of a canal zone
~ As a result of the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty in 1901 the U.S.
could begin to dig the canal without British involvement
~ The Panama Canal was started in 1904 and completed in
1914 with hundreds of laborers losing their lives
~ In 1921 Congress voted to pay Colombia an indemnity of
$25 million for its loss of Panama
GROUP 1: What is the Roosevelt Corollary & what was Latin
America’s reaction to the Roosevelt Corollary?
GROUP 2: Who is responsible for Dollar Diplomacy and what
is it?
GROUP 3: How is what happened in Nicaragua in 1909 &
1912 similar to what happened in Hawaii?
GROUP 4: Who is responsible for Moral Diplomacy and what
is it? Give an example as to how & where it was applied.
GROUP 5: What happened in Haiti during Wilson’s
Administration? Once you have determined this, join with
group 3 to discuss how the answers to your questions are
similar.
GROUP 6: How were Taft & Wilson’s approaches responsible
for differing outcomes in the Mexican Revolution?
Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
$ Taft’s foreign policy was mildly expansionist but depended
more on investors’ dollars than on the navy’s battleships
$ This policy of trying to promote U.S. trade by supporting
American enterprises abroad was the “Dollar Diplomacy”
$ Growing anti-imperialism both in the U.S. and overseas was
a major obstacle for his policy
$ In the northern Chinese province of Manchuria, the U.S. was
excluded from an agreement between Russia and Japan that
held Manchuria as a jointly held sphere of influence
Latin America
U.S. assumed role as protector of Latin
America from European ambitions
Blaine and Pan-American Conference (1889)
Representatives from Western Hemisphere
nations create permanent organization for
international cooperation, trade and other
issues
More Latin America
Most important use of Monroe Doctrine in
the 19th century concerned British colony
of Guiana
Britain didn’t think Monroe Doctrine
applied; U.S. did and was ready to use force
Britain agreed to U.S. demands and Latin
America was grateful
1895 on Britain and U.S. friendly
More Dollar Diplomacy
$ To protect American investments the U.S. sent marines to
Nicaragua in 1912 when a civil war broke out
$ Marines remained in the area, except for a short period, until 1933
$ The Lodge Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine stated that nonEuropean powers (such as Japan) would be excluded from owning
territory in the Western Hemisphere.
$ This was a result of Lodge’s fear that Japan’s government was
secretly scheming to acquire part of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula
William Jennings Bryan
Woodrow Wilson
1860-1925
1856-1924
Moral Diplomacy
Woodrow Wilson and his Secretary of
State, William Jennings Bryan, hoped to
demonstrate that the United States
respected other nations’ rights and would
support the spread of Democracy
Wilson hoped to show U.S. was against selfinterested imperialism.
The Philippines
Congress passed Jones Act of 1916, (TEXT pg. 265) which
1. Granted Full territorial status to Philippines
2. Guaranteed a bill of rights and universal male
suffrage to Filipino citizens
3. Promised Philippine independence as soon as a stable government
was established
Puerto Rico
Congress passed Foraker Act in 1917, which
1. granted U.S. citizenship to all the inhabitants
2. Provided for limited self government
Panama Canal
In 1914, Congress repealed act that granted U.S. ships an
exemption from paying that standard canal tolls charged to other
countries.
Angered American nationalists like Roosevelt and Lodge but pleased the
British, who strongly objected to the U.S. exception.
Conciliation treaties
Bryan was to negotiate treaties in which nations pledged
1. Submit disputes to international commissions
2. Observe a one-year cooling-off period before taking military
action
Bryan arranged with Wilson's approval, 30 such conciliation treaties.
Military Intervention in
Latin America
Wilson went far beyond both Roosevelt and Taft in
his use of U.S. Marines to straighten out financial
and political troubles in Central and Latin America
Throughout his presidency marines were kept in
Nicaragua and troops were ordered into Haiti in
1915 and the Dominican Republic in 1916
French In Mexico
While U.S. was engaged in Civil war Napoleon
III sent French troops to Mexico.
After the war ended Seward
invoked the Monroe Doctrine
and threatened military action.
Napoleon III backed down and
French troops withdrew.
Napoleon III
Conflict in Mexico
In Mexico Wilson refused to recognize the military
dictatorship of Gen. Victoriano Huerta who seized power in
1913
To aid a revolutionary faction fighting Huerta ,Wilson sent a
fleet to blockade the port of Vera Cruz
War between Mexico and the U.S. seemed imminent, but
averted when South America’s ABC Powers (Argentina, Brazil
& Chile) offered to mediate the dispute
This dispute was the first in the Americas to be settled through
joint mediation
More Conflict in Mexico
Huerta fell from power in late 1914 and was replaced by a
more Democratic regime led by Venustiano Carranza
Immediately after the regime’s takeover revolutionaries loyal
to Pancho Villa challenged the new government
Villa led raids across the U.S. Mexican boarder and murdered a
number of people in TX and NM
In 1916 Wilson ordered Gen. John J. Pershing to pursue Villa
into Mexico
In January 1917 the growing possibility of U.S. entry into WWI
caused Wilson to withdraw Pershing’s troops
Foreign Policy
1865 - 1914