Foreign Policy
at the
Turn of the Century
Island Possessions
Fallout of the SpanishAmerican War
Filipino Insurrection
(1898)
Savage guerilla warfare
4000 Americans killed
50,000? Filipinos killed
1901: Ended with
Aguinaldo captured
Philippine Commission
(1901)
Governor William Taft led
Sought reforms for his
“little brown brothers”
William H. Taft – 1st
Governor-General of the
Philippines
McKinley’s “Benevolent
Assimilation”
Argued that the
Americans must educate,
civilize, & uplift the
conditions of the Filipinos
Open Door in China
Sino-Japanese War
(1894-95) weakens China
Russia, Germany, &
Japan move in seeking
control
America wants access to
trade & missionary work
Spheres
of
Influence
1899: Secretary of State
John Hay sends “Open Door
Policy” message
Great Powers would respect
Chinese rights & ideal of fair
competition
All foreign powers
considered to agree
Uncle Sam to the
European powers:
“Gentlemen, you may cut
up the map as much as
like; but remember that
I’m here to stay and that
you can’t divide me up
into spheres of influence”
Boxer Rebellion (1900)
Society of the
Righteous &
Harmonious Fist
stage rebellion
Seek to kill or
oust all “foreign
devils”
200 Foreigners die many injured & besieged
18,000 man foreign force
invades & ends sieges
US sends 2500 man force
from Philippines
Foreign
governments
demand $333
million in
reparations
US returns $18
of the $24.5
million received
which becomes
college fund
Hay extends open door
policy to cover Chinese
territorial integrity as
well
Election of 1900
Republicans re-nominate
McKinley
Endorsed prosperity &
expansion
60-88% of Americans poor
or very poor
Teddy Roosevelt
nominated as VP
Politicos in New York
want him out as governor too reformist
William Jennings Bryan
back for Democrats
Still wants silver plank,
but anti-imperialism is the
major issue
Republican offer of
“Full Dinner Pail” &
“Staying the Course”
helps McKinley win big
September 1901
McKinley
assassinated
by a anarchist
Leon Czolgosz
Roosevelt becomes
youngest President to date
(age 42)
Foreign Policy under
Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt’s policy =
“Speak softly & carry a big
stick.”
Panama Canal
SpanishAmerican
War showed
the need for
an Isthmus
Canal
Clayton-Bulwar Treaty
1850: treaty with Great
Britain
Said US did not have the
exclusive right to control a
trans-isthmus canal
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
1901: Britain involved
in Boer War
Agrees to allow US to
build & protect a canal
Debate ensues over
canal site
Nicaragua vs. Panama
Volcano explodes on
Martinique Island
Congress sent postage
stamps of Nicaraguan
volcanoes by French
construction company with
rights in Panama
Congress agrees to
Panamanian site
Hay-Herran Treaty
US & Columbia sign
Granted lease of 6 mile
wide canal zone
$40 million at $10 million
down & $250,000 a year
Columbian Senate
refuses to ratify - wants
more money
Roosevelt
wants to
“make the
dirt fly” &
win the
election in
1904
Creation of Panama
Nov. 3, 1903: Phillpe
Bunau-Varilla of the
Pananma Canal Company
leads revolt against
Columbia
Roosevelt uses US Navy
to block Columbia from
sending troops
“gunboat diplomacy”
Cites treaty that insured
Panama’s “perfect
neutrality”
15 days after revolt, US
recognizes Independent
Panama
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty
Nov. 1903: pays $40
million to French canal
company for a 10 mile
wide zone
Years later
Roosevelt said
he “took the
Canal & let
Congress
debate”
“Colossus of the North”
US looked on as “Big
Brother” willing to use a
“Big Stick” on his “little
brown brothers”
Europe sees US
hypocrisy
Making the dirt fly…
US made breakthroughs
in tropical medicine with
information learned in
Cuba
Yellow Fever & Malaria are
fought through mosquito
abatement
Canal completed in 1914
for $400 million
quick access to
Atlantic &
Pacific
military
protection of
territories
trade &
economic value
would increase
Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine
Latin American countries
defaulting on foreign
debts led to European
Creditors (Britain &
Germany) seeking to
collect payments
1902: German warships
attack Venezuela
Roosevelt sees debt
collection as violating
Monroe Doctrine
Roosevelt has policy of
“Preventive
Intervention”
US would intervene to
force payment of
delinquent debts
Roosevelt Corollary (1905)
Chronic wrongdoing… may in
America, as elsewhere,
ultimately require
intervention by some
civilized nation, and in the
Western Hemisphere the
adherence of the United
States to the Monroe
Doctrine may force the
United States, however
reluctantly, in flagrant
cases of such wrongdoing or
impotence, to the exercise
of an international police
power .
Not allow European powers
to get foot in the door
(called the Roosevelt
Corollary)
US to be “Policeman of the
Western Hemisphere”
US becomes “Bad Neighbor”
Big Stick Policy: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Also referred to as “Roosevelt’s Corollary”
Roosevelt Corollary
1905: US intervenes in
Dominican Republic &
takes over tariff collection
Over time US intervenes
in Cuba (1906); Nicaragua
(1909); & Mexico (1913)
Speak softly, but carry a Big Stick!
Russo-Japanese War
(1904-05)
Russia & Japan go to war
over Manchuria & Korea
Japan defeats Russian
Fleet at Port Arthur
Defeats a second fleet
sent from Archangel in
Russia
Japan afraid of over
extending itself & seeks
arbitration
1905: Roosevelt meets
with both parties at
Portsmouth, New
Hampshire
Portsmouth Treaty (1905)
Ends the war
1906: Roosevelt gets
Nobel Peace Prize
Relations between US &
both Japan & Russia
soured by deal
“Gentlemen’s Agreement”
1906: Tax burden of
Russo-Japanese War
causes 70,000 Japanese
Laborers to seek work in
California
California, having dealt
with Chinese
immigrants, fears
another “yellow peril”
invasion
City of San
Francisco (after
1906
earthquake)
wants Japanese
Children to go to
“Oriental Only”
schools
Japanese press calls for
war over racial
discrimination
TR invites SF School
Board to White House
Roosevelt calls for a
“Gentleman’s Agreement”
California will repeal the
school order if Japan will
stop the flow of immigrant
workers
Roosevelt’s Great White
Fleet
To avoid future
trouble with
Japan, Roosevelt
decides to show
them his “Big
Stick” of a navy
Asks Congress to
appropriate $$$ to send
battle fleet on “Peace
Cruise” around the world
Congress refuses to
allocate funds
Roosevelt uses executive
budget to send 16 white
battleships around the
world
Congress agrees to pay
to “bring the fleet
home”
Great White Fleet
“Join the Navy & See the World”
Root-Takahira Agreement
Fleets appearance in
Japan leads to signing
1908: US & Japan will
respect each other’s
territories in the Pacific