grade 11 history chapter 5 – Flashcards
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Isolation
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The US was abandoning isolationism and emerging as a new power on the global stage. The US was all alone in isolation with natural resources.
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Imperialism
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During the age of imperialism, from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, powerful nations engaged in a mad dash to extend their influence across much of the world. European nations added to colonies they had established during the Age of exploration by acquiring new colonies in Africa and Asia. Following European success, Japan and the US also began to consider the benefits of imperialism, the policy by which strong nations extend their political, military, and economic control over weaker territories. Taking materials from other countries.
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Extractive economies
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there was a rush to grab colonies because of raw materials. European nations and Japan sought colonies to provide tea, rubber, iron, petroleum, and other raw materials from their industries at home. These colonial economies were examples of extractive economies. The imperial country extracted, or removed, raw materials from the colony and shipped them to the home country.
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US Surplus of goods
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America had the problem of a surplus of goods not a shortage of materials. The US economy of the late 1800s was producing more goods than Americans could consume. Farmers complained that excess population resulted in declining crop prices and profits. Industrialists urged expanding trade into new overseas markets where American commodities could be sold.
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Alfred T. Mahan
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A military historian and an officer in the US Navy, played a key role in transforming America into a naval power. in "the influence of sea power upon history" Mahan asserted that since ancient times, many great nations had owed their greatness to powerful navies. He called upon America to build a modern fleet. He said that the US would need to acquire foreign bases where US ships could refuel and gather fresh supplies.
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USS Maine
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Influenced by the ideas of Mahan and others, the US expanded and modernized its navy by building new steel-plated, steam-powered battleships such as the USS Maine. By the 1900, the US had the third largest navy in the world.
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Social Darwinism
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Imperialists around the world used ideas or racial, national, and cultural superiority to justify imperialism. Social Darwinism is the belief that life consists of competitive struggles in which only the fittest survive. Social Darwinists felt that certain nations and races were superior to others and therefore were destined to rule over inferior peopled and cultures. Prominent Americans worried that if the US remained isolated while European nations gobbled up the rest of the world, America would not survive. One reason that these Americans embraced Social Darwinism was that they had long believed that God had granted them right and responsibility to settle the frontier.
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Manifest Destiny
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To expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean. In the best-selling work titled Our Country, Josiah Strong picked up on this theme. A religious missionary, Strong argued that Americans had a responsibility to spread their Western values.
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Frederick Jackson Turner
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a historian who noted that the frontier had been closed by gradual settlement in the 19th century. He continued, Throughout American history, he continued, the frontier had traditionally supplied an arena where ambitious Americans could pursue their fortunes and secure a fresh start. It had thus served as a "safety valve" siphoning off potential discontent. Now the America had spanned the continent, advocates of Turner's thesis urged overseas expansion as a way to keep the "safety valve" open and avoid internal conflict.
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Matthew Perry
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In 1853, commodore Matthew Perry sailed a fleet of American warships into present-day Tokyo Bay Japan. Prior to Perry's arrival, Japan had denied the rest of the world access to its ports. In fact, because most Japanese people had never seen steamships before, they thought the ships Perry's fleet were "giant dragons puffing smoke."
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Tokyo Bay Japan
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Perry cleverly won the Japanese emperor's favor by showering him with lavish goods. Japanese leaders also realized that by closing off their nation to the outside world, they had fallen behind in military technology.Within a year, Perry negotiated a treaty that opened Japan to trade with America.
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1875 to 1887
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Perry's journey set a precedent for future expansion across the Pacific Ocean. In 1867, the US took possession of the Midway Islands. Treaties in 1875 and 1887 increased trade with the Hawaiian Islands and gave the US the right to build a naval base at Pearl Harbor.
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1867 (seward purchases Alaska)
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Secretary of state William Seward bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars. Journalists scoffed at the purchase and referred to Alaska as "Sewards Folly" and "Sewards icebox." His purchase almost doubled the country's size, and the "icebox" turned out to be rich in timber, oil, and other natural resources. Alaska also greatly expanded America's reach across the Pacific. Scholars today see Sewards purchase as a key milestone on America's road to power.
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First International Pan-American Conference 1889
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US businessmen saw Latin America as a natural place to expand their trade and investments. Secretary of state James Blaine helped them by sponsoring this group. Blaine preached the benefits of economic cooperation to delegates of 17 Latin American countries. The conference also paved the way for the construction of the Pan-American highway system, which linked the US states to Central and South America. In 1895, tensions rose between America and Great Britain because of a border dispute between British Guiana and Venezuela. Claiming that Britain was violating the Monroe Doctrine, President Cleveland threatened the US intervention.
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Hawaii
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The Hawaiian islands had been economically linked to the US for almost a century. Since the 1790s, American merchant ships had stopped at Hawaii on their way to East Asia. Missionaries had established Christian churches and schools on the islands. Americans had also established sugar cane plantations there.
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King Kalakaua
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In 1887, American planters convinced king Kalakaua to amend Hawaii's constitution so that voting rights were limited to only wealthy landowners, who were, of course, the white planters.
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tariff on Hawaiian sugars
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In the early 1890s, American planters in Hawaii faced two crises. First, a new US tariff law imposed duties on previously duty-free Hawaiian sugar. This made Hawaiian sugar more expensive than sugar produced in the US. The sugar-growers in Hawaii feared that they would suffer decreasing sales and profits.
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Queen Liliuokalani
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The other problem was that in 1891, Kalakaua died and his sister Liliuokalani was his successor. A determined Hawaiian nationalist, Queen Liliuokalani resented the increasing power of the white planters, who owned much of the Hawaiian land. She abolished the constitution that had given political power to the white minority. In 1893, they overthrew the queen.
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John Stevens
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US minister to Hawaii, ordered United States Marines to help the rebels seize power.The new government, led by wealthy planter Sanford B. Dole, asked President Benjamin Harrison to annex Hawaii into the US.
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President Benjamin Harrison
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signed the treaty of annexation but could not get the required senate approval before Grover Cleveland became President.
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President Grover Cleveland
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ordered a full investigation, which revealed that the majority of the Hawaiian people did not approve of the treaty. He refused to sign the agreement and apologized for the "flagrant wrong" done by the "reprehensible conduct of the American minister."
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President William McKinley
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However, American sentiment for annexation remained strong, especially on the West Coast, where California business interests had close ties with the planters in Hawaii. In 1897, a new President entered the White House. William McKinley's administration favored annexation, and in 1898, after the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, congress proclaimed Hawaii an official US territory.
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section 2
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Spain
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At the end of the 19th century, Spain was an imperial nation in decline. Its formerly vast empire had dwindled to a small number of possessions, including the Philippines islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba.
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Cuban Rebels
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By 1897, American entrepreneurs had invested $50 million in sugar cane plantations and other ventures in Cuba, which lay just 90 miles off the Florida coast.These businessmen saw Cuba as a growing market for American products. However, the island was very unstable. Yearning for freedom, the Cubans repeatedly rebelled against Spanish rule.
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Jose Marti
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In 1895, Cuban patriot Jose Marti launched a war for independence from Spain. With cries of "Cuba Libre" ("free Cuba"), rebel fighters used guerrilla tactics of hit-and-run raids against Spanish forces.
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General Valeriano Weyler
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In response, Spanish General Valeriano Weyler devised a plan to deprive the rebels of food and recruits.
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reconcentration camp
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He herded the rural population into reconcentration camps, where tens of thousands died from disease and starvation.
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American view of rebellion
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Meanwhile, the Cubans and Spanish destroyed American property. Many Americans favored the Cubans, whose struggle for freedom and democracy reminded Americans of their own revolutionary heritage. The brutality of Spanish tactics intensified American affection and sympathy for the rebels. But other Americans, especially business people, were worried about U.S. economic interests in Cuba and hoped that Spain would quickly put down the rebellion.
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Yellow press
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Rival newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst heightened the public's dislike of the Spanish government. Their publications were called the yellow press because they featured a popular comic-strip character called the yellow kid. T o boost readership, Pulitzer's "New York World," Hearst's "New York Journal," and similar newspaper pasted sensational headlines and pictures on their front pages. Their stories exaggerated Spanish atrocities and compared Cuban rebels to the patriots of the American Revolution.
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President William McKinley
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warned the Spanish to quickly establish peace, or the U.S. would take whatever steps it "should deem necessary to procure this result." Spain recalled General Weyler and offered the Cuban rebels some reforms. But the rebels insisted on independence, which Spain refused to grant. McKinley ordered the battleship Maine to Havana harbor to protect American citizens in Cuba.
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Feb 1898 Enrique Dupuy de Lome
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wrote a private letter to Washington D.C. The letter, stolen by Cuban rebels and leaked to Hearst, called McKinley a weak and stupid politician. Hearst published the letter under the sensational headline, "worst insult to the U.S. in its History." The letter fueled American Jingoism, or aggressive nationalism, and inflamed relations with Spain.
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USS Maine
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After the journal published de Lome's letter, the Maine exploded in Havana harbor. Of the 350 officers and crew on board at the time, 266 died. The Yellow press promptly accused Spain of blowing up the battleship. McKinley did not ask congress to declare war just yet. Instead, he ordered a special naval board of inquiry to investigate the cause of the explosion. On March 28,1898, the board concluded that a mine had destroyed the battleship. Years later, follow-up investigations raised doubts about the naval board's findings, but, at the time,most people blamed Spain.
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April 11,1898
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War fever gripped the nation. In newspapers, speeches and songs, patriotic Americans implored their fellow citizens to "Remember the Maine" In response to American demands, Spain agreed to abolish the reconcentration camps and make other concessions, but it was too little to late. McKinley asked congress for the authority to use force against Spain to end the fighting in Cuba "in the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of endangered American interests." Eight days later, Congress enacted four resolutions that amounted to a declaration of war on Spain. The fourth resolution-the Teller Amendment- stipulated that the U.S. had no intention of annexing Cuba. The navy quickly blockaded Cuban ports, and McKinley called for more than 100,000 volunteers to join the army. In response Spain declared war on the U.S.
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May 1, 1898
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On May 1, 1898, commodore George Dewey steamed his squadron of vessels into Mania Bay, in the Spanish-held Philippines. The Americans completely surprised the Spanish fleet that was stationed in the bay. Upon issuing the order to "fire when ready," Dewey watched his ships quickly destroy Spanish force. While no American died during the naval battle, nearly 400 Spanish sailors lost their lives. Americans gleefully received news of the victory and proclaimed Dewey a hero.
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Emilia Aguinaldo
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While Dewey was winning an astounding victory over the Spanish navy, Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo were defending the Spanish army. Like the Cubans, the Filipinos were fighting for freedom from Spain. In August, after some 15,000 U.S. soldiers had landed on the islands, Spanish troops surrendered to the U.S.
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June 1898
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Meanwhile, American troops landed in Cuba in June 1898. U.S. Marines captured Guantanamo Bay, and a force of 17,00 soldiers under U.S. Army General William Shafter stormed ashore east of Santiago. In spite of their excitement for the war, the troops faced deplorable conditions. They were poorly trained and supplied. As they assembled for duty around Tampa, Florida, the soldiers were issued obsolete weapons and heavy wool uniforms that were unsuitable for Cuba's tropical climate. Corrupt and inefficient officials provided the men with rotting and contaminated food.
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General William Shafter
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his army consisted of state national guard units and regular army units, including the African American Ninth and Tenth cavalry regiments from the western frontier. Another cavalry unit was organized and commanded by the future President Theodore Roosevelt.
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Rough Riders
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Theodore Roosevelt's rough riders consisted of rugged westerners and upper-class easterners who relished what Roosevelt called the "strenuous life." The rough riders and Roosevelt gained fame for the role they played in the battles for kettle and San Juan hills outside Santiago, Cuba. Joined by African American soldiers from the ninth and tenth cavalries, the riders stormed up those hills to secure high ground surrounding Santiago.
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San Juan Hill
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Two days after the battle, the spanish navy made a desperate attempt to escape from Santiago's harbor. US forces, which had blockaded the harbor, destroyed the Spanish fleet as it tried to break out. Surrounded, outnumbered, and dispirited, Spanish forces in Santiago surrendered. Although a few battles followed when US forces occupied the islands of Puerto Rico, another Spanish possession, the fighting had come to an end. Although almost 3,000 Americans died during the war, only around 380 died in combat. Disease, especially malaria and yellow fever, caused most of the deaths.
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John Hay
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Secretary of state, referred to the conflict with Spain as a "spledid little war" because of the ease and thoroughness of America's victory. Although the war may have been "splendid," it created a new dilemma for Americans.
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Treaty of Paris
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Signed by Spain and the US in December 1898, the treaty officially ended the war. Spain gave up control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Pacific Island of Guam. It also sold the Philippines to the US for $20 million.
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Imperialism Debate
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In an 1899 interview, President McKinley explained, "we could not give the Philippines back to Spain-that would be cowardly and dishonorable." He believed that America had no choice but to "take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize...them." McKinley's imperialist supporters presented similar reasons for maintaining control of the Philippines. They argued that the US had a responsibility to govern the Filipinos. They reasoned that the islands represented a valuable stepping stone to trade in China.
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American Anti-Imperialist league
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In 1899 a large group of anti-imperialists formed together. The league condemned imperialism as a crime and attacked it as open disloyalty to the distinctive principles of our government. The debate between imperialists and anti-imperialists reached its climax in the US senate, where senators had to consider ratifying the Tready of Paris.
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Feb 1899
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In February 1899, the senate voted 57 to 27 in favor of the treaty. By a single "yes" ballot, the vote met the two-thirds majority necessary to ratify the treaty.
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1900 election
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William Jennings Bryan ran against William McKinley for the presidency. To bolster his chances of winning reelection, the Republican McKinley named Theodore Roosevelt, the "hero of San Juan Hill," as his vice-presidential running mate. Emphasizing the over-whelming US victory over Spain, McKinley soundly defeated Bryan. The president's reelection signaled America's continuing faith in his imperialist policies.
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section 3
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insurrection
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The Filipino nationalist leader Emilio Aguinaldo had thought that the U.S. was an ally in the Filipino struggle for independence. His forces had fought side by side with the Americans against the Spanish. However, after the U.S. decided to maintain possession of the Philippines, Aguinaldo grew disillusioned with America. He helped organize an insurrection, or rebellion, against U.S. rule. The rebels believed they were fighting for the same principle of self-rule that had inspired America's colonial patriots during the American Revolution.
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Guerrilla warfare
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Outgunned by American troops, Filipino insurgents relied on Guerrilla Warfare, a form of non-traditional warfare generally involving small bands of fighters to attack behind American lines. In turn, the American military used extraordinary measures to crush the rebellion. Like the Spanish in Cuba, U.S. soldiers gathered civilians into overcrowded concentration camps.
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General Jacob Smith
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ordered his soldiers not to take prisoners. "I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better you will please me," he commented. A California newspaper defended such actions.
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5,000 Americans
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In the spring of 1901, the Americans captured Aguinaldo. Although the fighting did not end immediately, his capture marked the beginning of the end of the insurrection. The war in the Philippines took more lives than the Spanish-American war. Nearly 5,000 Americans and 200,000 Filipinos died in the fighting. The U.S. government sent more than 100,000 troops to fight in the war and spent upwards of $400 million to defeat the insurgency. The conflict highlighted the rigors of fighting against guerrilla insurgents.
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William Howard taft
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In 1901, William Howard Taft, a future president of the U.S.- became governor of the Philippines. Taft had large ambitions for helping the islands recover from the rebellion. He censored the press and placed dissidents in jail to maintain order and win the support of the Filipino people. At the same time, he extended limited self-rule and ordered the construction of schools, roads, and bridges.
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1916 Jones Act
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In 1916, Congress passed the Jones Act, which pledged that the Philippines would ultimately gain their independence. Thirty years later, after U.S. forces liberated the islands from Japanese occupation at the end of World War 2, the Philippines finally became an independent nation.
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Spheres of influence
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By 1899, once-mighty China had fallen into political, economic, and military disarray. Its huge population,however, was a tempting target for other nations' imported goods. Rather than compete for Chinese trade, Britain, France, Germany, and Russia carved China into distinct spheres of influence. Within its zone, each power had privileged access to Chinese ports and markets. Japan also expanded its regional influence, grabbing territory in China and Korea. Since the U.S. did not have a zone, this system of "special privileges" threatened to limit Americans trade to China.
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John Hay
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In order to overcome these barriers, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay issued the first of a series of notes to foreign diplomats in 1899. He notified the leaders of imperialist nations that the U.S. expected "perfect equality of treatment for commerce" in China. Hay's note had little immediate impact on the actions of European nations or Japan. However, it served as a guiding principle of American foreign policy in Asia for years to come.
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Boxer Rebellion
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In response to the growing influence of outsiders in their country, some Chinese joined secret societies. One such society, the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, won the nickname "Boxers" from Europeans because its members trained in martial arts. The secret societies celebrated traditional Chinese customs and criticized Western ways. They also condemned Chinese converts to Christianity. Over time, simmering anger exploded into an outright rebellion against the "foreign devils." In May 1900, the Boxers killed foreign missionaries and besieged the foreign diplomats' district in Beijing. A multinational force of European, American, and Japanese troops was sent to the Chinese capital to quash the Boxer Rebellion. An initial force of 2,100 soldiers grew to more than 20,000, including 2,000 Americans. After putting down the rebellion, European powers compelled China's imperial government to pay an indemnity, or money to repair damage caused by the rebellion. This poured more fuel onto the nationalist fire. Chinese nationalists would eventually revolt and overthrow the emperor in 1911.
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Open Door Policy
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As the Boxer Rebellion engulfed China, Secretary of State Hay reasserted America's Open Door Policy. In a second note to European powers, Hay stated that the United States wanted to "preserve Chinese territorial and administrative entity." In other words, America did not want colonies in China; it just wanted free trade there.
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Scholarships for Chinese
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As an act of goodwill, the U.S. used some of the indemnity money it received from China to fund scholarships for Chinese students to study in America.
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Russo-Japanese war
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Like the U.S., Japan wanted to expand its influences in China. Japan also disapproved of the European "carve-up" of the region. Furthermore, the Japanese took offense to the presence of Russian troops in Manchuria, a region of China that bordered Russia. In February 1904, without a declaration of war, Japan attacked and bottled up Russia's Pacific fleet stationed at Port Arthur, China. The Japanese followed up on victory with a series of major land engagements in Manchuria that caused more than 100,000 Russian causalities. However, Japan also suffered heavy losses in the fighting.
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Nobel peace prize
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In 1905, representatives from Russia and Japan met in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese war. When the talks stalled, President Theodore Roosevelt intervened and convinced the two sides to sign a peace treaty. (Roosevelt had become President when McKinley was assassinated in 1901.) For his efforts, Roosevelt won Nobel Peace Prize.
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Fall 1906 San Francisco School Board
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Despite Roosevelt's achievement, America entered troubled waters in its relations with Japan. A root cause of this trouble was anti-Asians sentiment on the West Coast of the U.S. In the fall of 1906, San Francisco School Board banned Japanese, Chinese, and Korean children from attending public schools with white children. The incident drew Japan's immediate wrath. One Tokyo journal demanded that Japan retaliate.
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Gentlemen's agreement
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Roosevelt disapproved of the decision to segregate Asian children in the San Francisco schools. He understood Japan's anger with America. To calm tensions, he negotiated a "Gentlemen's Agreement" with Japan. According to the pact, the school board pledged to end its segregation policy. In return, Japan agreed to limit the emigration of its citizens to the U.S.
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The Great White Fleet
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While Roosevelt used diplomacy to ease tensions with Japan, he also promoted military preparedness to protect U.S. interests in Asia. Expressing rising concerns about Japan's territorial expansion at the expense of China, Korea, and Russia- the president won Congressional support for a new force of navy ships, known as the Great White Fleet. In 1907, Roosevelt sent this armada of 16 white battleships on a "good will cruise" around the world. The voyage of the great white fleet demonstrated America's increased military power to the world
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Section 5
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Latin America
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As the US tentatively asserted its interests in East Asia, Americans called for a more aggressive role in Latin America. American entrepreneurs and government leaders viewed the region as the nation's backyard and as a sphere of influence from which other great powers should be excluded. American influence in Latin America brought obvious benefits to the US, but it also contributed to anti-American hostility and instability in the region.
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Foraker Act
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As the smoke from the Spanish-American war cleared, Puerto Rico remained under direct U.S. military rule. In 1900, congress passed the Foraker Act, which established a civil government in Puerto Rico. The act authorized the President of the U.S. to appoint a governor and part of the Puerto Rican legislature. Puerto Ricans could fill the rest of the legislature in a general election.
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Insular cases
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Whether Puerto Ricans could enjoy citizenship rights in the U.S., however, remained unclear. This unusual situation led to a series of court cases, known as Insular cases, in which the Supreme Court determined the rights of Puerto Ricans. One case examined whether the U.S. government could assess taxes on Puerto Rican goods sold in the U.S. The Supreme Court ruled the taxes legal and determined that Puerto Ricans did not enjoy the same rights as U.S. citizens.
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Jones Shafroth Act
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In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Shafroth Act. It granted Puerto Ricans more citizenship rights and gave the islanders greater control over their own legislature. Still, many Puerto Ricans expressed their discontent because they did not enjoy all of the same rights as Americans .
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Platt Amendment
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Although the Treaty of Paris granted Cuban independence, the U.S. army did not withdraw from the island until 1902. But before the U.S. military left, Congress obliged Cuba to add to its constitution the Platt Amendment. The amendment restricted the rights of newly independent Cubans and effectively brought the island within the U.S. sphere. It prevented Cuba from signing a treaty with another nation without American approval. It also required Cuba to lease naval stations to the U.S. Additionally, the Platt Amendment granted the U.S. the "right to intervene" to preserve order in Cuba.
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Protectorate of the U.S.
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Many Cubans strongly disliked the Platt Amendment but soon realized that America would not otherwise end its military government of the island. The U.S., for its part, was unwilling to risk Cuba's becoming a base for a potentially hostile great power. Cuba thus added the Platt Amendment to its constitution as part of a treaty with the U.S. The treaty made Cuba a protectorate of the U.S. and government their relationship for decades.
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Big Stick Deplomacy
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Upon assuming the presidency after McKinley's assassination, Theodore Roosevelt promoted a new kind of diplomacy based on America's success in the Spanish-American War. Beyond determining what would happen to Puerto Rico and Cuba, Roosevelt developed a broader policy for U.S. action in Latin America. Historians have called this Roosevelt's "big stick" diplomacy since it depended on a strong military to achieve America's goals. "Big stick" stemmed from the President's admiration for an old African saying, "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
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Panama Canal
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Although the plan to dig a canal across Central America did not originate with Roosevelt, he nevertheless played a crucial role in its history. In the late 1800s, a French company had tried to link the Atlantic to the Pacific across the Isthmus of Panama but failed. Afterwards, some suggested building a canal through Nicaragua. However, those plans came to nothing. Eventually, an agent from the French company that had abandoned its canal attempt convinced the U.S. to buy the company's claim. In 1903, the U.S. government bought the Panama Route for $40 million.
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Columbia
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Before it could build a canal through Panama, however, the U.S. needed the consent of the Colombian government. At that time, Panama was part of independent Colombia. American efforts to negotiate a purchase of land across the isthmus stalled when Colombia demanded more than the U.S. was willing to provide.
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Panamanian Rebellion
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So Roosevelt stepped in. The president dispatched U.S. warships to the waters off Panama to support a Panamanian rebellion against Colombia. The appearance of the U.S. navy convinced the Colombians not to suppress the uprising.
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Canal zone
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Panama soon declared its independence from Colombia. The new nation immediately granted America control over the "canal zone."
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$10 million to $250,000
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To secure this land for its vital trade link, America agreed to pay Panama $10 million and an annual rent of $250,000.
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35,000 workers
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More than 35,000 workers helped dig the Panama Canal, often in very difficult conditions. Completion of the canal depended on scientific breakthroughs by doctors as they learned how to combat tropical diseases. Still, more than 5,000 canal workers died from disease or accidents while building the canal. When the finished waterway opened in 1914, it cut some 8,000 nautical miles off the tip from the west coast to the east coast of the U.S.
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Roosevelt updates the Monroe doctrine
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In the early 1900s, the inability of Latin American nations to pay their debts to foreign investors raised the possibility of European intervention. In 1903, for example, Germany and Britain blockaded Venezuelan ports to ensure that debts to European bankers were repaid. In 1904, Roosevelt messages Congress announcing a new Latin American Policy.
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Roosevelt Corollary
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The president's Roosevelt Corollary updated the Monroe Doctrine for an age of economic imperialism. In the case of "chronic wrongdoing" by a Latin American nation-the kind that Europeans might use to justify military intervention-the U.S. would assume the role of police power, restoring order and depriving other creditors of the excuse to intervene. This change, Roosevelt argued, merely reasserted America's long-standing policy of keeping the Western Hemisphere free from European intervention.
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Francisco Garcia Calderon
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Many Latin Americans resented America's role as the hemisphere's police force. They disagreed with Roosevelt's belief that Latin Americans could not police themselves. Francisco Garcia Calderon, a Peruvian diplomat, contended that the Monroe Doctrine had taken on an "aggressive form with Mr. Roosevelt." Like, Calderon, Nicaraguan spokesman Augusto Sandino felt that the U.S. threatened the "sovereignty and liberty" of his people. Sandino eventually lad an army of guerrillas against U.S. Marines in Nicaragua in the 1920s.
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William Howard Taft
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Roosevelt handpicked William Howard Taft to succeed him at the Republican candidate for president in 1908. Taft shared Roosevelt's basic foreign policy objectives. After defending William Jennings Bryan in the general election, Taft wanted to maintain the Open Door Policy in Asia and ensure ongoing stability in Latin America. The new President pursued both goals with the aim of expanding American trade.
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Dollar diplomacy
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Taft hoped to achieve these ends by relying less on the "big stick" and more on "dollar diplomacy." As Taft commented in 1912, he looked to substitute "dollars for bullets." The policy aimed to increase American investments in businesses and banks throughout central america and the Caribbean. Americans busily invested in plantations, mines, oil wells, railways, and other ventures in those regions. Of course, "dollar diplomacy" sometimes required a return to the "big stick" and military intervention. Such was the case when President Taft dispatched troops to Nicaragua in 1909-and again in 1912-to protect the formation of a pro-American government there.
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Wilson Pursues Moral Diplomacy
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During the 1912 presidential election campaign, Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson criticized the foreign policies of his Republicans predecessors Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. After his election victory, Wilson appointed the anti-imperialist William Jennings Bryan as Secretary of state, which sent a strong message to the American people.
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moral diplomacy
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In spite of his stated preference for "moral diplomacy" over "big stick" or "dollar diplomacy," Wilson used the military on a number of occasions to guide Latin Americans in the directions that he thought proper. In 1915, Wilson sent marines to Haiti to protect American investments and to guard against the potential of German or French aggression in the nation. Wilson prodded the government of Haiti to sign an agreement that essentially gave the U.S. the right to control its financial and foreign affairs. The marines did not leave until 1934. Under Wilson, U.S. soldiers and sailors also intervened in the dominican Republic and in Mexico.
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Revolution Grips Mexico
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For decades, Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz had benefited his country's small upper class of wealthy landowners, clerics, and military men. With Diaz's encouragement, foreign investments in Mexico grew. As a result, American business people owned large portions of Mexico's industries. While foreign investors and Mexico's aristocracy grew rich, Mexico's large population of farmers struggled in poverty.
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Francisco Madero
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In 1911, Francisco Madero led the Mexican Revolution that toppled Diaz. Madero was committed to reforms but was a weak administrator. In 1913, General Victoriano Huerta seized power and executed Madero. Under "dollar diplomacy," Taft probably would have recognized Huerta as the leader of Mexico because Huerta pledged to protect American investments. But under "moral diplomacy," Wilson refused to do so, declaring that he would not accept a "government of butchers." Instead, Wilson favored Venustiano Carranza, another reformer, who had organized anti-Huerta forces.
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Wilson sends U.S. troops into Mexico
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In 1914, the President used the Mexican arrest of American sailors as an opportunity to help Carranza attain power. Wilson sent marines to occupy the Mexican port of Veracruz. The action caused Huerta's government to collapse, and Carranza assumed the presidency. Huerta's fall from power cheered many Mexicans and appeared to validate Wilson's "moral diplomacy." However, Wilson soon discovered that he faced more trouble in Mexico. The new Carranza government was slow in bringing about reforms, and rebels again rose up, this time under the leadership of Francisco Pancho Villa. For a while, Wilson courted Villa. After American support disappeared in 1916, Villa's forces crossed into New Mexico and raided the town of Columbus, leaving 18 Americans dead. President Wilson responded by sending General John J. Pershing and more than 10,000 troops on a "punitive expedition" to Mexico.
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1917
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Pershing's forces chased Villa for several months but failed to capture the rebel leader. Wilson eventually withdrew American troops from Mexico in 1917, mostly because of his concerns about World War 1 raging in Europe. Not long afterward, the U.S. declared war on Germany. Free from hunting Villa, Pershing took command of the American Expeditionary Force in France. A generation earlier, few would have believed it possible that more than one million American troops would engage in a large-scale war in Europe. But the triumph over Spain and U.S. actions in Asia and Latin America demonstrated that America had emerged as a world power. Now, World War 1 would test that new global strength.
