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Ch. 27 AP U.S. History p.647-652. In the 1900 presidential election, once again William Jennings Bryan took on William McKinley, but this time, he insisted that the “paramount issue” of the campaign was the evils of imperialism.
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In the 1900 presidential election, once again William Jennings Bryan took on William McKinley, but this time, he insisted that the “paramount issue” of the campaign was the evils of imperialism. But again, Bryan’s bid for the White House failed as the nation proved to be in an “imperialist mood” after the subsequent conquering of Spain and the territorial acquisitions it brought about. McKinley won easily. However, he had scarcely served another six months of his 2nd term when, in September 1901, McKinley was murdered by a deranged anarchist in Buffalo, New York, making Theodore Roosevelt the youngest president ever at age 42. TR promised to carry out McKinley's policies. TR: Brandisher of the Big Stick
Theodore Roosevelt was born into a rich New York family and graduated from Harvard. Intellectually brilliant, he was highly energetic and spirited, and his motto was “speak softly and carry a big stick,” or basically, “let your actions do the talking.” • Roosevelt rapidly developed into a master politician, and a maverick who was uncontrollable by party machines. He believed that a president should lead, which would explain the precedents that he would set during his term, becoming what many call the “first modern president.” • In fact, as a vice-presidential candidate in 1900, T.R. matched William Jennings Bryan’s travels in a flamboyant campaign, while McKinley never left his front porch!
Building the Panama Canal • TR had traveled to Europe and knew more about foreign affairs than most of his predecessors. One foreign issue he knew needed to be dealt with was the creation of a canal through the Central American isthmus. During the Spanish-American War, the battleship U.S.S. Oregon had been forced to steam all the way around the tip of South America to join the fleet in Cuba. • After being frustrated by such deliberate travel, TR was determined to improve the defenses of the U.S. by constructing an isthmian canal through Panama for more expedient naval transport. • Such a waterway would also make defense of the recent island acquisitions easier (i.e. Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawaii). • However, the 1850 Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with Britain had forbade the construction by either country of a canal in the Americas without the other’s consent and help. But soon that statement was nullified in 1901 by the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty with Britain, which cleared the way fro TR to start digging!
A Nicaraguan route was one possible place for a canal, but it was opposed by the French Canal Company that was eager to build in Panama and salvage something from their costly failure there. • Their leader was Philippe Bunau-Varilla. • The U.S. finally chose Panama after Mount Pelée in Nicaragua erupted and killed 30,000 people. • The U.S. negotiated a deal that would buy a 6-mile-wide strip of land in Panama for $10 million and a $250,000 annual payment, but this treaty was retracted by the Colombian government, which owned Panama. • TR was furious, since he wanted construction of the canal to begin before the 1904 campaign.
At this point, TR and the U.S. decided enough was enough and it was time for action. On November 3, 1903, another revolution in Panama began, and when Colombia tried to stop it, the U.S., citing an 1846 treaty with Colombia, deployed the marines and wouldn’t let the Colombian fleet engage. Panama was thus recognized by the U.S. as an independent nation, and fifteen days later, Bunau-Varilla, the Panamanian minister, despite his French nationality, signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty that gave a widened (6x10 mi.) Panamanian zone to the U.S. for $15 million. TR didn’t actively plot to tear Panama away from Colombia, but it seemed like it to the public, and to Latin America, and his blatantly macho actions in this incident saw him suffer a political black eye.
Regardless, in 1904, construction began on the Panama Canal. At first, however, problems with labor troubles, landslides, yellow fever, and poor sanitation threatened to doom the endeavour. Colonel George Washington Goethals finally organized the workers while Colonel William C. Gorgas exterminated yellow fever. When TR visited Panama in 1906, he was the first U.S. president to leave America for foreign soil. The canal was finally finished and opened in 1914, at a cost of $400 million, the largest engineering project since the Great Pyramids.
American involvement in the affairs of Latin American nations at the turn of the century usually stemmed from the fact that they were chronically in debt, usually to the industrial powers of Europe – the U.S.’s #1 rivals. Latin American nations like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic were having a hard time paying their debts to their European debtors, so Britain and Germany decided to send a bit of force to South America to make the Latinos pay. TR feared that if European powers interfered in the Americas to collect debts, they might then STAY in Latin America, a blatant violation of the Monroe Doctrine, so he issued his Roosevelt Corollary. The Roosevelt Corollary stated that in future cases of debt problems, the U.S. would take over and handle any intervention in Latin America on behalf of Europe, thus justifying keeping Europe away….and the Monroe Doctrine intact. TR’s Perversion of the Monroe Doctrine
In a nutshell, the Roosevelt Corollary implied that no one could bully Latin America….well, except maybe the U.S. • However, this corollary and subsequent frequent intervention didn’t sit too well with most Latin American countries who felt that Uncle Sam was being overbearing, in effect, leading to a legacy of ill will and distrust that lasts to this day. • When U.S. Marines landed in Cuba to bring back order to the island in 1906, this simply seemed like an extension of the tradition of the interfering big brother, or “Bad Neighbor” policy, as it was often called.
Roosevelt on the World Stage • In 1904, Japan attacked Russia over who should control the Chinese province of Manchuria. • Japan proceeded to administer a series of humiliating defeats against Russia until the Japanese began to run short on men. • Therefore, they approached Theodore Roosevelt to facilitate a peace treaty. • At Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1905, both sides met, and though both were stubborn (Japan wanted all of the strategic island of Sakhalin while the Russians strongly resisted), in the end, TR negotiated a deal in which Japan got half of Sakhalin but no indemnity for its losses. • For this, and his mediation of North African disputes in 1906 through an international conference at Algeciras, Spain, TR received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. • However, due to the Russo-Japanese incident, America lost two potential allies in Russia and Japan, neither of which felt that it had received its fair share of winnings.
Japanese Laborers in California • After the war, many Japanese immigrants poured into California, and fears of a “yellow peril” arose again. • The showdown came in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake when the city decreed that, due to lack of space, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean children should attend a special school. • Instantly, this became an international issue over racism, but TR settled it eventually, once again showing his gifts for political diplomacy. • Interestingly, despite his rough reputation, as president, TR proved progressive and willing to compromise, arguably his greatest political skill. • These skills were evident in his dealings with Japan and many subsequent domestic decisions: San Francisco would not displace Japanese students and Japan would now keep its laborers in Japan – other wise known as the Gentleman’s Agreement with Japan.
To impress the Japanese, Roosevelt sent his entire battleship fleet, “The Great White Fleet,” around the world for a tour, and it received tremendous salutes in Latin America, New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia, and Japan, helping relieve tensions. • The subsequent Root-Takahira Agreement pledged the U.S. and Japan to respect each other’s territorial possessions in the Pacific and to uphold the Open Door Policy in China – which lasted only a generation……..
