Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs 1880 - 1929

1. Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs 1880 - 1929

2. Civil War to turn of the Century • From Colony to Superpower Gilded Age 1877-1893 • 1882 must control an isthmus /canal • Many domestic problems- time of rapid change (railroad, steam, telegraph,) • Low concern for external threats • Non-entanglement became holy writ • More than ever drawn to far off places • Adventure, opportunity, and commerce • Rush for empire by all countries- Imperialism • Immigration with high birth rate pushes us to second most populated country by 1900 • Killed off most Native Americans • U.S. number one economic growth - growing cities and markets • Sent agriculture and industrial products across the globe

3. Civil War to turn of the Century • Roots of American Empire found in Post-Civil War period • Claims to “non-interference being strictly observed” • Missionaries go to far off nations to Christianize “backwards” people

4. Themes and Questions to think about • Immigration • How did immigrants of ethnic groups change and push United States for foreign policy • Economy • “Gilded Age politicians and businessmen thus set out to protect existing foreign markets and find new ones“ • “Certain of the superiority of their institutions and conscious of their rising power, they increasingly claimed that their rightful place was at the head of the American nations. They believed they could assist their southern neighbors to be more stable and orderly. For reasons of both economics and security, they sought to roll back European influence and increase their own.” (Herring 290) • Pre- Spanish American War • “What was once called the Spanish American War was the pivotal event of a pivotal decade, bringing the “large policy” to fruition and marking the United States as a world power” (Herring 309) • Do you agree “no war in history has accomplished so much in so short time with so little loss?” • What were the two sides of the argument over the Philippines? • Was the war something done “for” Cubans or done “to” Cubans? • How has the Philippian war bring “disillusionment” to the “nation’s imperial mission?” • Why was “isolation…no longer possible or desirable?” • Good Intentions 1901-1913 • How did diplomatic expectations and U.S. infrastructure change with Theodore Roosevelt pushing the presidency to an “imperial state”? • In what ways did immigrants play a role in U.S. foreign policy? • How did dollar diplomacy work itself out in Latin America?

5. Presidents from 1880 to 1929 • Arthur 1881 – 1885 • Cleveland 1885 – 1889 • Harrison 1889 – 1893 • Cleveland 1893 – 1897 • McKinley 1897 – 1901 • Teddy Roosevelt 1901 – 1909 • Taft 1909 – 1913 • Woodrow Wilson 1913 - 1922

6. President Arthur 1881 – 1885 • Crucial first steps in building a modern navy steel gunboats • Curbed corruption and incompetency within the Navy • Even in 1889, naval coaling stations were limited to Honolulu, Samoa, and Pichilingue in Lower California • Secretary of State, James G. Blaine • Advocating the construction of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama • Negotiated a treaty with Nicaragua that ceded a stretch of land to the United States for construction of the waterway • Congress refused to ratify this treaty • Violated an existing treaty with Great Britain • Each nation pledged not to obtain exclusive control over any canal built through the Isthmus of Panama

7. President Cleveland 1885 – 1889 • Cleveland shunned foreign entanglements and imperial ambitions • Revolutions in both Hawaii and Cuba: chose not to acknowledge either • Did send ships to Venezuela to compel the British to accept arbitration - his most controversial foreign policy decision • Principal agenda was to oppose territorial expansion and entangling alliances • Samoa was another matter altogether. Because the United States had treaty rights to establish a naval base on the island, Cleveland reacted strongly when Germany tried to install a puppet monarch • Hawaii: Cleveland tried to pressure revolutionary government to hand power back to Queen Liliuokalani Did send troops to Panama during his Presidency • In Cuba, Cleveland wanted to remain neutral, refusing to support the insurrection against Spanish rule and urging instead that Spain adopt reforms that would lead to gradual independence • The matter remained unresolved at the end of his second term

8. PresidentHarrison1889 – 1893 • International affairs engaged Harrison's administration more than any president since Lincoln. The first Pan-American conference was held in 1889 • Established Samoa as an American protectorate with Germany and England as partners, and tried to annex Hawaii following a revolution (the Senate rejected the annexation) • Harrison negotiated reciprocal trade agreements that set the pattern for American trade policy in the years to come. • He convened the first modern Pan-American Conference in October 1889 and also boldly negotiated the establishment of a protectorate over the Samoan Islands with Germany and Great Britain • Harrison appointed the nation's leading black leader, Frederick Douglass, minister to Haiti. • Harrison supported the expansion of the Navy, begun by President Chester Arthur, into a world-class fleet of seven armored ships • He failed to secure a coaling station in Haiti • Could not convince Congress to guarantee private company trying to build a canal in Nicaragua, nor did he achieve the annexation of Hawaii • Legacy: launched the nation on the road to empire, inspired Theodore Roosevelt's "Big Stick" diplomacy, vigorous trade agenda, negotiating substantial reciprocal trade agreements with key American trading markets -- novel actions that set the pattern for American trade policy in the twentieth century

9. President McKinley1897 – 1901 • McKinley's Open Door policy to China mandating that trade with the Chinese be open to all western nations equally • The new century would be the first in U.S. history in which no frontier existed for them to conquer • New frontiers were integral to national greatness • No modern nation could be a great nation without a powerful navy, a superior merchant fleet, and overseas colonies • Fears of overseas expansion: too costly, non-white peoples into the American nation, deviate from the traditional isolationist stance of the nation's foreign policy, an economic threat • China emerged as a major foreign policy concern :, McKinley authorized Secretary of State John Hay to issue an "Open Door" note on China • All commercial nations on an equal footing in China Declared U.S. support for a non-colonized and independent China One of the most important policy statements ever issued by the U.S. State Department • In June 1900, a group of Chinese nationalists who objected to foreign intrusions in their country massacred numerous western missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity Boxer Rising • Also laid siege to the foreign community of diplomats in Peking • Without seeking congressional approval sent gunboats to assist a combined expeditionary force • China was forced to pay an indemnity in excess of $300 million, $25 million of which went to the United States

10. President Roosevelt1901 – 1909 • America should be strong and ready to defend its interests around the world • Latin America consumed a fair amount of Roosevelt's time and energy during his first term as President. Venezuela became a focus of his attention in 1902 when Germany and Britain sent ships to blockade that country's coastline. • Roosevelt felt aggrieved by their actions and demanded that they agree to arbitration to resolve the dispute • Dominican Republic: European investors appealed to their governments to collect money from a debt-ridden nation Latin American nation • Dominican government appealed to the United States, Roosevelt ordered an American collector to assume control of the customs houses and collect duties to avoid possible European military action • Roosevelt formulated what became known as the Roosevelt Corollary - stated that the United States would not accept European intervention in the Americas: United States would intervene in any Latin American country that manifested serious economic problems and would serve as the "policeman" of the Western Hemisphere, a policy which eventually created much resentment in Latin America

11. President Taft 1909 – 1913 • Asserts U.S. influence in foreign lands through investment and trade • Did not shy away from displaying American military might to protect U.S. business interests • When revolution threatened in Honduras and Nicaragua, Taft dispatched troops to safeguard U.S. citizens and property • More committed to the expansion of U.S. foreign trade than was Roosevelt. Encourages U.S. investments in the Americas, and the Far East • U.S. military was a tool of economic diplomacy. He invited U.S. banks to rescue debt-ridden Honduras with loans and grants, and he sent 2,700 U.S. marines to stabilize Nicaragua's conservative, pro-U.S. regime when rebels threatened to overthrow its government • Seeking commercial advantages in Central America aggravated the existing ill will that had been generated by Roosevelt's military interventions in Panama and Santa Domingo

12. President Wilson 1913 - 1922 • Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy was based on an altruistic yearning to impart the benefits of constitutional democracy on other nations. To his detractors, his approach was seen as condescending and naïve • Wanted to “strike a new note in international affairs” • Wanted to condemn imperialism and endorse democracy and peace • According to this policy, the US would only lend a helping hand to those Latin American nations which had a democratic government and supported the interests of the US. The idea behind this was to resort to economic pressure to influence and control the other nations. The US being a major player in the world economy, it was difficult for the other nations to maintain a stable economy of their won without the SU support. Wilson banked on this very fact and tried to force these nations into submission with his moral diplomacy • Wilson set out to raise the moral tone of American foreign policy by denouncing dollar diplomacy • To seek special economic concessions in Latin America was "unfair" and "degrading." The United States would deal with Latin American nations "upon terms of equality and honor." • Woodrow Wilson and his secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, came into office with little experience in foreign relations but with a determination to base their policy on moral principles rather than the selfish materialism that they believed had animated their predecessors' programs • He also permitted Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan to negotiate conciliation treaties with 21 nations. The distinctive feature of these agreements was the provision for a "cooling-of' period of one year, during which signatories agreed, in the event of a dispute, not to engage in hostilities.

13. Wilson Cont… • Mexico • Refused to recognize General Huerta who had seized power illegally • "I will not recognize a government of butchers," he said. This was unconventional, since nations do not ordinarily consider the means by which a foreign regime has come to power before deciding to establish diplomatic relations. • Wilson refused to recognize General Victoriano Huerta, Wilson demanded that Huerta hold free elections • His stance encouraged anti-Huerta forces in northern Mexico led by Venustiano Carranza • German merchantman laden with munitions was expected at Veracruz, Wilson ordered the city occupied to prevent the weapons from reaching the Huertistas • Mexican officials arrested a few American sailors, which pushed Wilson to order the U.S. Navy to occupy the port city of Veracruz • This weakened Huerta's control, and he abandoned power to Carranza, whom Wilson immediately recognized as the de facto president of Mexico • Pancho Villa moved to provoke a war between the Carranza government and the United States by stopping a train in northern Mexico and killed 16 American passengers in cold blood. Then he crossed into New Mexico and burned the town of Columbus, killing 19 • Wilson, without securing permission from Carranza, sent an expedition of 7,000 U.S. soldiers commanded by General John "Black Jack" Pershing into Mexico in pursuit of Villa • Alarmed by the danger of war, Wilson reaffirmed his commitment to Mexican self-determination and agreed to discuss methods of securing the border area with the Mexican government • Early in 1917 Wilson withdrew all U.S. forces from Mexico • Other nations • In 1916, Wilson practiced an old-fashioned form of imperialism by buying the Virgin Islands from their colonial master, Denmark, for $25 million • Congress promised the residents of the Philippine Islands independence • Puerto Rico achieved territorial status, and its residents became U.S. citizens • Responded to revolution in Haiti by sending in American marines to restore order, and he did the same in the Dominican Republic in 1916 • Because of the strategic importance of the Panama Canal, he was unwilling to tolerate "unrest" anywhere in the Caribbean

14. Gunboat Diplomacy • In international politics, gunboat diplomacy -the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of military power. • Definitive Force: the use of gunboat diplomacy to create or remove a fait accompli . Purposeful Force: application of naval force to change the policy or character of the target government or group • Catalytic Force: a mechanism designed to buy a breathing space or present policy makers with an increased range of options • Expressive Force: use of navies to send a political message • Notable examples: • Panama separation from Colombia • Great White Fleet (1907

15. U.S. Expansion 19th century • Not much interest in foreign affairs (very isolationist)Limited desire to compete with Europe • Social Darwinism will encourage expansion-white Americans are indeed the fittest(?) • Rudyard Kipling-take up the White Man’s Burden - duty to civilize and Christianize the “backward” peoples of the world • Alfred Thayer Mayan-expand the merchant fleet and the navy-create new markets and make a profit • Those against expansion-U.S. a vast country-plenty to do here--- people opposed imperialism: empire building, expanding the nations authority

16. Four themes of diplomacy • The most obvious theme is the land and commercial expansion that drove the nation outward between 1750 and the 1940’s. • Second theme is the steady centralization of power at home, especially in the executive branch of government after 1890. Foreign policies that Americans have desired since the nineteenth century are most effective carried out by a strong presidency. • Third, “isolationism”, maintaining a maximum amount of freedom of action • Fourth, importance of the transitional 1850 to 1914 era, a time when Americans attitudes underwent change and ushered in modern U.S. foreign policy

17. Evolution of Diplomacy • Monroe Doctrine of 1823 • Faced with threats of foreign intervention from several European powers in the western hemisphere Monroe came up with the following policy • The W. hemisphere was closed to further European colonization • U.S. would not interfere with the existing conflicts of Europeans • The U.S. would not interfere in the internal affairs of any Europeans • Any attempt by the European powers to intervene in the W. hemisphere would be regarded as “dangerous to our peace and safety.”

18. Turning Point: The McKinley Years (1896-1900) • Never had a newly independent nation risen so far so fast as did the United States between 1776-1900 • After the triumph over Spain in 1898 brought the U.S. new holdings in the Caribbean and the western Pacific • McKinley won the 1896 election and intended to control foreign policy himself • In so doing, became the first modern chief executive, expanding the Constitution’s commander in chief powers, setting the precedent for the “imperial presidency” of the 1960’s and 1970’s • Built a political coalition so powerful that only one Democratic presidential nominee would be elected between 1896 to 1932.

19. Yellow Journalism fans the flames of war • Technological breakthroughs in making paper and setting type had made mass distribution of papers easy • William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer sought readers through sensational front page stories, and nothing was more sensational than the events in Cuba, unless of course it was a war with Spain • McKinley was not moved by the press and feared war would drag the U.S. back into the economic crises it was finally emerging from in 1897

20. McKinley, moreover, opposed war because it could lead to demands for annexing Cuba, which would raise constitutional problems • Can the constitution safely stretch across water to take in new states without tearing apart? • Bringing Cuba in to the Union would also incorporate a multiracial society at a time when whites were already having problems dealing with black Americans and millions of newly arrived immigrants • McKinley pressed Spain to grant reforms and Madrid began to do so, but McKinley criticized it as too little too late

21. A War Emerges • Spain lost control, in late 1897, riots erupted in Havana • McKinley moved a warship, the Maine, into Havana Harbor to protect U.S. citizens and property • Six days later, on February 15, an explosion shook the Maine, settling into the muck of the Harbor, taking more than 250 U.S. sailors with it • Yellow journalist, citizens, and congressmen would scream for war

22. The Second Crises • Rebels in the Philippines had begun war against Spanish rule • The islands could become a key military base from which to protect U.S. interests in Asia • McKinley and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt closely watched these islands • Roosevelt sent his Pacific fleet to attack the islands in case of war with Spain • Germany and Japan were grabbing at Asian territory which forced the Presidents hand to begin the quest for Asian Markets

23. McKinley carefully prepared his policy to deal with the Cuban and Asian crises at once. • After the Maine, he moved rapidly to prepare the country for war • Between March 20 and 28, the President sent a series of demands to Spain • Pay reparations for the Maine, declare a truce, and negotiate for Cuban independence through U.S. meditation • Spain did all of them, but Cuban independence, no Madrid government could do this and remain in power • April 11, sent a message to Congress asking for war on grounds that the struggle in Cuba threatened lives, U.S. property, and tranquility in the U.S.

24. The President did not want war • He did want results that only war could bring • Protecting property in Cuba • Stopping the revolution before it turned towards U.S. • Restore confidence in U.S. Business community, giving himself a free hand to deal with the Philippines crisis • For these reasons, McKinley took the country into war in April 1898

25. “A Splendid Little War…” • Congress included in its war resolution the Teller Amendment which declared that the U.S. was not entering into war to conquer territory. • McKinley was not interested in annexing Cuba, but did want Hawaii • Vital bases for U.S. ships heading toward the Philippines, and when Japan sent warships to the Hawaiian islands he ordered U.S. ships to prepare for action • Could not get senate vote to annex Hawaii • Dewey in the Philippines sent word that he had just taken the Philippines, two days later McKinley got the senate and house to annex Hawaii • The islands then fit within a bigger plan developing in foreign policy • By early August, Hawaii was a territory, Americans had won their easiest contest yet and had become a power in the western Pacific

26. This led the U.S. to believe that Cuba could be taken by sea and built the navy for action, not the army • The main U.S fleet got ready to fight the Spanish fleet sailing across the Atlantic to Cuba • An important ship, the Oregon, arrived after a 68 day voyage around Cape Horn • Made Americans understand the need for a canal across Central America • U.S. fleet quickly cut off four vessels in Santiago Harbor, trying to flee 12 U.S. vessels destroyed the entire Spanish fleet at the cost of 1 American life • Gave war a good name, easy and cost free • Roosevelt emerged as a national hero

27. Back to the Philippines… • McKinley decided to annex the Philippines Islands • Filipinos could not run their own country • Revolutionaries were divided and one radical faction threatened property • Civil War would allow our commercial rivals in the Orient to seize the islands for themselves • Protect the naval base at Manila • Sent U.S. troops before Dewey had won • On the evening before the vote for annexation Filipinos attacked U.S. soldiers • The revolt against U.S. control had begun • They had originally welcomed the U.S. that defeated Spain, then turned to hostility when they found out U.S. intended to stay • War erupted and lasted for another 3 years

28. The United States, Cuba, and the Platt Amendment, 1901 • The Platt Amendment, an amendment to a U.S. army appropriations bill, established the terms under which the United States would end its military occupation of Cuba (which had begun in 1898 during the Spanish-American War) and “leave the government and control of the island of Cuba to its people.” • The Platt Amendment’s conditions: • Prohibited the Cuban Government from entering into any international treaty that would compromise Cuban independence or allow foreign powers to use the island for military purposes. • The United States also reserved the right to intervene in Cuban affairs in order to defend Cuban independence • Other conditions of the Amendment demanded that the Cuban Government agree to sell or lease territory for coaling and naval stations to the United States. (This clause ultimately led to the perpetual lease by the United States of Guantánamo Bay.) • Finally, the amendment required the Cuban Government to conclude a treaty with the United States that would make the Platt amendment legally binding, and the United States pressured the Cubans to incorporate the terms of the Platt Amendment in the Cuban constitution.

29. Theodore Roosevelt and Twentieth Century U.S. Foreign Policy • TR personally exemplified central themes of post-1890 foreign policy • Willingness to use force to obtain order • An emphasis on a special U.S. responsibility to guarantee stability in Latin America • Belief that Anglo Saxon (a person of European origin fitting a certain socio-economic and/or ethnic profile.) values and successes gave Americans a right to conduct such policy • Americans wanted no more land, they wanted economic markets abroad • Believed that great leadership could use this economic power to prevent disorder and revolution • American goods could create happier, more stable societies in the Caribbean and C. America • This became known as $dollar diplomacy$

30. TR had inherited a position whose powers had already multiplied during the post-1860 era • Believed it was his duty to do anything that the needs of the Nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution of the laws • The more Americans supported a vigorous foreign policy, the more they were going to get a vigorous president • A young Woodrow Wilson said the “office will be as big and as influential as the man who occupies it.” • TR believed that only the President could conduct foreign policy b/c congress is too large and unwieldy • He even used his power as commander in chief to dispatch troops as he saw fit in Latin America • Thus was born the 20th century “imperial Presidency” • Roosevelt colorfully demonstrated that an aggressive foreign policy created a strong President and vice versa

31. TR knew what he wanted to do with his new powers: U.S. controlled isthmus canal in Central America • First he had to solve some other foreign issues: • A boundary dispute between Alaska and Canada • Agree to have 6 impartial jurists arbitrate the dispute • He appointed 3 non impartial jurists • Canada appointed 2 • And England 1, who promptly voted for the Americans and handed Roosevelt the land • For not the 1st or the last time, Canadian interest were sacrificed for the sake of U.S.-British friendship • Signed the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty • Agreement nullified the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 and gave the United States the right to create and control a canal across Central America

32. A French company already was building in Panama (a province of Columbia), we offered $10 million plus $250,000 annually for the six mile zone • Columbia legislature rejected it and demanded more money • TR spread the word he would not be displeased to see Panama revolt from Columbia • Needing little encouragement and with help from Washington Panamanians revolted in November 1903. • U.S. warships prevented Columbia troops from landing and two days later Roosevelt recognized the new nation • Signed a treaty giving Panama $10 million plus $250,000 a year for a ten mile strip that cut the country in half • U.S. also fully guaranteed Panama’s independence • TR was determined to build a canal, most Americans overwhelmingly approved his actions

33. Roosevelt Corollary • TR understood the importance of and how it needed to be enforced, Monroe Doctrine • Danger to the doctrine came not from European powers anymore, but frequent revolutions in the smaller Caribbean and Central American nations • In ‘02-’03 Germans, French, and British used force to collect debts from Venezuela • TR could not tolerate major European intervention In the region, but if he opposed it, the Europeans would demand that he make the Latin Americans behave properly • From this he outlined his corollary to the doctrine

34. President Theodore Roosevelt's assertive approach to Latin America and the Caribbean has often been characterized as the "Big Stick," and his policy came to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. • Although the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 was essentially passive (it asked that Europeans not increase their influence or recognize any part of the Western Hemisphere), by the 20th century a more confident United States was willing to take on the role of regional policeman. • In the early 1900s Roosevelt grew concerned that a crisis between Venezuela and its creditors could spark an invasion of that nation by European powers. • The Roosevelt Corollary of December 1904 stated that the United States would intervene as a last resort to ensure that other nations in the Western Hemisphere fulfilled their obligations to international creditors, and did not violate the rights of the United States or invite "foreign aggression to the detriment of the entire body of American nations." • As the corollary worked out in practice, the United States increasingly used military force to restore internal stability to nations in the region. Roosevelt declared that the United States might "exercise international police power in 'flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence.'" • Over the long term the corollary had little to do with relations between the Western Hemisphere and Europe, but it did serve as justification for U.S. intervention in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

35. Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Panama had all been brought within the American orbit within six years • Roosevelt’s corollary anticipated U.S. policy toward Latin America for the rest of the twentieth century. • Between 1898 and 1920, U.S. troops entered Latin America countries no fewer than 20 times • The corollary opened a new era in hemispheric relations • In 1911, the Monroe Doctrine was expanded even more with the Lodge Corollary • Declared U.S. opposition to the sale of any strategic area to a non-hemispheric company that might be an agent for a foreign government • The Monroe Doctrine resembled U.S. industry and Presidential powers: it grew larger all the time

36. Taft and Dollar Diplomacy • Believed in order in Latin America and believed enough money (dollar diplomacy) could do this • Thought more constructive foreign affairs could be achieved by using the nations rapidly growing capital resources and downplaying Roosevelt's emphasis on military force • Dollar diplomacy could create orderly societies by helping develop the unindustrialized nations and happily make a nice profit for American investors

37. Dollar Diplomacy, 1909-1913 • From 1909 to 1913, President William Howard Taft followed a foreign policy characterized as "dollar diplomacy." Taft shared the view that the goal of diplomacy was to create stability and order abroad that would best promote American commercial interests.  The goal of diplomacy is to improve financial opportunities, but also to use private capital to further U.S. interests overseas. • "Dollar diplomacy" was evident in extensive U.S. interventions in the Caribbean and Central America, especially in measures undertaken to safeguard American financial interests in the region. • In spite of successes, "dollar diplomacy" failed to counteract economic instability and the tide of revolution in places like Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and China.

38. Dollar Diplomacy in Latin America • U.S. had reached a point where it both needed Latin American markets and possessed the excess capital to develop in the hemisphere • The south had the raw materials and the north the manufacturers • Railroad builder from Brooklyn built a major rail system in Costa Rica and then developed banana plantations so that the trains would have cargo • Thus began the United Fruit Company, or “the octopus” • By WWI they owned the banana market, the rail system, shipping, banking, and governments in Costa Rica and Honduras • U.S. bankers were acquiring Nicaraguan banks and railroads in return for loans that kept the government afloat

39. Dollar Diplomacy in Canada • Taft and Wilfred Laurier signed a U.S.-Canadian tariff agreement • Taft’s view: Deal could integrate Canada into a vast hemispheric industrial complex controlled by the United States • Aimed at changing trade to north and south rather than between Canada and Britain • Careless U.S. politicians started talking about the annexation of Canada through this • Infuriated and frightened Canadian Conservatives killed the agreement

40. The Wonderful World of Woodrow Wilson • “Wilsonian” became a term to describe later policies that emphasized internationalism and moralism and that were dedicated to extending democracy • Looked back upon as the chief executive who had the largest vision of the nation’s future and who had first confronted challenges that continued to plague them • Wilson became the greatest military interventionist in U.S. history

41. Wilson and Mexico • Francisco Madero overthrew the 34 year old dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz • U.S. interests were not pleased; under Diaz U.S. investments were at $2billion, owned 43% of property, 10% more than Mexicans themselves owned • A number of armed groups tried to grab power and captured Madero, and Victoriano Huerta took control • Many countries recognized Huerta’s government, but Wilson refused, objecting to his use of force to gain power • President began supporting Huerta’s enemies especially Venustiano Carranza • To undermine Wilson, Huerta held a free election supported by England, which he handily won

42. April of 1914 Huerta arrested 7 U.S. sailors on shore leave for wondering into a forbidden area • Wilson went to Congress for military force • While congress stalled, Wilson learned that a German ship was going to unload arms for Huerta • Wilson ordered ships to occupy the port and firing broke out killing 19 Americans and 300 Mexicans • Huerta was removed and Carranza assumed power • Carranza, refused to work with Wilson, so Wilson then aided anti-Carranza forces like Pancho Villa • Carranza announced Mexico’s claim to all of its subsoil mineral rights, which threatened U.S. oil companies

43. Because of this, Carranza destroying Villa’s forces, and WWI, Wilson reluctantly recognized Carranza’s government in late 1915 • Villa responded by terrorizing AZ and NM, killing 17 Americans, and 18 in Mexico itself • Carranza reluctantly allowed U.S. troops to track down the killers • 6000 men led by John J. Pershing never captured Villa but did clash with Carranza’s troops • Because of the U.S. entrance into WWI Wilson began to come to terms with Carranza

44. Wilson, C. America, & the Caribbean • Wilson declared he wanted “orderly processes” in Latin America as well as stability in the markets • Already had troops in Nicaragua because of U.S. investments under Taft; owned 51% of banks and railways • U.S. now loaned a bankrupt government another million for the rest of the banks and railways • Next ordered Marines to Haiti because of internal rebellion and sticking to the Monroe Doctrine • Treaty was signed giving U.S. control over the country’s foreign affairs, financial affairs, and the right to intervene when U.S. thought it was necessary • Marines stayed for another 19 years • Disorder in DominicanRepublic led to U.S. sponsored elections, but would not allow U.S. to oversee finances • Wilson ordered in Marines, U.S. investors took over large sugar and real-estate holdings

45. United States in WWI 1914-1918 • Wilson’s goal was to remain “neutral in fact as well as in name” • Germans were exercising submarine warfare • May 7, 1915 sunk the British Lusitania and killed 128 Americans • U.S. anti-German opinion grew hot; marked a turning point • Wilson had to decide if banks should grant credits and loans to both sides • Wilson quietly allowed loans to be floated, “our foreign commerce is just as essential to our prosperity as our domestic commerce” • Allies would borrow 2.5 bill in the next two years • This decision turned the U.S. from the world’s largest debtor to the worlds biggest creditor, making it the worlds economic superpower of the twentieth century

46. War aims and stakes for victory were rising • 1915 Wilson started his “preparedness campaign” • Train males for possible combat • Showed countries he meant business and appease growing anti-German sentiment • Would have a strong base to mediate an end to the conflict • Military leverage against both sides at the end of the war • March of 1916 French liner the Sussex was sunk injuring several Americans drawing U.S. closer to war • Realized he would have to join the war in order to attend the peace conference to push his long range ideals • Open market places, competition, and minimum of government involvement, and a league of nations

47. Aimed to release government restraints so that U.S. banks could rapidly set up overseas operations • Webb-Pomerene Act: freed corporations from antitrust laws, thus allowing them to combine legally to conquer foreign markets • Edge Act: removed government restraints so that U.S. banks could rapidly set up overseas operations • Sponsored bill to enlarge navy • January of 1917 Germany launched an all out sub warfare • March 1st Britain intercepted the Zimmerman telegram to Mexico from Germany, asking them to ally for U.S. property back after the war • March 18th three U.S. ships were torpedoed to the bottom of the Atlantic • April 6th war resolution passed in congress

48. Wilson had learned that in such a conflict, the United States could no longer be both neutral and prosperous. Nor could it be neutral and hope to have a decisive voice in constructing the postwar peace • “If the war is too strong for you to prevent, how is it going to be weak enough for you to control and mold to your liberal purposes?” • Anti war voice of Randolph Bourne • America could no longer be neutral and have the freedom to sell anywhere it pleased

49. Principles Wilson wanted after the war:(part of his 14 points) • Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view. • No secret treaties • Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, alike in peace and in war. • The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of equality of trade conditions among all the nations • Worldwide open door for trade • …National armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety. • …impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, …interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined. • The evacuation of all Russian territory, a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will. • A general associations of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.

50. Paris Peace talks started January of 1919 mainly by the big three, Wilson, Lloyd George, and Georges Clemenceau • Wilson believed that the treaty may have issues, but a properly created league of nations could correct these over time • Drew up 26 articles for his league of nations • U.S. congress accepted the treaty but did not accept the League • Feared being drawn in to defend the interests of such colonial powers as Britain and France • Feared the league would mean an increase in contacts with the poison infected areas of the world • 1921 U.S. signed separate peace treaties with Germany and Austria