Transcript Unit 3 Notes

International Relations
Unit 3 Notes
“A Good Enough England”
Gilded Age Americans: 1877-1893
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Elevated traditional doctrines of nonentanglement treaties
More disposed to intervene in their
own hemisphere and beyond
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Began moving decisively to strengthen
their position at the expense of potential
rivals
“A Good Enough England”
(Con’t)
Technology allowed colonial holdings from
greater distances
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Sped up communications between countries
Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species
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Popularized idea of the survival of the
strongest
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New rush by Europeans and U.S. for a bigger empire
Rise of new powers
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Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, China, and
especially U.S.
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No one grew economically stronger than the U.S.
U.S. Changes
Massive influx of new immigrants from
all over the world
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Helping to sway public opinion and special
interests
Distribution of property through the
Homestead Act in the 1860’s and
discovers of gold pushed people
westward
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Expansion of the railway system
Lessing willingness for National Government
to work with Indians
U.S. Changes (Con’t)
Economically U.S. grew at a miraculous
pace
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Surpassing Britain in manufacturing output
by 1900
Still maintained high tariffs to protect
companies from foreign competition
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Yet Diplomats energetically sought out and
developed foreign markets for U.S. goods
Diplomatic
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No clear ideology during the Gilded Age
American know-how introduced to Japan
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Including Baseball
U.S. Changes (Con’t)
Missionaries
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Began setting out to Christianize the
world
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Often guilty of the worst kind of cultural
imperialism
Able to spread Americanization and
open up those markets for American
goods
Business Expansion
After Civil War U.S. became more
actively involved in International
politics
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First time U.S. had a surplus capital to
export
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Began investing and exploit mines,
railroads, oil, etc. around the world
Politicians During Gilded Age
Paid little time to foreign policy
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Generally only concerned with expanding
foreign markets and increase U.S. influence
in the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific
Democrats view:
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Advocated free trade and opposed
protectionism
Did not seek to have territorial expansion
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Especially on non-whites
Politicians During Gilded Age
(Con’t)
Republican view:
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Strong Central Government and
subsidizing economic growth through
a protective tariff
Some sought territorial expansion and
imperialism
Signs of Changes
The Consular service was upgraded and
focused toward finding markets
Army sought to better educate officers
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President Arthur sought to build a
modern naval fleet
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Created an intelligence arm
Created a Naval War College and Office of
Naval Intelligence
Completion of the State, War, Navy
buildings in 1888
Greatest U.S. Change
Complex problems in the Gilded
Age foreign policy was the
increasing number, size and
diversity of ethnic groups
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Provoked growing internal tensions
and sparked conflict with other
countries
To get the U.S. government to defend
their compatriots from oppression in
their home countries
Greatest U.S. Change (Con’t)
Chinese
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Lured to America to perform backbreaking
work in western industries
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Provoked a vicious nativist backlash in U.S.
In 1879, Congress passed a bill limiting the
number of Chinese who could come into the
country
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First of it’s kind in U.S., but many new exclusionary
acts were passed in following decades
Greatest U.S. Change (Con’t)
“Jewish Question”
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Russian treatment of Jews created a
verbal conflict with U.S. government
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Jewish American interest groups
persuaded the U.S. government to
intervene in Russian treatment of Jews
Marvel of U.S. Economy
Due to Industrialization, exports of
manufactured goods passed agricultural
products by 1913
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Europe absorbed close to 80% of the total
U.S. exports by late 1880’s
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Britain First, then Germany and France
Began raising fears that producing more
goods than needed would smother the
“Home” economy
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Thus drove politicians to expand and protect
foreign markets
Marvel of U.S. Economy (Con’t)
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Expeditions to Korea and Africa
continued to excite the U.S. public
Attended a conference on Africa in order to
promote freedom of trade and steer clear of
European entanglements
Continued to try and generate
reciprocity treaties, however with less
able to complete the treaties
Europeans began periodically limiting or
banning American foods due to rumors of
diseases
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Created upset individuals in U.S.
Western Hemisphere and Pacific
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Gilded Age politicians mounted a
concerted effort to expand its influence
Certain of the superiority of their institutions
and conscious of their rising power they
increasingly claimed their rightful place as
head of the American nations
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U.S. entrepreneurs began building up
industries in Central and South American
nations
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Believed they could assist their southern neighbors
to be stable and orderly
Ultimately dominating many of their economies
Openly came out insisting on an American
owned and operated canal across the
isthmus
Western Hemisphere and Pacific
(Con’t)
Negotiations with South American
countries left a deep legacy of suspicion
and anger of the U.S. and it’s intentions
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Chileans specifically saw themselves as the
rival to the U.S. for hemispheric leadership
U.S. sought to support revolutionary
governments, in order to have a more U.S.
friendly government
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Rarely did it ever turn out that way
Western Hemisphere and Pacific
(Con’t)
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Hawaii
By 1880’s, it was a virtual satellite of the
U.S.
Considered essential to the U.S. Commerce
in the Pacific
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U.S. then instigated a plot to overthrow the
queen
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Hawaii was made a protectorate of U.S.
Feared Queen Liliuokalani, who sought to restore
Hawaii for Hawaiians
The plotters seized power in a bloodless takeover
However President Cleveland vetoed the
annexation bill
“The Dawn of the American
Century”
Americans became conscious of
their emerging power
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Diplomatic activity quickened
More vigorously asserted themselves
in defense of their perceived interests
“The Dawn of the American
Century” (Con’t)
Great deal of turmoil in the early 1890’s
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Depression in 1893 due to British banking
crisis
Alleged corruption from “Robber Barons”
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Calls for strikes and unions
Europeans sought more influence in Pacific
and somewhat of Caribbean
A generation of men who questioned their
manhood
Created a mood of conductive to war
and expansion
More Assertive Foreign Policy
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Some military leaders believed the U.S.
no longer enjoyed freedom from foreign
threat
Due to increase in communication and
technology
Thus requiring a change in foreign policy
assumptions
A push for the building of a modern military
machine
A strong Navy
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Including new Dreadnought
View Germany and Japan as potential
enemies
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Control the seas, dominate global commerce
More Assertive Foreign Policy
(Con’t)
Still driven by Darwinian struggle where
only the strongest survive
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Develop of the “Large Policy”
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Greater colonies in the pacific and Caribbean to
protect future isthmus and trade routes
Businessmen increasingly looked to
Washington to help
Others continued to push for perfecting
domestic institutions first, as opposed to
opening new markets
Change in American Foreign
Policy
President Harrison and Secretary of
State Blaine helped begin the
assertive diplomacy
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Sought to coerce the Chinese
government
Allowed the overthrow of the Hawaiian
government
Change in American Foreign
Policy (Con’t)
Though President Cleveland undid much
of President Harrison’s action, he did
allowed some coercion
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Sent ships to Brazil in a show of force
Intervention in land disputes between Britain
and Venezuela
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Allowing a broader definition of Monroe Doctrine
Ultimately reinforcing Anglo-Saxon belief of
superiority over “lesser peoples”
Change in American Foreign
Policy (Con’t)
Alfred Mahan Influence of Sea
Power
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Captain teaching at the Naval War
college
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International Best-Seller
Says we need a large navy to protect
our trade routes
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Need midway points to refuel
Spanish-American War
Beginnings
Driven mainly by public opinion and
mass media’s portrayal of events
Grew out of a revolution in Cuba, to free
themselves from Spanish rule
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Cuba had been a desired possession for U.S.
since the Jefferson years
The war was a threat to American-owned
sugar estates, mines, ranches and safety of
U.S. citizens
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Businessmen feared Cuba Revolution would delay
recovery for U.S. from depression of 1893
Spanish-American War
Beginnings (Con’t)
Cuban revolution leaders were
leery of U.S. support
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Afraid to trade one master for another
U.S. increasingly had the conviction
that it was their God-given duty to
help their “Cuban brothers”
A Push to War
President McKinley
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Sought to avoid war as long as possible and
to steadily increase diplomatic pressure to
Spain out of Cuba
Unplanned instigation
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Spanish Minister writes a scathing letter
about McKinley
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Provoked U.S. popular outrage
Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine
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Mass Media blamed it on the Spanish, again
provoking popular outrage
A Push to War (Con’t)
Despite trying to avoid war,
McKinley chose to send troops to
Cuba without asking Congress for a
declaration
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Chose to defend vital U.S. interests
and remove Spanish from region
Included the Teller Amendment,
declaring the U.S. would not annex
Cuba after the way
War Has Begun
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In Military terms, the war did not
amount to much
Big confusion between volunteer and
professional armies
Naval Officer Theodore Roosevelt
masterfully destroyed much of the
decrepit Spanish squadrons
Yet Spanish insurgencies were able to hold
their own in Philippines and Cuba
The of victory though, confirmed the
rising view that the nation stood on the
brink of greatness
McKinley created first war room
New Islands to Annex
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Hawaii was officially annexed in
1898 due to increased importance
from the war with Spain
Puerto Rico was annexed due to it’s
commercial and strategic value
Guam and Philippines were annexed
from Spain as well
Cuban Problems
Insurgency in Cuba, much like
Philippines, proved to be costly
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Philippines eventually declared a protectorate
Nearly 4,000 troops killed during war
Racial tensions
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American diplomats and soldiers treated the
Cuban nationals as second-class citizens
Americans set out to control the island, while
trying to appear as holding to the Teller
Amendment
Cuban Problems (Con’t)
Business control
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Occupation government made it easy
for outsiders to acquire land, build
railroads, and migrate
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Consistently pushing the Cuban nationals
away from the resources
Platt Amendment
Kept from entering into any treaty that would
impair its independence and allowed U.S. to
intervene in Cuba’s internal affairs
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U.S. hoped to have Cuba fall into the Union
much like Texas, Florida and Hawaii had
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Though greatly against it, Cubans accepted it into
their constitution
However Cuban population did not desire annexation
These actions helped spur a new revolution in
Cuba in the 1950’s
Questions of Annexation
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U.S. actions during this time greatly
diverted from traditional American
actions
Some claimed that imperialism was
dangerous to American ideals and that it
violated the Constitution
Others claimed the strategic importance
outweighed the possible disadvantages
Also by virtue of superior institutions had an
obligation to rescue lesser peoples from
barbarism and ignorance
In 1899 Rudyard Kipling wrote of the “White
Man’s Burden”
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Manifest Destiny
Questions of Annexation (Con’t)
Ultimately the islands are annexed
due to the push of “White Man’s
Burden” and strategic importance
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Virtual military governments
Isthmus Control
Due to English involvement in the
Boer Wars in South Africa, U.S.
able to gain the rights to build and
operate the Isthmus Canal
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Ultimately started by McKinley’s
successor Theodore Roosevelt
Open Door Policy 1900
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After establishing control in Philippines,
U.S. becomes more involved in Chinese
affairs
After years of Christian missionaries being
murdered, McKinley beefed up the naval
presence in China to protect missionary and
ultimately businessmen’s rights
Letter’s passed by Secretary of State
Hay
Declared that Chinese trade was to be based
on freedom and to get other nations to not
discriminate against the commerce of there
nations
“Bursting With Good Intentions”
1901-1913
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Trying to consolidate power over
territory after the Spanish-American
War, U.S. did not acquire new colonies or
join alliances leading up to WWI
Began Building of Panama Canal, solidifying
control over Puerto Rico and Philippines, and
mediating great-power disputes and wars
Continued to overflow with optimism,
certainty of the virtue of their
institutions and new found power
Americans began assuming leadership in
promoting world peace and human rights
around the world
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Though greatly criticize on both accounts by the
international community
High-Mark of Imperialism (1900)
The great powers controlled nearly 2/3
of the earth’s surface through colonies
and protectorates
Existing order began being dismantled,
creating uncertainty and fear among
established powers
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Rise of Germany, Japan and U.S., with the
fall of Spanish Empire
Manifested into heated colonial rivalries,
spiraling arms race and shifting alliances
High-Mark of Imperialism (1900)
(Con’t)
Britain and France, long time enemies,
joined an alliance to combat rising
German power
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Russian weaknesses began being exposed,
through war with Japan and Germany
Rise of new revolutions in countries
across the globe
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Included peasants, industrial workers, etc.
Limited success by revolutions
Continued U.S. Population
Change
Immigrants continued to pour into
the U.S.
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Nearly 8 million immigrants entered
the U.S. during Roosevelt’s Presidency
alone
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Creating interest groups to persuade U.S.
into interventions with their home
countries
Also continued to inflame nativist
passions
Progressive Foreign Policy
Shared a faith in progress and a
conviction that problems could be
solved by professional expertise
They put great stock in
bureaucracy and saw government
as the essential instrument of order
and progress
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The defeat of Spain filled the nation
with pride
Progressive Foreign Policy
(Con’t)
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The Internationalization of America and
the Americanization of the world was
under way by 1900
Moves to have a more professional foreign
service
American engineering, mass production, and
business management ideals spread around
world
Push for humanitarian relief stricken by
natural disasters and the uplifting of
oppressed individuals both in the U.S.
and worldwide
Creation of Carnegie Endowment, American
Red Cross, NAACP, Tuskegee Institute etc.
Theodore Roosevelt
Traveled through Europe and the Middle
East as a young man, broadening his
horizons and expanding his views of
other peoples and nations
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Became President after the assassination of
McKinley
Keen interest in world affairs and
supporter of “Large Policy” from the
1890’s
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First politician to attain celebrity status
Able to master the art of press relations and
especially the press release to monopolize
the news
Theodore Roosevelt (Con’t)
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Enjoyed policy making in the stealth and
secrecy
Considered by many the start of the
“Imperial Presidency”
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Greatly used Executive Agreements
A heavy-handed imperialist, insensitive
to the nationalism of people he
considered backward
Appreciated the central role America must
play in the world, and vigorously defended
its interests
Believed the U.S. had a civilizing power to
carry out its moral obligations to maintain
peace
Roosevelt and Root
Elihu Root was Roosevelt’s secretary of
war and state
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Believed, like Roosevelt, in internationalism
and committed to promoting an open and
prosperous world economy
Founded the eastern foreign policy
establishment
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Informal network connecting Wall Street,
Washington, the large foundations, and
prestigious social clubs
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Directed US. Foreign policy through much of the
twentieth century
Changes in Policy
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Devoted much attention to modernizing
the instruments of national power
Professionalization of military and diplomatic
services based on the notion that modern war
and diplomacy required specialized training
and highly skilled personnel
Began to reform the army
Generally acknowledged as the father of the
modern U.S. Army
Introduced military professionalism
Also expanded and upgrade the Navy
Believed it would be an effective peace
insurance
Able to grow to third place in Naval fleet
numbers
Immigration Influence in U.S.
American Jews continued to protest the
actions of the Russian government in the
early 1900’s
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Roosevelt, with an election year away,
petitioned the Russian government for their
actions against Jews
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Russian’s commented that is was “unbecoming for
Americans to criticize”
Created strains in Russian-American relations
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Showed the growing importance of ethnic groups in
foreign policy
Immigration Influence in U.S.
(Con’t)
Japanese and Chinese governments
expressed disgust at the treatment
of their citizens within the U.S.
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Though vague changes were called for
by Roosevelt, relatively little changed
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Both Japan and China showed early
manifestations of rising nationalism
A Push for Peace
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Believed that the growth of capitalism
and democracy would make war less
likely
Many in U.S. believed that the new world
power given to U.S. should be used to help
those less fortunate
Promoted peaceful resolution of disputes
U.S. historically believed in the use of
arbitration
Hague was used as an early site for
meeting of nations to discuss steps
maintain peace
Very little ever achieved those goals, but
helped set the precedent for decades later
Roosevelt’s Push for Peace
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Warmonger Roosevelt, actually took
unprecedented steps to help negotiate
between Russo-Japanese conflict and
French-Germany conflict
Russo-Japanese War
Roosevelt felt that it must work actively to
promote peace
Though he disliked both countries, Roosevelt
deemed it important to end conflict to protect
Pacific interests
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Able to negotiate peace between the two and won a
Nobel Peace Prize
However neither side like the agreement,
causing strains in relations between the
countries
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Eventually had to send Taft to create secret
agreements to achieve cooled relations
Roosevelt’s Push for Peace
(Con’t)
French-German conflict
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Roosevelt moved cautiously on the
verbal disagreements between the
French and Germans
Eventually able to work out a
settlement between the two nations
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The settlement heavily supported France,
thus isolating and angering Germany
Expansions in Latin America
Roosevelt sought to incorporate the
island of Puerto Rico without
making it a state or a true colony
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Exploitation of their economy by
pushing them to be primarily based on
sugar plantations
However, U.S. was able to rebuild
much of Puerto Rican infrastructure
Expansions in Latin America
(Con’t)
U.S. treated the Philippines quite
differently than Puerto Rico
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The infrastructure was rebuilt by the
U.S.
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Yet self-government was very limited
Wilson administration eventually
passes the Jones Act which committed
U.S. to independence as soon as the
Filipinos could establish a “stable
government”
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First time ever done by a colonial
government
Expansions in Latin America
(Con’t)
Panama Canal was moved forward
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U.S. supported Panama revolution
from Colombia which allowed U.S. to
put the wheels moving toward a canal
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Considered by many as a bully maneuver
Brought a great deal of U.S. pride
once the Canal was finished in 1916
Roosevelt Corollary
Upheld the original intent of the Monroe
Doctrine by reversing one of its key
provisions and explicitly giving the
United State the right of intervention
Dominican Republic
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There was no interest in U.S. annexing or
making it a protectorate
Sought means to stabilize the county
economically and politically and give the U.S.
some control without formal responsibilities
Used “scientific” methods to promote
stability and modernization
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Sought to pay down debts to European banks
Also developed their infrastructure
Taft Presidency
Carried out much of the same foreign
policy of his predecessor Roosevelt
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Used the Dominican model and called it the
“Dollar Diplomacy”
Taft and his Secretary of State lacked
the political skills of his predecessor and
was unable to have much success using
the “dollar diplomacy” throughout Latin
America
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These actions greatly changed the way most
Latin American countries view of U.S.