Transcript 1865-1914 Foreign Policy

“We are Anglo-Saxons,
and must obey our blood and occupy new
markets, and, if necessary, new lands”
American Foreign Policy
1865-1914
Washington’s Farewell Address
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At the end of his term, Washington
delivered an address that advised
America to stay out of “entangling
foreign alliances”
This was the overriding policy of
the U.S. government for the next
100 years
Only very infrequently over this
period did the United States
intervene in the affairs of other
nations without provocation
It set up a policy known as
neutrality, or taken to an extreme,
isolationism
Video Clip
International Darwinism
This was also known as imperialism, the idea that
stronger nations should gain economic or political
control over others for the stronger nation’s good
 Many also advocated for imperialism because they felt it
would improve the dominated nation as well
 Missionaries, some politicians, advocates of naval
power and the press were all strong supporters of
imperialism
 Additionally, many felt it was simply an extension of
the idea of Manifest Destiny
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Latin America
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The Monroe Doctrine in 1823 clearly spelled out American views on Latin
America
One of the principal applications of the doctrine came in 1895 and 1896. A
dispute between Venezuela and Britain was forced to the negotiating table by
Grover Cleveland’s insistence that the U.S. would use force to keep Britain’s
military at bay.
Many other examples of American intervention ensued in Latin America
American Intervention in Latin America
The Spanish-American War
 Started at the behest of the American press (yellow journalism) and as a result
of jingoism the United States removed the last vestiges of the former Spanish
Empire in the Western Hemisphere
 McKinley finally relented to public pressure and the press by sending a war
message to Congress asking for a declaration. It contained 4 key provisions
 Put an end to Spanish “barbities, bloodshed, starvation, and horrible
miseries” in Cuba
 Protect U.S. citizens in Cuba
 End the “serious injury to commerce”
 End the “constant menace to our peace”
Video Clip
Quick Quiz
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Which of the following groups would NOT
enjoy the policy of expansionism?
A. Populists
B. Factory workers
C. Factory owners
D. Social Darwinists
E. Military leaders
American Intervention in Latin America
The Spanish American War
 The first shots are fired in the Philippines as a young Assistant
Secretary of the Navy sent the Pacific fleet to sink the Spanish
fleet in Manila Bay.
 In Cuba the military found difficulty not so much from the
Spanish as from disease. 500 were killed in fighting while 5,000
died from malaria, typhoid and dysentery.
 The most famous battle in Cuba was the charge of the Rough
Riders, led by that same young Assistant Secretary, Theodore
Roosevelt, an avowed expansionist.
 The Teller Amendment had guaranteed Cuba sovereignty after
the war, and this was settled with Cuba’s reluctant acceptance of
the conditions of the Platt Amendment in 1901
Quick Quiz
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America’s FIRST deviation from the policy of
neutrality was
A. The Teller Amendment
B. The Platt Amendment
C. The Monroe Doctrine
D. The French and Indian War
E. The Proclamation of 1763
American Intervention in Latin America
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The Platt Amendment put conditions on the Cubans for their independence.
These included:
 Never signing a treaty that impeded their independence
 Never building up a significant public debt
 Allowing American intervention to preserve law and order and maintain
independence
 Allow the American naval bases in Cuba, including one that still exists on
Guantanamo Bay
Quick Quiz
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A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Which of the following was an IMMEDIATE cause of the
Spanish-American War?
Cuban nationalism
US expansionism
Yellow journalism
The sinking of the Maine
Business needs for new markets
Quick Quiz
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A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The main purveyors of yellow journalism were
Penn and Teller
Wilson and Gorman
Dingley and Root
Hearst and Pulitzer
Penick and Jones
The Election of 1900
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The Republicans nominated
McKinley, with Roosevelt as VP
The Democrats again nominate
William Jennings Bryan
Bryan argued against the
growing imperialism of the U.S.
The growing U.S. economy
convinced voters that McKinley
deserved another round as
President
The Open Door Policy in China
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Several nations had opened
“spheres of influence” in the rapidly
deteriorating China
Secretary of State John Hay
dispatched a note to the nations
saying bluntly that all nations
should be welcomed to trade in
China
In a shrewd move, since no one
openly rejected his idea, he declared
that they had all accepted
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The Boxer Rebellion
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Xenophobia was on the rise in
China with the Open Door.
The Boxers attempted to throw out
the foreigners with a campaign of
terror
The U.S. and others sent the
military to protect property and
lives
The U.S. feared the an end to
Chinese independence and Hay sent
another round of notes
These were designed to ensure free
trade in China and to protect
“territorial integrity”
Video Clip
The Big Stick and Roosevelt
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Following McKinley’s assassination
in 1900, Roosevelt takes office
Roosevelt’s policy was to “speak
softly and carry a big stick,” the big
stick of course was the U.S. Navy.
The Roosevelt Corollary was added
to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904
This stated that the U.S. would
intervene to protect the interests of
any Latin American nation.
Video Clip
The Canal
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The Canal was started in 1904
Roosevelt incited a riot of
Panamanians against the
Colombians who owned the land.
The US did not provide material
support, but they did recognize
Panama as soon as they declared
independence, and then offered to
intervene on their behalf under the
Roosevelt Corollary
The tactics of the US angered Latin
America and later (1921) the US
agreed to pay $25 million to the
Colombians.
Quick Quiz
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A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Panama gained its independence from
The United States
Britain
Spain
Mexico
Colombia
Foreign Policy with Japan
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The biggest issue was California’s
discriminatory laws, segregated schools,
etc.
Roosevelt arranged the Gentlemen's
Agreement; Japan agreed to limit
emigration of workers, while Roosevelt
persuaded California to relax its
discrimination
Root-Takahira Agreement: An
agreement between the US and Japan
which
 Respected each others Pacific
territories
 Support for the Open Door Policy
Elihu Root
Video Clip
Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
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Taft thought that direct
foreign investment was the
best way to expand
This idea was expansionist,
but not in the aggressive way
of Roosevelt
Taft was not against military
intervention, as he sent the
Marines to Nicaragua in
1911. They remained until
1933
Woody Wilson and Moral Diplomacy
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Wilson eschewed both the Big Stick
policy of Roosevelt and the Dollar
Diplomacy of Taft.
Wilson was in favor of spreading the
American ideals of democracy and
freedom
Wilson created a policy he called the
“New Freedom”
This included
 Righting past wrongs
 1) The Philippines
 2) Puerto Rico
 3) The Panama Canal
 Conciliation treaties