The United States and the world Flashcards
American imperialism:
America seemed far from being an imperial power before 1890. Its foreign policy stance was essentially defensive, seeking to keep the New World free of wars and diplomatic entanglements. Most Americans were hostile to the ideas of imperialism (apart from the conquest and colonisation of the American West). However, the events and developments of the 1890s drew the United States into rapid naval expansion, a war against Spain, and the annexation of territories in the Pacific Ocean
Several of the motives behind this shift in policy were openly expansionist. The rapid growth of the American economy seemed to prove that the US needed new markets overseas. There was a belief that the end of the frontier meant that new horizons were needed to give scope for American energy and dynamism. The 1890s were the great age of European imperialism, and many Americans were swayed by notions of racial and cultural superiority and a civilising mission’ to raise up non-white societies from backwardness. Such ideas added to the influence of men, such as Theodore Roosevelt, the naval theorist Alfred Thayer Mahan, and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, who believed in a “forward” foreign policy underpinned by modern sea power
Ranged against the expansionists were many isolationists, upholding the Monroe Doctrine and traditional American hostility to European ‘interference’. Prominent among the anti-imperialists was William Jennings Bryan, a committed pacifist and religious moralist, who was the Democratic candidate in three presidential elections, in 1896, 1900, and 1908. Bryan was a leading voice in the American Anti-Imperialism League, formed in 1898. Other public figures in the League were ex-president Grover Cleveland, the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and the union leader Samuel Gompers. The fierce debates between isolationists and imperialists would continue for more than forty years after 1898
Imperialism:
Imperialism refers to a country’s desire to extend its power and control over foreign lands, either through diplomacy, economic means or outright military force. Before 1890, the United States had traditionally regarded itself as an anti-imperialist nation, morally superior to the European colonial powers
Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914):
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a naval officer who developed new theories about the role and importance of sea power. His career at sea was undistinguished (the one ship he captained sank after a collision) but the books and articles he wrote, above all The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890), had a massive impact on US naval policy. Mahan collaborated closely with Theodore Roosevelt, who was Assistant Secretary for the navy in the 1890s, Vice-President from 1900 and President from 1901
Engagement in international affairs/Landmarks in the development of US imperialism:
- 1890: Publication of Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power Upon History
- 1895: Revolt in Cuba with unofficial US backing
- 1898: Outbreak of the Spanish-American War
- 1898: Annexation of Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines
- 1898: Defeat of Spanish forces in Cuba and the Treaty of Paris
- 1899: Start of Filipino Revolt against American rule
- 1900: US participation in the international intervention in China
- 1901: The Platt Amendment
- 1903: Settlement of the Alaska boundary Dispute in favour of the USA
- 1903: Start of the Panama Canal project (secession of Panama from Colombia)
- 1904: Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine issued
- 1905: US mediation in the peace settlement ending the Russo-Japanese War
- 1908: William Howard Taft elected as president and commits to the Dollar Diplomacy
- 1912: Woodrow Wilson elected president
The war with Spain:
The chief cause of the Spanish-American War of 1898 was a revolt against Spanish rule by Cuban nationalists, led by Jose Marti, in 1895. The rebels received support from American sympathisers; this support grew stronger after the Spanish army used brutal methods to crush the revolt. Many Americans demanded intervention. Cuba’s economy was dependent on exporting tobacco and sugar to US markets and Cuba, only 90 miles away from the United States, was strategically important
Another impulse towards war with Spain arose from American perceptions of the Far East and the Pacific Ocean. Instability in China and the startlingly fast modernisation of Japan were seen as a threat to American interests. These concerns about Asia and the so-called ‘Yellow Peril’ were intensified by social tensions in the Western states in the 1890s, caused by fears of Chinese and Japanese immigration. War with Spain would open the way for American bases in the Pacific, in Hawaii, and in the Philippines - islands under Spanish colonial rule until 1898
Advocates of US intervention against Spain seized an ideal pretext in February 1898, when an American warship, USS Maine, blew up in the harbour in Havana, Cuba. Evidence suggested the ship had been destroyed by an internal explosion, but the event was portrayed as a Spanish provocation and was a convenient excuse for war. A hysterical newspaper campaign by the ‘Yellow Press’, especially newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, pushed the case for war, encouraged by business interests and some politicians
Peace could easily have been negotiated but war was the preferred solution. American forces swiftly occupied Cuba. The war helped to make a national hero out of Theodore Roosevelt, who resigned from the government to lead a volunteer force, the Rough Riders, in the siege of Havana. Spain made peace at the Treaty of Paris, and Cuba remained under US military rule until 1902, when it became an American protectorate (partly controlled by but not owned by America)
The Philippines:
The war of 1898 was not only about Cuba - it included the annexation of Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine Islands became virtual American colonies. The previously independent islands of Hawaii were annexed at the same time. American success in the Pacific was founded on sea power. Admiral Dewey’s Pacific squadron sailed into Manila Bay in the Philippines and destroyed the outdated Spanish fleet. American land forces arrived to establish military control. There was a wave of imperialist triumphalism in the American press and among politicians
The conquest of the Philippines caused controversy in America. The Anti-Imperialist League attacked the government for betraying traditions of the Founding Fathers and for the violence, paternalism, and racial prejudice that had been shown by Americans in their treatment of their ‘little brown brothers’
Although American officials had gained the support of nationalist rebels, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, by seeming to promise independence for the Filipinos, it soon became clear that this was not going to happen. A Filipino Revolt broke out in 1899, which was only suppressed in 1902 after extensive American military action
President McKinley protested that the US had been motivated not by greedy imperialism but by a civilising mission. In reality, events in Cuba and the Philippines were deliberately manipulated to ensure American domination and to stir up popular support. In 1901, Congress passed the Platt Amendment authorising intervention in Cuba (and claiming to protect Cuba’s independence from foreign intervention). The amendment was incorporated into the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. Cuba became virtually an American protectorate. Later, the Platt Amendment was used to justify American intervention in other parts of Latin America
Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964):
Emilio Aguinaldo was a leader of the campaign for Filipino independence from Spain. In 1898, he organised a rebel force and cooperated with Admiral Dewey (American) in the liberation of the islands. In February 1899, convinced the US had broken their promises, Aguinaldo launched the Filipino Revolt against American occupation. The revolt failed but Aguinaldo became the first president of the Philippines soon afterwards
The Panama Canal: Theodore Roosevelt and US foreign policy
At the 1900 election William McKinley was re-elected, with Theodore Roosevelt as his vice-president. When McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt became president. Roosevelt’s ideas and personality did much to shape American policy over the next decade, both in the Far East and in Latin America. His achievement in forcing through the construction of the Panama Canal was vital for the expansion of American sea power, overseas trade, and strategic interests
The idea of a canal through Central America, linking the Atlantic and the Pacific, was difficult and expensive; an elaborate French scheme had collapsed because of technical and financial problems. Roosevelt’s way of completing the Panama Canal was to bring a new country into existence. When the government of Colombia proved difficult to negotiate with, Roosevelt sponsored a national uprising of Panamanian separatists and forced Colombia to accept an independent republic of Panama - virtually an American puppet state. Panama then negotiated the terms for building the canal, including an extensive Panama Canal Zone under American regulation. The canal was finally completed in 1914 and was a personal triumph for Roosevelt
In 1904, he turned his policy in Latin America into a theory. He set out the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, stating the principle that the US had the right to ‘exercise international police power’ in Latin America, if there were ‘flagrant cases of wrongdoing or impotence’. It was all part of showing the world that the US would fully control its own ‘back yard’ in Latin America. The Roosevelt Corollary was an important shift in American policy - virtually an amendment to the Monroe Doctrine
The Panama Canal was not only important for Latin America. An important motive for building the canal was to improve access to the Pacific, both for trade and to enable American sea power to be shifted swiftly between the Atlantic and the Pacific. The voyage of the Great White Fleet from December 1907 to February 1909 was a demonstration of US ambitions. 16 US warships were sent on a world tour to show the power and prestige of the navy, and to show how valuable the Panama Canal would be once it was completed
Theodore Roosevelt and US foreign policy:
In the Far East, the decline of imperial rule (them being an empire) in China was leading to instability and foreign interference. In 1900, when the Boxer Rebellion besieged (surrounded with the intent to force a surrender) foreign embassies in Beijing, it seemed certain China would be partitioned between the European powers. This would be a threat to American interests. The result was the Open Door policy, set out by Secretary of State John Hay, to reassert the principles of free trade
At the same time, the rapid modernisation of Japan was a cause for concern, threatening American interests in the Pacific. These concerns were heightened by the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05, which demonstrated the formidable efficiency of Japan’s new modern navy. Roosevelt offered American mediation to end the war, and a peace treaty was agreed at Portsmouth in New Hampshire in October 1905
There were other examples of Roosevelt’s active foreign policy. In 1903, the Alaska Boundary Dispute was settled, ending a long-standing disagreement with Canada and Britain over the exact location of the southern border of Alaska. The issue was not important in itself, but the way it was resolved was typical of Roosevelt’s assertive approach. By the time he left the White House in 1909, Roosevelt had transformed American foreign policy
The Open Door policy:
The Open Door policy was first set out by the US secretary of state John Hay in 1899, when Hay’s Open Door Note was circulated to other foreign powers. The aim of the policy was to keep trade with China open, and to prevent China from being controlled by foreign powers. In 1900, the United States contributed troops to the international expeditionary force that was sent to China to ‘restore order’ after the Boxer Rebellion. The Open Door remained a key element in US policy and was re-stated in 1922 at the Washington Naval Conference
The Alaska Boundary Dispute:
The Alaska-Canada border was not finally agreed after the events of 1867, partly because it was in such a remote and inaccessible location. When the Klondike Gold rush began in 1897, however, there was a massive influx of prospectors and merchants into the Yukon River, many of them American. The boundary dispute was re-awakened. However, the heat soon went out of it, partly because gold rushes never last long and partly because Britain and the US were anxious to keep good relations
Dollar Diplomacy:
Even after William Howard Taft became president in 1909, Roosevelt continued to have great influence on American foreign policy, both through his own actions and because the next president was very much Roosevelt’s choice as successor. Taft became famous for the policy of ‘Dollar Diplomacy’, using American economic and financial power to secure influence in Latin America and China
‘Dollar Diplomacy’ was President Taft’s way of avoiding direct interventions in foreign affairs by using American financial power instead. In 1909, Taft bought up the debts of Honduras to establish American financial control there. Taft used similar tactics in Haiti and Nicaragua. Dollar Diplomacy did not work out as intended; in 1914 American troops had to be sent in to deal with a local revolt in Nicaragua. Taft also employed Dollar Diplomacy in China, where American financiers, led by J. Pierpont Morgan, joined a European consortium in financing railroad projects in China. One of President Wilson’s first actions was to renounce Dollar Diplomacy in favour of a more ethical policy, though this did not stop him sending troops to occupy the Mexican port of Vera Cruz in 1914
The United States and the First World War: Neutrality
Woodrow Wilson’s election victory in 1912 marked a big change in American foreign policy. The new president emphasised the need for a peaceful, ethical approach to foreign affairs. He appointed William Jennings Bryan as his Secretary of State. One of Bryan’s most famous public lectures was called ‘The Prince of Peace’, where he argued that almost all wars in history had been wrong and that disputes between nations should be settled peacefully. Both Wilson and Bryan took their Christian principles seriously
Wilson’s government turned away from Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy and reinstated the Open Door policy. Wilson gave diplomatic recognition to the new regime in China that emerged from the 1911 revolution. However, Wilson followed an interventionist policy in Mexico. The Mexican Revolution of 1910-11 led to instability, threatening American business interests. In April 1914, Wilson sent US marines to occupy the port of Vera Cruz and ‘restore order’. Wilson was criticised by anti-imperialists for intervening at all, whereas Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge attacked him for not being tough enough. In 1916, Wilson intervened again in Mexico, sending General John Pershing to pursue the guerrilla leader Pancho Villa. Pershing spent months chasing Pancho Villa without success. Mexico remained an important concern; in 1917, it was fear of German interference in Mexico that triggered the decision to enter the First World War
General John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing (1860-1948):
General John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing fought in the Indian Wars (he was present at the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890), in Cuba in 1898, and in the Philippines from 1900 to 1903. He was a military adviser at the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905. He led the ‘punitive expedition’ into Mexico in 1916, chasing Pancho Villa. In 1917, he led the US armies in France and was in command until the end of the First World War. In 1920, he came close to being the Republican presidential candidate
The First World War:
The war that began in August 1914 was a European war between the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Tsarist Russia and Britain). This ‘War of Illusions’ was expected to be short in duration, but by Christmas 1914 had become hopelessly deadlocked. Costly battles on many fronts failed to break the stalemate, and by the end of 1916 all the warring powers were under huge economic strain, in danger of bankruptcy and total exhaustion. In 1917 two events combined to change the balance of the war: first, the downfall of the Tsarist regime in Russia and second, the decision of the United States to declare war on Germany
America and the First World War (chronology)
