* President McKinley assassinated * Helps negotiate peace between Russia and Japan * Wants to control political and economic aspects of East Asia * Wanted to build canal to cut Central America in half for shorter route * Panama gains independence from Colombia * Agrees to allow U.S. to build canal * Very dangerous work (many people die)

* Financial matters drew U.S. further into Latin American affairs * Latin America borrows money from Europe to build roads and railroads * Afraid that a loan default would cause Europeans to intervene * Monroe Doctrine (1823) -> Europeans were to stay out of Latin American affairs * Roosevelt Corollary -> U.S. would use force to protect it’s interests

* Wilson states the “U.S. had a moral responsibility to deny recognition to any Latin American government it viewed as oppressive, undemocratic, or hostile to U.S. interests”

* Wanted Huerta (Mexico’s ruler) to step down * Carranza steps up in Mexico * “Pancho” Villa and Zapata * Wilson recognizes Carranza’s gov’t * Villa and his men capture and kill Americans * U.S. sends General John J. Pershing to capture Villa dead or alive * Mexico not happy about U.S. occupation * Resulted in both sides backing down and Mexico adopting a Constitution