Foreign Policy Strategies America Goes Forth

Focus Question:  Explain how can you best get along with your neighbors

The Debate over Imperialism  Public opinion divided over Imperialism  Cut across all existing groups  Sparked a furious debate

Rationale for Imperialism  Drive for the U.S. to be an imperial power  Commerce  National Security  National Stature  Export Democracy

Anti-Imperialist League  Opposition Arose to Imperialism  Anti-Imperialist League formed  Drew from all walks of life  Labor and Capital  North and South  Country and City

Arguments of the League  Unnecessary for trade  U.S. should focus on producing the best  People would buy  U.S. would be drawn into foreign wars

 Labor  Colonial peoples would compete for U.S. jobs  Wage levels would drop  Betrayed basic American ideals  Ape European powers  Turn our backs on the founders

Relationship with Latin America  The U.S. has to rethink foreign policy strategy  Prior strategy: Neutrality in world affairs  Monroe Doctrine (1823)  U.S. won’t allow Europeans to reestablish colonies in the Americas

Theodore Roosevelt  TR was an ardent nationalist  Disciple of Mahan’s theories of Naval supremacy  Promoted Imperialism

“Big Stick” Diplomacy  West African Proverb “Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick  Use the military to meet foreign policy aims  The Navy as the “Big Stick”  Panama and the Canal Zone

Roosevelt Corollary  Latin American nations in debt to Europeans  Europeans threatened to intervene  U.S. occupied several nations to force repayment  The U.S. could intervene in Latin America

William Howard Taft  Trained as a lawyer  Served as a federal judge  Military Governor of the Philippines

“Dollar Diplomacy”  Use trade and investment in conducting policy  U.S. firms invest heavily into Latin America  Look to the U.S. to protect investments  U.S. uses economic pressure to meet aims

Woodrow Wilson  Son and grandson of Presbyterian ministers  Trained as an academic  President of Princeton University  Governor of New Jersey

Moral Diplomacy  U.S. to set an example to the world  Set a moral tone to policies  Promote democracy in Latin America  Self-government in the Philippines  Voting rights in Puerto Rico

Mexico  Moral Diplomacy tested by Mexico  1913: Mexican government overthrown by Huerta  Huerta promised to protect U.S. investments  Wilson refused to recognize the Huerta regime  U.S. lent support to Carranza in 1914  Huerta fled the country