5.3 Summarize United States foreign policies in different regions of the world during the early twentieth century, including the purposes and effects of the Open Door policy with China, the United States role in the Panama Revolution, Theodore Roosevelt’s “big stick diplomacy,” William Taft’s “dollar diplomacy,” and Woodrow Wilson’s “moral diplomacy” and changing worldwide perceptions of the United States.

F OREIGN P OLICY AFTER THE S PANISH - A MERICAN WAR ***The end of the 19 th century (1800s) marked a new era in U.S. foreign policy or relations with foreign nations. The United States really wanted to be able to trade with China, but other European imperialist nations had carved China into “spheres of influence” and the U.S was locked out of this trade. The United States soon began to insist on an *** Open Door Policy. This would leave Chinese ports open to trade with any nation.

***T HE O PEN D OOR P OLICY WAS NOT DESIGNED TO HELP C HINA J UST OPEN UP NEW ECONOMIC MARKETS FOR US GOODS

T HE B OXER R EBELLION A group of Chinese nationalists who wanted to rid China of everything western. They called themselves the “fists of righteous harmony” The Boxers killed 300 foreigners and over 300 Chinese Christians and forced the U.S. to send troops to stop the rebellion. This allowed the U.S. to reaffirm the Open Door Policy.

T HE B OXER R EBELLION

D EALING WITH J APAN Between 1894 and 1905 Japan began asserting itself in Southeast Asia. The Japanese successfully launched wars against both Russia and China. President Roosevelt felt that the Japanese could not be trusted so he sent a show of strength (the United States Navy) with the ships painted white made ports of call around the Pacific including Japan. Roosevelt wanted the Japanese to see U.S. strength and think twice about aggressive moves against the Philippines.

T HE P ANAMA C ANAL ***Roosevelt envisioned a canal through Central America that would allow the United States to move its warships from one Ocean to the next. It would also serve U.S. economic interests as ships would not have to go around South America. Unfortunately, the Colombian government refused to lease or sell the land necessary for the project. Then in 1903, the Panamanian people revolted against the Colombians and Roosevelt responded by providing U.S. naval support that helped the Panamanians win their independence. ***In return the Panamanians allowed the U.S. to lease land needed for the canal. Construction got underway in 1905 and the Panama Canal was completed in 1914.

T HE R OOSEVELT C OROLLARY OR “B IG S TICK D IPLOMACY ” Many nations in the Caribbean and Central and South America owed money to European nations. Roosevelt was afraid that the European nations would take over this nations for debt collection. Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The doctrine *** said, that the United States had the right to intervene in any nation militarily with any country in the region that could not pay its debts. ***Because Roosevelt’s aggressive actions in foreign policy the newspapers began calling his policies, Big Stick Diplomacy. ***The name came from a West African Proverb that Roosevelt once used, “Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far.”

W ILLIAM H OWARD T AFT AND D OLLAR D IPLOMACY ***Taft wanted to e ncourage foreign countries to be friendly with the U.S. by buying influence. His foreign policy became known as D ollar Diplomacy. The U nited States would maintain order in nations abroad and control by investing heavily in key businesses. Taft encouraged American businesses to invest in Latin America and the Caribbean and wired money to China to pay for railroads. Taft’s policies often caused huge losses for American businesses and hard feeling in countries who resented U.S. presence.

W OODROW W ILSON & M ORAL /M ISSIONARY D IPLOMACY In 1913 Woodrow Wilson became President and renounced dollar diplomacy. ***Wilson thought the U.S. should base its foreign policy on the idealistic view that it was the role of the United States to promote democracy and moral progress in the world. While this is what Wilson claimed he wanted, he sent troops to protect U.S. interests many times including a raid into Mexico to a punish Mexican Rebel named Pancho Villa.

A LL OF THESE POLICIES GOT THE US MORE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN AFFAIRS IN THE W ESTERN H EMISPHERE