U.S. Imperialism’s Impact on Other Nations

U.S.-Japanese Relations Japan had closed itself to outsiders in the late 1400s; held a strong mistrust of Western cultures In mid-1800s, US businesses began to view Japan as an untapped market for trade 1852: Pres. Franklin Pierce sent a naval expedition to force Japan to sign a trade treaty

Perry’s Trade Mission US Navy under Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay in July 1853 Japanese were awed by American technology (steam powered ships, naval firepower); quickly realized that they could not compete militarily with the US Japan reluctantly signed the trade agreement and opened its ports to US merchants Japan learned quickly, and by the 1890s had adopted western technologies, industrialized, and completely modernized their military

US interference in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905: Russia and Japan went to war over control of Korea and Manchuria The world expected the “old world” power (Russia) to easily beat the upstart Japanese, but Japan militarily dominated Russia throughout the war US President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw peace negotiations (Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905) Japan was angered that Roosevelt supported Russia in the peace treaty; Japan gained no territory, Russia paid no war indemnities to Japanese Roosevelt won Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts

U.S. v Germany in Samoa US, Britain, & Germany all competed for control of the Samoan Islands in the Pacific After attempts to settle their disputes peacefully failed in 1887, war seemed imminent & was only prevented when a hurricane destroyed all 3 nations warships in the area Tripartite Convention of 1899 divided the islands between US and Germany (Britain received other islands in Pacific), giving all parties prime naval bases

US Interests in China China had shown political and military weakness after being easily beaten in a war with Japan in 1894 and being bullied into “leasing” Manchuria to Russia in 1898 US exports to China were growing and the Chinese market held tremendous potential for American business & investment

Spheres of Influence in China China was rapidly divided into economic spheres by Russia, Germany, France, Japan, and Britain US was in danger of losing China as a market for US products, sought a way to protect its economic interests

The Open Door Policy 1899: US Secretary of State John Hay sent his “open door note”: notification to other world powers that the US supported open trade in China Foreign powers were angered over US demands, but were unwilling to risk war (US had just beaten Spain in 1898); they made no move to block US trade with China

The Boxer Rebellion 1900: Chinese nationalists, unhappy with foreigners’ influence on China, rose up in revolt Hundreds of foreigners were killed US contributed troops to an international force which crushed the rebellion After the rebellion, US worked hard to prevent division of China by angry foreign powers

Pan-Americanism US began applying pressure to Latin American states to buy their manufactured goods from US instead of Europe and to create an organization for settling disputes between American states 1889: Conference in DC led to creation of organization which became the Organization of American States (OAS) which promotes peaceful cooperation among nations of the western hemisphere

The Baltimore Crisis 1891: US Navy seized weapons headed to rebels in Chile US sailors from the ship USS Baltimore were attacked by a pro-rebel mob in Valparaiso, Chile; 2 US sailors were killed, 17 injured US threatened war unless Chile made reparations; Chilean government paid $75,000 in damages

Venezuela Crisis of 1895 Venezuela and Great Britain disputed the border between Venezuela and the British colony of British Guiana in South America Great Britain accepted the US as an arbitrator under the principles of the Monroe Doctrine, establishing the precedent of the US holding the final say in all affairs in the Americas

Theodore Roosevelt 1858 – 1919 26th President (1901-09) Made William McKinley’s running-mate in 1900 because of his heroic war record and to rein in his criticisms of the administration Became youngest US President (age 42) VERY aggressive in dealing in foreign affairs

“Big Stick” Diplomacy Roosevelt adopted the African proverb “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far” as his motto for foreign policy Under Roosevelt, the US would pursue peaceful negotiation, but would not hesitate to threaten use of its military strength to protect its interests

The Great White Fleet Fleet of 16 US battleships sent out on a world tour to demonstrate America’s military might was a major piece of Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” threat

Roosevelt Corollary 1904: Roosevelt expanded the Monroe Doctrine by declaring that the US would intervene in Latin American affairs when necessary to maintain economic and political stability in the region Roosevelt wanted to prevent European interventions in Latin America over unpaid debts

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty 1901: US & Britain agreed that US would have sole claim to build a canal in Central America Britain acknowledged that it had insufficient influence in Latin America, allied itself with the US to ensure canal got built

The Panama Canal US offered Colombia $10 million to buy the rights to build a canal across Panama, but Colombia refused Roosevelt responded by supporting a rebellion by Panama against Colombia Once Panama was independent, they agreed to a treaty allowing the US to build and operate a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Building the Canal Canal was started by a French company in 1880, but had been abandoned in 1889 after over 20,000 workers died from disease & accidents US bought out French & resumed work in 1904 (with new measures to control mosquito-borne diseases) and completed the canal in 1914

William Howard Taft 1857 – 1930 27th President (1909- 13) Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor, but would be nothing like Roosevelt as president After leaving the presidency, he would be appointed Chief Justice of the US Supreme COurt

Taft’s “Dollar Diplomacy” Taft chose to “buy” friendship with Latin American states by guaranteeing low-interest loans, paying off existing loans from European powers to Latin America Taft’s policy kept Latin states from borrowing money from European powers

Woodrow Wilson 1856 – 1924 Democrat 28th President (1913-21) Democrat Tried to abandon both Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” policies and Taft’s policy of “buying” friends in Latin America

Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy” Wilson would support only Latin American states that were democratic and provided human rights protections or otherwise supported the interests of the US Wilson hoped to influence and control other countries through economic pressure; nations which did not abide by the US wishes would not receive financial support from the US

US & Mexico During the Mexican Revolution, fighting spilled across the border into the US This, coupled with cross-border raids for supplies led Wilson to order the “Punitive Expedition” of 1916-1917

Francisco “Pancho” Villa 1878 – 1923 Popular revolutionary in Northern Mexico Punitive Expedition’s target was the capture of Villa 1916: Villa had raided into New Mexico to seize weapons and supplies for his fight against the government of Venustiano Carranza; Villa’s raid had killed 18 Americans US Expedition failed, but Villa was eventually murdered by his political enemies in 1923

Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing 1860 – 1948 US Army Officer in charge of Buffalo soldiers early in his career Fought in Indian Wars, Spanish-American Wars, and WWI Spent 2 years hunting Pancho Villa in Mexico with little success