28-3 U.S. Economic Imperialism

Latin America After Independence After the Latin American countries won their independence from European powers the majority of the population was still poor laborers. This system was known as “peonage’- the practice of holding persons in servitude or partial slavery, as to work off a debt.

Political Instability After the countries won their independence the military leaders often took control of the country. They were known as “caudillos” or military dictators The rich land owners often supported the caudillos because they both agreed that they shouldn’t give any power to the lower class. They restricted voting rights to the upper class men only Juan Vincente Gomez

Economic growth In an effort to industrialize Latin America grew in debt because they had to spend more on imports than exports Some of the products that Latin American countries were: Sugarcane, Tropical Fruits, tobacco, cocoa, and coffee. After they were finally able to modernize with railroads and refrigeration their exports finally started to increase.

Monroe Doctrine Most Latin Americans feared that European countries would try reconquer the new republics. The U.S. also feared this, so president James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine which stated that the American continents were no longer subject to European rule.

Spanish-American War Cuba was one the last Spanish colonies in the Americas. In 1895 Cuba declared independence, and America got involved because of the business ventures they had with Cuba. Instead of attacking Cuba, the U.S. attacked the Philippines because they knew that the Spanish could not fight a war on two different fronts. As a result Cuba became independent in 1901 and the U.S. acquired Puerto Rice, Guam, and the Philipines.

The Panama Canal The United States and Latin America were trying to figure out a way to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans together. President Theodore Roosevelt offered Colombia (they owned Panama at the time) $10 million dollars plus a yearly payment for the right to build a canal. When Colombia wanted more money, Teddy Roosevelt encouraged a revolt from the Panamanians. With the help of the U.S. navy they won, and the U.S. was granted a ten mile wide zone to build the Panama Canal.

Roosevelt Corollary To protect the economic investments in Latin America President Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary which was an extension on the Monroe Doctrine. This corollary gave the United States the right to exercise “police power” throughout the Western Hemisphere. Roosevelt also had the Big Stick Policy where they made negotiations politically but also threatened with their military.