1. The “Big Stick”: America & the World (1901-1917)

3. “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” --Teddy Roosevelt September 2, 1901 at the Minnesota State Fair--

5. Roosevelt & Civilization
TR made distinction between “civilized” & “uncivilized” nations
Based on race & economic development
Civilized nations should intervene in “backwards” nations
Believer in strong navy
Asst. Sec. of Navy & author of The Naval War of 1812
U.S. had 2nd largest navy in the world by 1906

6. Protecting the Open Door” in Asia
TR negotiated peace between Japan & Russia in 1905 (Russo-Japanese War)
Made agreement w/ Japan to keep trade open
Earned him Nobel Peace Prize in 1906
Japan was quickly becoming the leading power in the Pacific
Limited some trade w/ U.S.
TR sent “Great White Fleet” around the world ( )
Show of strength, test for fleet, chance to gain public support for naval build-up
Stop in Japan

7. Protecting the Open Door” in Asia
“I hope that we can persuade our people on the one hand act in a spirit of generous justice and genuine courtesy toward Japan, and on the other hand to keep the navy respectable in numbers and more than respectable in the efficiency of its units. If we act thus we need not fear the Japanese. But if we… show ourselves opulent, aggressive and unarmed, the Japanese may sometime work us an injury.”
--President Theodore Roosevelt, June

10. The Iron-Fisted Neighbor
Intervention in Latin America
U.S. navy used to scare Germany after it attacked Venezuela (1902)
Took control of Dominican customs in 1903
Platt Amendment allowed U.S. to intervene in Cuba
U.S. troops used there in 1906 to stop rebellion

11. Iron-Fisted Neighbor
Announced Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904
1. U.S. had right to oppose European intervention in Latin America
2. U.S. had right to intervene in Latin American countries if they were struggling to maintain order
U.S. would act as international police power

12. Iron-Fisted Neighbor
“It must be understood that under no circumstances will the U.S. use the Monroe Doctrine as a cloak for territorial aggression. We desire peace with all the world, but perhaps most of all with the other peoples of the American continent.”
--Theodore Roosevelt,

15. The Panama Canal
U.S. hoped to take over French canal zone for $40 million (1902)
Colombia refused to approve of purchase though
U.S. then helped organize & support a Panamanian revolt
Panama gained independence & gave U.S. rights to canal; Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty
Canal completed by 1914, under budget
Canal Zone split Panama in two

16. The Panama Canal
“If I had followed traditional, conservative methods I would have submitted a dignified State paper of probably 200 pages to Congress & the debates on it would have been going on yet; but I took the Canal Zone & let Congress debate; & while the debate goes on the canal does also.”
--Theodore Roosevelt,

18. Taft & “Dollar Diplomacy”
Taft’s foreign policy goals:
Increase U.S. investments to undeveloped regions
“Substituting dollars for bullets”
Stability in Latin America
Intervention in Nicaragua
Maintain open door in Asia
Failed railroad attempt in Manchuria

19. Diplomacy & Morality
Wilson had little experience in international affairs
Carried on Roosevelt & Taft’s approach
Marines sent to Haiti (1915)
Military gov’t in Dominican Republic (1916)
Bought Virgin Islands (1916)

20. Wilson & Mexico Much political turmoil in Mexico in 1910s
Wilson refused to recognize gov’t led by Victoriano Huerta
U.S. & Mexico nearly went to war in 1914
Then Wilson supported a new gov’t led by Pancho Villa, but later rescinded support
Villa killed Americans in northern Mexico & New Mexico (1916)
Wilson sent Pershing w/ 10K men to capture Villa, no success

21. Wilson & Mexico Huerta had U.S. sailors arrested in Tampico (1914)
Wilson used incident as reason to seize Veracruz
Fighting led to casualties for both sides
Nearly a war
Venustiano Carranza replaced Huerta

23. The Road to War The Collapse of Peace Imperialist ambitions
Nationalism
Militarism
Alliances
Triple Entente=Britain, France, & Russia
Triple Alliance=Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy
Intense rivalries between Germany & Britain, also Germany & France

24. “Powder Keg” Ignites
Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated on June 28, 1914 (heir to A-H throne)
Assassin, Gavrilo Princip, was a Serbian nationalist
Many Serbians hoped to annex Bosnia
Bosnia was part of A-H empire

25. “Powder Keg” Ignites Germany & Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia
Serbia gained Russian support
Germany declared war on Russia and France
Britain declared war on Germany
WWI was under way

26. Wilson’s Neutrality
Wilson asked Americans to be “impartial in thought as well as deed”
British propaganda made Germans look evil/barbaric
Ignored German blockade & continued to trade with Britain & France

27. Wilson’s Neutrality Germans used submarine warfare, U-boats
Enemy ships sunk on site
Sinking of the British liner Lusitania
1,198 deaths, including 128 American deaths
Ship was carrying munitions

29. Preparedness vs. Pacifism
Wilson continued policy of neutrality, but encouraged preparedness
Much anti-war sentiment from public
Wilson’s 1916 election slogan=“He Kept Us Out of the War”
Wilson won close election

30. A War for Democracy
After re-election discussed plans for a postwar world
Self-determination, league of nations
War in Europe locked in stalemate
Germans resorted to unrestricted submarine warfare
Zimmermann Telegram
Mexico urged to ally with Germans & regain “lost provinces”
Russian Revolution (1917)

31. A War for Democracy Wilson asked Congress for war on April 2, 1917
“We shall fight for the thing which we have always carried nearest our hearts—for democracy…”
Congress declared war on April 6, 1917