Spanish Civil War 

**Spanish American War i**

Roosevelt

 

•     Helped to organize a group known as the "Rough Riders."

•     Composed of volunteers with horsemanship backgrounds.

•     Famous for their charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba in the Spanish-American War, earning him a Medal of Honor.

But Why the War?

 

•     In 1896, "Free Cuba" and support for Cuban Independence were parts of political party platforms.

•     President McKinley tried to get Spain to reform their rule to no avail.

•     The Spanish ambassador to the U.S. (Dupuy de Lome) made matters worse by writing a letter insulting to McKinley that became public.

•     Then *the* Maine blew up. (Feb. 15, 1898)

•     TR, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, took advantage of his boss' absence and got the Navy to go to war. (Feb. 25,1898)

•     McKinley followed Spain's declaration of war on April 25, 1898.

•     Cubans were relieved by the addition of the Teller Amendment passed by Congress.

○  Prohibited the U.S. from annexing Cuba, but rather, required giving it back to the Cubans after the war was over.

 

The Cuban/Caribbean Part of the Spanish-American War

 

•     The Cuban part lasted from June-August 1898.

•     The Rough Riders' charge up Kettle Hill was on July 1.

•     Cuban soldiers played a key role in the entire conflict, and got little attention or credit

•     Guantanamo Bay was seized by the Marines in early June.

•     The Spanish Caribbean squadron was defeated in one battle, the Battle of Santiago.

•     US troops were withdrawn due to concerns over yellow fever.

Additional Gains

 

•     The U.S. also took Puerto Rico after a brief battle with the Spanish Navy.

•     The U.S. also gained Guam and the Philippines in the Pacific.

End of The War

 

•     The war formally ended by the Treaty of Paris 1898.

•     The U.S. formally gained the territories won, and paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines.

Overview

 

•     The "banana wars" are generally considered to last from the Spanish-American War through 1934, when FDR's "Good Neighbor Policy" changed the direction and style of U.S.-Latin American relations.

**“Banana Wars”**

Purpose

 

•     The main thrust of the conflicts centered around protecting American commercial interests in the region.

Why a lot of these Wars happened

 

•     "The **Roosevelt Corollary \[**to the Monroe Doctrine\] asserted the right of the U.S. to intervene in the Caribbean and Central America to stabilize national economies."

Panama

 

•     France began construction of the Canal in 1881 but had to give up. The U.S. took over, building it from 1904-1914.

•     Panama itself broke away from Colombia in 1903, after which it signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty giving the U.S. control over the proposed canal zone.

TR's Foreign Policy

 

•     One of Roosevelt's goals was to build an isthmian canal across Panama, which was at the time part of Colombia.

•     An obstacle was the 1850 Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with England, but they backed down, also wanting a canal built.

•     American offers were rejected by Colombia for buying the land, but TR fumed, wanting to get started and "make the dirt fly."

\n

The Shaky Beginnings of the Canal\*

 

•     Panamanian citizens were agitated because they would lose out on the canal windfall, so they took up arms and declared a revolution.

•     TR's administration quickly extended diplomatic recognition.

•     Thus, the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty was signed with the same conditions as before, but now slightly more generous to the U.S.

The American Reputation Suffers

 

•     Some people, here and abroad, thought that TR had an underhanded role in the Panamanian revolt.

•     TR's knack for forcing through things to his satisfaction was labeled as "cowboy diplomacy."

•     Europe in particular thought America's habit of preaching morality was tarnished.

The "Big Sister" Policy

 

•     The U.S. tried to become the dominant nation in the Americas

•     One key goal was expanding U.S. access to the Latin/South American markets

•     Another was ensuring European powers kept out

The Venezuelan Dispute, 1895-6

 

•     Competing and Venezuelan claims over border claims led the U.S. to intervene, warning British they were violating the Monroe Doctrine

•     The British were not impressed (or worried.)

•     Cooler heads prevailed on both sides, though…

Resolution to the Boundary Dispute

 

•     Britain was worried about potential attacks on Canada, and on their merchant ships

•     Other European powers, closer to home, were presenting challenges; Germany in particular

•     U.S. was absolutely out-gunned

•     Pullback led to an era of "patting the eagle's head" by Britain

Taft's Foreign Policy: Dollar Diplomacy

 

•     Taft's foreign policy experience was perhaps his best attribute; he tried to use "dollar diplomacy" to help American interests.

•     Dollar diplomacy called for investing American money abroad to help foreign countries' growth, making us money and friends.

•     This was most notably the case in Latin America, although we still sent Marines into Nicaragua in 1912.

Wilson's Administration: Mexico Kept the U.S. Occupied…

 

•     There was a recent history of incidents with Mexico, notably the Tampico incident in 1914 that led to the American seizure of Veracruz.

•     Bandit/revolutionary leader Pancho Villa killed 16 Americans in January 1916; he then attacked Columbus, New Mexico the next month, killing 19