Unit 6

American Foreign Policy Pre-Spanish-American War

• Washington’s Farewell Address - avoid permanent foreign alliances to avoid European wars, excluding trade and commerce

  • Allied with France during the revolution but temporarily

• Monroe Doctrine - In 1823, James Monroe and his Secretary of State John Quincy Adams devised a doctrine telling European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere as a response to the independence movements in South America

  • James Monroe - American President from 1816-1824, part of the Virginia Dynasty

• 1890 Census - declares the frontier of the continental United States closed, which starts the discussion of expanding towards places like Alaska and Hawaii

• Imperialism - the policy of stronger nations extending their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories, aka the administration of power from afar, which is very popular in late 19th century Europe in search of raw materials

  • The difference between imperialism and colonialism is that imperialism is more about extending influence, while colonialism is permanently settling in somebody else’s land

• “The sun never sets on the British Empire” - referencing how large the British Empire was at one point because they had land on almost every continent

• The Scramble for Africa - European powers colonize as much of Africa as possible because of economic interests in natural resources. The US debates on joining in, but since they are based on a different political philosophy than Europe, it is controversial

Spanish American War

• In the 1890s, Spain had a much smaller empire due to successful independence movements. However, it still controlled Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, the Philippines, and Guam in the Pacific.

• Cuban Rebellion - in 1895, Cubans rebelled against Spain, which led to Spain using brutal methods of repression like torture. Columbia tried to aid Cuba, while the US, which is only 90 miles away from Cuba, turned a blind eye

• William McKinley - an American president from Ohio who had served in the Civil War and Congress, was elected in 1896 as a Republican. He was assassinated in 1901, so Vice President Teddy Roosevelt became president

• USS Maine - McKinley sent the steel ship USS Maine to Cuba after calling for the US to support the Cuban people against Spanish rule. He sent the ship because he had an economic interest in the Cuban sugarcane industry, and there were Americans in Cuba.

• USS Maine explosion - the USS Maine randomly explodes and kills 250 Americans, and newspapers in America blame the Spanish, which gives McKinley a reason to declare war on Spain. After investigation, though, it is realized that the explosion was due to a fire in the boiler rooms.

• Growth of Newspapers - since more and more people could afford newspapers, media leaders Hearst and Pulitzer made headlines more sensational to attract more customers for each of their newspapers. This becomes especially apparent during the Spanish-American War when they dramatize the explosion of the USS Maine

• Outcome of the Spanish-American War - The US wins after fighting in Cuba and the Philippines because of their strong Navy, and the treaty gives those two, Guam, and Puerto Rico to America. Cuba gains independence, but is watched closely by the US, the Philippines is narrowly chosen as a colony after a long debate, and Guam and Puerto Rico become American territories

• President McKinley didn’t know what to do with the Philippines, but he didn’t want to give it to other European powers because it’s so close to China, and he couldn’t leave it to govern itself because of how long they’d been a colony, so Americans believed they had to take it

• After the US bought the Philippines from Spain for 20 million in 1899, a war started between the Filipinos who wanted to govern themselves and America, lasting until 1902

American Debate on Imperialism

• Defense for Imperialism - many European countries were already expanding to new territories throughout the world, and some Americans thought that America should join in because it was a growing world power, and it would grow the number of consumers in the American market

• Against Imperialism - many believed imperialism was not spreading democracy and was instead going against American ideas of freedom and liberty, alongside the advice from Washington’s Farewell Address to stay out of foreign matters

• White Man’s Burden - Americans believe white people must spread democracy throughout the world to “less fortunate and more barbaric” people

Theodore Roosevelt

• He had very strong connections to New York City, as they had family going back several generations to New Amsterdam

• He was born in 1858 and suffered from asthma and frequent sicknesses. However, his father believed in frequent exercise, and that helped him with his asthma. He also had a passion for natural history and hunting, which he continued to have for the rest of his life

• He attended Harvard and joined several elite societies because of his familial connections. He marries, but when his daughter is born, his wife dies of complications from childbirth, and his mother also dies on the same day. He becomes extremely depressed and decides to move out to the Dakota Territories, abandoning his political career and working as a part-time sheriff.

• He returned to New York City after a year and a half, served in the New York government, and was then chosen by McKinley to be the assistant secretary of the Navy

• The Rough Riders - Roosevelt decides to resign from his position as assistant secretary of the Navy to gather a militia to fight in Cuba during the Spanish-American war, which was vital for the American victory and made Roosevelt extremely popular

• After the war, he was elected the governor of New York and was then chosen by McKinley to be his vice president for his second term, but then McKinley was assassinated, so he became President

• Political Style - Roosevelt believes in doing anything he wants to, as long as the Constitution doesn’t explicitly prohibit it. He’s also against monopolies and is known for shutting down several of them on Wall Street, which shocked many as he came from a wealthy New York family

• Big Stick Diplomacy - Roosevelt’s diplomatic style of being reasonable in conferences but always having a strong military as backup

• The Square Deal - Roosevelt believes in negotiating with the best interests of all parties involved in mind, including the American people, unlike many previous American presidents who preferred to tolerate Wall Street monopolies

Election of 1912

• Candidates - Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson

  • Teddy Roosevelt had already served two terms before Woodrow Wilson was elected, but he didn’t like being on the sidelines and was still young, so he was a candidate in the Republican primaries. After creating the Progressive Party, he loses the race, but he beats the current president, Taft, in electoral votes

    • Progressive Party - after Teddy Roosevelt lost in the primaries, he formed his party for the election of 1912.

  • Taft is the successor to Roosevelt but is a more passive leader, not doing anything the Constitution doesn’t explicitly say he can do. He has a judicial background and preferred to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Woodrow Wilson

• Academic background - he was one of the first people to get a PhD in the United States, and got it in political science, and became a college professor, and eventually the president of Princeton University

• Political background - he was elected as the governor of New Jersey after his term as president of Princeton, and governed until he was chosen as the Democratic presidential candidate for the election of 1912, which he won, becoming the first Democratic president after a series of Republicans

World War One Pre-America

American Neutrality

• “Too Proud To Fight” - Wilson believed in America remaining neutral, as it was governed by different principles than European powers and morally above the fighting

• Since America was also a melting pot of several different ethnicities, there was also a concern about immigrants being more loyal to their home countries

• 1916 Election - Wilson runs for election, with his campaign based on the fact he kept America out of the war and didn’t have to conscript American men, which appeals to the public and keeps him in office

Tensions With Germany

• As a war tactic, England set up a blockade along the German coast, preventing trade to starve the German people out of the war. In retaliation, Germany sent out a new type of submarine, U Boats, throughout the ocean, targeting any boat that they saw

• Germany sent warnings to the American people through newspapers to not travel through the zones, but those were not taken seriously as U Boat technology was still relatively new, and American ship captains were overconfident in their ability to avoid the submarines

• Lusitania - a British ship that went through German-occupied waters and was shot down by a U Boat in 1915, killing 1100 people, including the 128 Americans on board. The American public was outraged, but Wilson decided not to declare war on Germany, which defended the attack by saying it gave proper warning to Americans and that there were provisions on board to help Britain, which turned out to be true.

  • Theodore Roosevelt was shocked at Wilson’s neutrality, believing America should have declared war on Germany immediately and tried gathering a militia, which didn’t work out

• Zimmerman Telegram - Germany sends a telegram to Mexico, which the British intercept, decode, and send to America, where it is published in the papers. The Germans are offering to help Mexico win back the territory it lost in the Mexican-American war if they help with the war effort. Because of this scandal, Wilson decided to declare war on Germany, as America had already had a few skirmishes with Mexico on the border

• Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany to go against “the evils in the world”, like unrestricted submarine warfare, and to help change the autocratic monarchies in Europe to more democratic forms of government

• Peace Without Victory - Wilson sees American involvement in World War One as the way to end all wars, and to change diplomacy in Europe from victories of one country coming out above the other to more cooperative and amicable relationships

World War One with America

Civil Liberties vs. National Security

• The Espionage Act - passed in 1917, making it illegal to criticize the government’s actions during wartime, to support the enemy, spread false information, or go against the draft, and it’s criticized for infringing upon First Amendment rights

• Charles Schenck - a Socialist who gave out pamphlets on the street saying conscription is like slavery, forcing someone against their will to fight in a war and taking away personal liberty in a country based on natural rights

• Schenck vs. The United States - a unanimous Supreme Court decision, saying Schenck violated the Espionage Act by willfully spreading anti-war propaganda about going against the draft. He doesn’t have the constitutional right to free speech because it is a time of war, comparing the situation to saying fire in a crowded theatre when there is no fire. The court case represents how the American government upheld national security over civil liberties during the war

Home Front

• Committee of Public Information - a propaganda committee set up by Wilson and chaired by George Creel to spread pro-war propaganda during World War 1 with speeches during movies by “Four-Minute Men” and campaigns by early celebrities

• Four-Minute Men - men who gave speeches promoting the war effort and the final goal of spreading peace in the world during the breaks in cinemas during films

• There was a conformity movement in America during WW1 against immigrants, telling them to support America and abandon their home countries to bolster the war effort. Other Americans, especially targeted German Americans, and there were widespread boycotts against German music, cuisine, plays, etc

Post-War Negotiations and the Treaty of Versailles

• League of Nations - an idea by Wilson from his 14 Points, where all countries join together to form an organization to promote world peace and prevent another world war

• 14 Points - a speech by Wilson to Congress with ideas on how to run the world post-war to promote peace, that asks for specific things like the creation of Poland and new ways of diplomacy, such as the equal treatment of all countries, giving back conquered territory, limits on weapons and military equipment, no secret alliances, the freedom of navigation on the seas, and no more blockades

• Wilson is the first American president to personally work in a treaty negotiation, for the Treaty of Versailles

• The Treaty of Versailles - the treaty that ended WW1, negotiated by several Allied leaders, that blamed Germany completely for the war, ordering them to give back territory from the Franco-Prussian War and to pay large reparations for the war

• After he comes back from negotiations, Wilson takes a train tour of the US, telling people to ask their senators to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, he overworks himself so much that he has a stroke and is kept hidden from the public eye for the last year of his presidency

• Ultimately, the treaty didn’t get 2/3s of the Senate’s approval so America didn’t join the League of Nations even though Wilson created it, greatly weakening the effort for world peace

• Many of the common people wanted to have a League of Nations to prevent wars that they would have to fight in, and also as a way to honor the sacrifice of the fallen soldiers

• Article 10 of the League of Nations - a controversial part of the pact for the League of Nations, says that if one country is invaded, all countries have to come to the defense of the invaded country, which the US Congress doesn’t like because it takes away the power to declare war