US Foreign Policy: Panama Canal & WWI Causes

• American History Period 7 (Part 2) focuses on WWI and the U.S. role
• Chapter 19 in textbook covers this information

Essential Questions

• Was it possible for the US to remain neutral in World War I?
• Should the United States fight wars with the purpose of spreading democracy?
• To what extent should a democratic government tolerate dissent during times of war and other crises?

Roosevelt's "Big Stick" Diplomacy

• Roosevelt had a belief in "civilized intervention"
• He wanted to intervene in global affairs.
• Japan and Russia fought in the Russo-Japanese War.
• Japan defeated Russia in the war
• Japan requested that Theodore Roosevelt help mediate the conflict.
• Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
• In 1906 tensions arose between the U.S. and Japan over the treatment of Asian students in San Francisco schools
• Theodore Roosevelt and Japan reached a "Gentlemen's Agreement."
• Japan agreed to stop immigration to the U.S. by withholding passports.
• Nativism is evidenced by this agreement

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

• Germany and Britain had large debts owed to them by Latin American countries.
• Theodore Roosevelt feared the involvement of Germany and Britain, which would violate the original Monroe Doctrine.
• The Roosevelt Corollary stated that in future financial crises involving Latin America, the US would intervene and pay off debts
• Consequences of the Roosevelt Corollary included increased US involvement in Latin America.
• Many in Latin America resented this increased interference

Panama Canal

• Canal was a military objective
• It reduced travel time significantly
• The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty gave the US the right to build and fortify the Panama Canal.
• Colombia rejected the initial US treaty regarding the canal.
• In November 1903, Panama declared independence, influenced heavily by the U.S.
• Eventually, Panama became independent, which allowed the construction of the canal to proceed
• The construction of the Panama Canal began in May of 1904

Panama Canal Facts

• Built under a 1903 U.S. treaty with Panama.
• It took 10 years to build
• Required more than 40,000 laborers
• Cost almost $390 million
• Stretches 50 miles (80 km) across the mountainous regions of Panama.
• In 1977 a new treaty took effect that gave Panama control of the canal as of December 31, 1999.

Panama Canal Trade

• Nearly 13,000 oceangoing vessels pass through the canal annually.
• Roughly 60 percent of the cargo is coming from or going to U.S. ports
• The canal's relative share of world cargo has declined somewhat
• Its absolute volume has grown with the continued expansion of global trade.

Panama Canal Military Impact

• Large quantities of war materials and troops passed through the canal during:
  • World War II
  • The Korean War
  • The Vietnam War.
• The strategic location of the canal makes its neutrality critical in times of war

Panama Canal Laborers

• More than 40,000 laborers were require
• The excavation of 240 million cu yd (184 million cu m) of soil.

Panama Canal Voyage

• An average voyage takes 8 hours

Wilson's "Dollar" Diplomacy

• Wall Street bankers were encouraged to make investments in strategically important areas of Latin America.
• This helped other countries and made money for the U.S. in the process.
• The US had many financial interests in Mexico.
• The Mexican Revolution began in 1910
  • Led to significant political and economic unrest.

The Road to War

• The Allied Powers:
  • Britain
  • France
  • Russia
• The Central Powers:
  • Germany
  • Austria-Hungary
  • Ottoman Empire
• The main causes of WWI:
  • Militarism
  • Alliances
  • Imperialism
  • Nationalism
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed on June 28, 1914.

"War Without Stint"

• Russia withdrew from WWI in 1918.
  • Gave up a significant amount of land in the process
• The National draft was instituted for the 1st time since the Civil War:
  • 3 million men were drafted
  • 2 million men volunteered
  • 5 million men were involved in the American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
• Women could enlist, though they did not fight in combat roles.
• About 400,000 African Americans enlisted in the war.
  • Black soldiers hoped to improve their status back home.
• Trench warfare characterized WWI:
  • Created "No-man's land."
  • Involved poisonous gas
  • Involved flamethrowers
• High casualty rates stemmed especially from influenza.

Trench Warfare

• Most obvious new feature of war
• Trenches began as simple shelters in late 1914.
• By 1915, trenches were complex defensive systems.

Trench Warfare Issues

• Rat infestation occurred
  • Millions infested trenches
  • Brown and the black rats were especially despised
  • Rats gorged themselves on human remains
  • A single rat couple could produce up to 900 offspring in a year
• Lice were a never-ending problem
  • They bred in the seams of filthy clothing
  • Lice eggs invariably remained hidden in the seams
  • Lice caused Trench Fever
    • A particularly painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever.
• The smell of death and decay was constant
  • Approximately 200,000 men were killed on the Somme battlefields

The War and American Society

• How was the war financed?
  • "Liberty Bonds”
  • Income taxes, thanks to the 16th amendment
• Herbert Hoover:
  • Relied on volunteering and rationing of resources
• National War Labor Board:
  • Resolved labor disputes
• Unions began to grow,
  • IWW
  • Nic
  • AFL
• Factories were mostly led during wartime
• Black Americans moved from the South in large numbers.
  • Contributed to the "Great Migration"
  • Included mass migration from the South to Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.

The Futile Search for Social Unity

• Committee on Public Information:
  • Led by George Creel and promoted pro-war sentiment.
  • Employed "4 minute men" to give brief pro-war speeches.
  • Promoted self-censorship.
• Espionage Act of 1917:
  • Prosecuted anti-war individuals
  • Upheld by Schenck v. US (1919)
  • Eugene V. Debs was convicted and received ten years in prison
• Sedition Act of 1918:
  • Strengthened the Espionage Act.
  • Restricted free speech and the ability to criticize the government
  • Immigrants were often targeted.
  • "Liberty cabbage" (formerly "sauerkraut")
• The Century - WWI Video

The Search for a New World Order

• US entry shifted the war's momentum in favor of the Allies.
  • Infusion of enthusiastic, healthy soldiers
• Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points:
  • Post-war plans
  • Included self-determination, no secret alliances, and freedom of the seas.
• League of Nations was established:
  • A world organization was committed to solving disputes.
  • The US Senate disliked Article X
    • Called for members to assist others if needed
    • Took away Congress' war-declaring powers
    • Would end isolation
• To ratify the treaty or not?
  • Henry Cabot Lodge, a Republican Senator, opposed the treaty.
    • Wrote 14 reservations
  • Many senators detested Article X
    • Wilson went on a speaking tour across the country
  • "Irreconcilables" followed his tour to criticize the treaty.
  • The Senate never ratified the treaty.

A Society in Turmoil

• Postwar Recession occurred from 1919 onward
• Prominent year of strikes in 1919
  • Associated with radicalism.
  • Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge opposed the strikes
• African Americans made no gains after the conclusion of the war
  • They were banned from parades in some places
• "Red Summer" featured several race riots
  • Race riots of 1919 in Chicago
• Marcus Garvey:
  • He was a pro black nationalist
  • United Negro Improvement Association
  • Supported a "Back to Africa" movement
• Sacco and Vanzetti were controversial figures
  • Italian immigrants were associated with radicalism
  • Convicted of murder, though there was little evidence
• Election of 1920:
  • Warren G. Harding called for a "return to normalcy."

Explore the Panama Canal's significance in US trade and its neutrality during war. Understand the Dollar Diplomacy, the Mexican Revolution's impact, and the causes of World War I, including the spark that ignited the conflict.