US in the Caribbean & Panama Canal

• Progressive presidents expanded American power overseas, initially focusing on the Western Hemisphere.
• The U.S. intervened in Caribbean countries over twenty times between 1901 and 1920, often to create a stable economic environment for American companies.

The United States in the Caribbean, 1898-1941

• Map shows U.S. interventions, military presence, and financial supervision in the Caribbean, including Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Panama

Theodore Roosevelt

• Theodore Roosevelt was more active in international diplomacy and believed in "speaking softly and carrying a big stick".
• Roosevelt facilitated the construction of the Panama Canal.
• Colombia refused to cede land for the canal, Roosevelt supported an uprising by Panamanian conspirators.
• A U.S. gunboat prevented the Colombian army from suppressing the rebellion.
• Panama signed a treaty giving the U.S. the right to construct and operate the canal, and sovereignty over the Panama Canal Zone.
• The Panama Canal construction involved widespread use of immigrant labor, primarily from the Caribbean islands.
• The canal reduced the sea voyage between the East and West Coasts of the U.S. by 8,000 miles and was completed in 1914.
• Roosevelt was credited with taking the Canal Zone.
• In 1977, President Jimmy Carter negotiated treaties to turn over the canal's operation and control to Panama in 2000.

Roosevelt Corollary

• The Roosevelt Corollary was a significant expansion of the Monroe Doctrine.
• It asserted the right of the U.S. to exercise "an international police power" in the Western Hemisphere.
• In 1904, Roosevelt ordered American forces to seize customs houses in the Dominican Republic to ensure debt payment to European and American investors.
• In 1906, he dispatched troops to Cuba to oversee a disputed election, remaining until 1909.

William Howard Taft

• Taft emphasized economic investment and loans from American banks (Dollar Diplomacy).
• Taft landed marines in Nicaragua to protect a government friendly to American economic interests.

Woodrow Wilson

• Woodrow Wilson aimed to respect Latin America's independence, but his "moral imperialism" led to more military interventions than any president before or since.
• In 1915, Wilson sent marines to occupy Haiti, seizing control of finances and rewriting the constitution; American military rule lasted until 1934.
• In 1916, Wilson established a military government in the Dominican Republic, remaining until 1924.
• Wilson's foreign policy revealed a paradox: the presidents who spoke most about freedom were the most interventionist.

Wilson and Mexico

• Wilson's main concern in Latin America was Mexico; the 1911 revolution led by Francisco Madero overthrew dictator Porfirio Díaz.
• Military commander Victoriano Huerta assassinated Madero and seized power; Wilson was appalled.
• Wilson ordered American troops to land at Vera Cruz to prevent weapons from reaching Huerta's forces.
• Mexicans greeted the marines as invaders rather than liberators which surprised Wilson.
• Huerta resigned in 1914 and fled the country; various Mexican factions contended for power.
• Emiliano Zapata led a peasant uprising demanding land reform which was in the southern part of the country.
• The Wilson administration supported Venustiano Carranza, who was dedicated to economic modernization.
• Francisco "Pancho" Villa led a peasant force, raided Columbus, New Mexico, and killed seventeen Americans in 1916.
• Wilson sent 10,000 troops under General John J. Pershing into Mexico to arrest Villa, but it was unsuccessful.
• Violence continued in Mexico, Zapata, Carranza, and Villa were all assassinated.
• Mexico served as a warning that it was difficult to use American might to reorder the internal affairs of other nations.