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Chapter 10: Section 3
• By 1900, the United States had emerged as a genuine world power.
• It controlled several overseas territories and had a large and vigorous economy.
• After the assassination of President William McKinley, his Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became President in 1901.
• The Spanish-American War brought home to Americans the need for a shorter route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
• A canal built across Central America would link the two oceans, making global shipping much faster and cheaper.
• The Isthmus of Panama was the ideal location for a route.
• In 1879, a French company bought the rights from Columbia to build a canal across Panama.
• In 1902, Congress authorized the purchase of French assets.
• The act required negotiations, which went nowhere.
• After a revolt, Panama was recognized as independent with the U.S. as its protector.
• Construction of the canal began in 1904.
• Workers were brought in from several countries and trained.
• The canal was finished in 1914, six months ahead of schedule and $23 million under budget.
• Roosevelt’s opponents did not appreciate the methods he had used to secure the Canal Zone.
• Most Americans, convinced that the canal was vital to national security and prosperity, approved of President Roosevelt’s actions in Panama.
• The Panama Canal left a legacy of ill will among Latin Americans toward the U.S.
• In recognition of the illegal means in which the Canal was acquired, Congress voted to pay $25 million to Columbia in 1921, two years after Roosevelt had died.
• “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” – African Proverb
• In Roosevelt’s view, the “big stick” was the United States Navy.
• In December 1904 & 1905, Roosevelt issued messages to Congress, known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
• In this Corollary, Roosevelt denied that the U.S. wanted any more territory.
• The U.S. would however intervene in foreign territories to prevent intervention from other powers.
• U.S. intervention in Latin America became common, but angered many Latin Americans.
• It also angered Congress who felt Roosevelt was weakening their power, while strengthening his own.
• In Asia, the President’s chief concern was to preserve an open door to trade with China.
• However the Russo-Japanese War, which began in 1904, posed a great threat to Asian security.
• In August 1905, Roosevelt mediated a peace agreement to the Russo-Japanese War.
• In doing this, Roosevelt succeeded in making trade in China open to all nations.
• His role as mediator won him the Nobel peace prize.
• Under Roosevelt’s presidency, the U.S. assumed a forceful role in foreign affairs.
• His successors were thrown into a complex mix of political alliances and world events.
• William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson both continued Roosevelt’s legacy, but with unique methods of diplomacy.
• William Howard Taft, elected President in 1908, was not as aggressive as Roosevelt in pursuing foreign policy aims.
• Taft’s main foreign policy goals were to maintain the open door to Asia and preserve stability in Latin America.
• Taft “substituted dollars for bullets,” using dollar diplomacy.
• Although dollar diplomacy increased American power, it also created enemies in Latin America and other foreign countries.
• President Woodrow Wilson’s intervention in Mexico led to further anti-American feelings in Latin America.
• Wilson stopped using Taft’s dollar policy and announced that the U.S. would apply moral and legalistic standards to foreign policy decision.
• Wilson’s “moral decision” did not work well.
• His interference in Mexican affairs soured relations between the two countries for years to come.
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