Download File - Kimberly N. Hermanns

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Kim Hermanns
Professor Darden
US as a Continental Power
December 7, 2007
McKinley’s Foreign Policy Plan:
A Continental Power to a Global Power
Under President William McKinley, the modern presidency was born, a symbiotic
relationship between the national executive power and foreign policy activism.1 During
the 1890s, the ongoing economic decline in the United States caused social upheaval.
The modern president was in the center of the debate amongst socialists, populists,
conservatives, and liberalists. These factions had different platforms to save the United
States from economic decline and social unrest. McKinley and other liberalists believed
by expanding to foreign markets, commercial expansion would stimulate the economy.2
However, American foreign policy, since the inception of the United States, focused on
territorial expansion and infringed upon native populations. Future policies, under
McKinley, should exclude the exploitation of land and labor. The United States then rose
as a continental power and transitioned to a competing global empire; however policies
including colonial imperialism should be excluded from American foreign policy during
the 20th century.
Throughout American history, several specific periods represent the rise of the
United States as a continental power transitioning to a global empire. Jefferson and the
Louisiana Purchase and the presidency of James K. Polk signify America’s growth in
territory. In 1803, with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, the United States
Fareed Zakaria, “State-Centered Realism: How a Weak Government Inhibited America’s Rise to World Power,” in Major Problems
in American Foreign Relations, ed. Dennis Merrill and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 323.
2
Gary Darden, “Propriety Capitalism to Corporate Capitalism,” Lecture, Fairleigh Dickinson University (4 December 2007).
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demonstrated to foreign nations that it was an expanding empire. President Thomas
Jefferson urged for territorial expansion. He believed expansion was a form of liberation,
carrying the ideas of virtue and liberty through spatial enlargement.3 Therefore, he
purchased the Louisiana Territory from the French. For example, Joyce Appleby’s
“Jefferson’s Resolute Leadership and Drive Toward Empire,” explains, “it was a lot of
land—883,000 square miles”—with only a 15 million dollar purchase price …“the
Louisiana Territory almost doubled America’s national domain.” 4 With a stroke of his
pen, Jefferson inherited a half a billion acres of land. He then called for Meriwether
Lewis, his personal secretary, and William Clark to explore Jefferson’s newly claimed
territory. The Louisiana Purchase was called “Corps of Discovery.” Lewis and Clark
had the opportunity to investigate and travel through Jefferson’s new America. The two
men crossed the Continental Divide beyond the boundaries of the United States; however
his party was still nearly 500 miles from the Pacific.5 After the Louisiana Purchase, the
United States refused to stop territorial expansion. The United States foreign
policymakers wanted a continental empire that extended from the East to the West coast.
During James K. Polk’s presidency (1845-1849), the United States solidified
America’s commitment to geographic expansion. President Polk inherited Texas and
Oregon, and then signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to end the Mexican-American
War. The document, “President James K. Polk’s Lays Claim to Texas and Oregon,
1845,” Polk explains, “Foreign powers should therefore look on the annexation of Texas
to the United States not as a conquest of a nation seeking to extend her dominions by
arms and violence, but as the peaceful acquisition of a territory once her own, by adding
Gary Darden, “Negotiation if Possible, By Force if Necessary,” Lecture, Fairleigh Dickinson University (19 October 2007).
Joyce Appleby, “Jefferson’s Resolute Leadership and Drive Toward Empire,” in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, ed.
Dennis Merrill and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 102.
5
Ken Burns, The West, Episode 1, The People: To 1806 (PBS, 1996).
3
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another member to our confederation.” 6 After Texas was added to the United States,
Polk acquired Oregon Territory. Polk continues, “Oregon is clear and unquestionable,
and already are our people preparing to perfect that title by occupying it with our wives
and children.”7 Besides adding Texas and Oregon to the nation, Polk wanted Mexican
lands. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, Polk created his coast to coast
empire. The continental United States stretched from sea to sea. George Washington’s
America only ended at the Mississippi River. But now, the American flag flew over cities
such as the Alamo, Santa Fe, Great Salt Lake, and Sonoma.8 Because of Polk’s
presidency, Americans controlled it all, but the American West still remained
disconnected.
After Polk’s presidency, America shifted from a territorial to a commercial
empire. Periods such as the opening of the Pacific and the Caribbean shaped American
foreign policymakers. The United States looked to foreign markets to expand
commercially. The United States forced open Japan for trade and later gained control in
the Caribbean. In 1852, Commodore Matthew C. Perry received instructions for his
expedition in Japan. In the document, it explains the American government’s three
principle objectives for Perry’s visit to the Pacific. Perry needed to arrange for the
protection of American seamen, arrange for American vessels to enter Japanese ports,
and most importantly, permit sailors to sell or barter goods on board.9 There was no
choice for the Japanese. They were going to trade with the United States. LaFeber’s
“The Origins of the US-Japanese Clash” cites the credo of Manifest Destiny, the
acquisition of west coast ports, dreams of expanded trade with China and the advent of
“President James K. Polk’s Lays Claim to Texas and Oregon, 1845,” in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, ed. Dennis
Merrill and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 199.
7
“President James K. Polk’s Lays Claim to Texas and Oregon, 1845,” 199.
8
Ken Burns, The West, Episode 2, Empire Upon the Trails: 1806-1848 (PBS, 1996).
9
“Instructions to Commodore Matthew C. Perry of his Expedition to Japan, 1852,” in Major Problems in American Foreign
Relations, ed. Dennis Merrill and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 238.
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steam-powered navigation as factors that propelled the United States across the Pacific.10
However, the United States also looked to its own hemisphere for trade. In 1870,
President Ulysses S. Grant urged for the annexation of the Dominican Republic. In the
document, Grant explains, “The government of San Domingo has voluntarily sought this
annexation. It is a weak power…and yet possessing one of the richest territories under
the sun, capable of supporting a population of 10,000,000 people in luxury.”11 The
United States never annexed the Dominican Republic; however it opened trade and
influence in the Caribbean. Therefore, the United States expanded as a commercial
global empire.
Throughout these historical periods, American foreign policies were formed.
They provided helpful parallels for the global expansionist policies of the 1890s. Most
importantly, Manifest Destiny, railroad policies, and foreign policy negotiations triggered
expansion. Doubling the size of the United States was not enough for American foreign
policymakers after the Louisiana Purchase. During the early 1800s, Manifest Destiny
prompted western expansion, the nation’s divine mission to spread westward from the
Atlantic to Pacific coast. For example, William Gilpin explains, “The destiny of the
American people is to subdue the continent -- to rush over this vast field to the Pacific
Ocean... to change darkness into light and confirm the destiny of the human race... Divine
task! Immortal mission!” 12 Therefore, Americans settlers hungered for western lands.
Because of the American desire to push westward, Europeans worried. For instance, in
William Week’s “The Age of Manifest Destiny Begins,” he states, “The United States’
sudden acquisition of both the Floridas and an expanded westward domain [through the
Walter LaFeber, “The Origins of the US-Japanese Clash,” in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, ed. Dennis Merrill
and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 243.
11
“President Ulysses S. Grant Urges Annexation of the Dominican Republic,” in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, ed.
Dennis Merrill and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 293.
12
Ken Burns, The West, Episode 2, Empire Upon the Trails: 1806-1848 (PBS, 1996).
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Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, signed with Spain] caused great [European] concern.”13
Europeans did not want to witness the United States becoming a competing empire.
However, the United States asserted its supreme power in its own hemisphere. For
example, Weeks continues, “Monroe declared the United States supreme in the Western
Hemisphere while mollifying European concerns by pledging nonintervention in
continental affairs.”14 The age of Manifest Destiny had begun because the United States
doubled its size with the Louisiana Purchase, gained Florida, and staked a
transcontinental claim. The United States began to ascend as a continental empire. This
same desire, urging Americans to spread westward, is the same feeling urging Americans
to expand to global markets.
Because of the divine spirit of Manifest Destiny, American foreign policymakers
called for railroad policies to stimulate expansion. Even though James K. Polk expanded
the United States from coast to coast, the country remained disconnected. After the Civil
War, the United States urged for the creation of a transcontinental railroad. The West’s
“Grandest Enterprise under God” explains that it had taken years of a bloody Civil War
to reunite the nation, North and South. But when the war was over, Americans set out
with equal determination to unite the nation, East and West.15 Lincoln’s Blueprint for
Modern America advocated this American reunion. In his blueprint, he devised policies
such as the Homestead Act and federal subsidies to railroads to connect the East and the
West. Lincoln’s Homestead Act of 1862 was one of the most important pieces of
legislation. For a ten dollar filing fee, American settlers lined up to claim their acreage.
Lincoln opened a floodgate of American settlers to western lands. Then, Lincoln offered
William E. Weeks, “The Age of Manifest Destiny Begins,” in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, ed. Dennis Merrill
and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 147.
14
Weeks, “The Age of Manifest Destiny Begins,” 149.
15
Ken Burns, The West, Episode 5, The Grandest Empire Under God: 1868-1874 (PBS, 1996).
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federal subsidies to railroads. As payment, railroad investors received land and 65
million dollars in bonds. Both the Homestead Act and federal subsidies to railroads are
codependent and spurred a great American migration.16 As a result, the West is a product
of federal power.
In addition to Manifest Destiny and railroad policies, foreign policy negotiations
and purchases played an active role in making the United States an expanding empire.
By negations, The United States claimed Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Oregon, and other
territories. Negotiations are one of the most important policies to learn from in the 19th
century. The United States however did not claim its territories by only negotiation.
American foreign policymakers employed force if necessary. For the 1890s, President
William McKinley needs to design a plan of action that does not victimize the local
inhabitants through force. Foreign policymakers should steer away from colonial
imperialism. Therefore, the United States favors an anti-colonial imperialistic policy. It
opposes the exploitation of both land and labor.17 During territorial expansion, American
settlers conquered local inhabitants in the way of Manifest Destiny, such as the Native
Americans. America’s divine right to conquer the West left Native Americans helpless.
Furthermore, The United States harshly exploited the labor of African Americans.
Therefore, in the 20th century, the United States cannot exploit the land and labor of
innocent individuals.
During territorial expansion, the United States did not always favor an anticolonial imperialistic policy. For instance, The Native Americans laid claim to the West,
however this did not stop American settlers from infringing upon Native American lands.
The United States had no right to conquer an innocent people. By believing that the
Gary Darden, “Competing Visions of Empire: North & South in the Road to Civil War,” Lecture, Fairleigh Dickinson University (9
November 2007).
17
Gary Darden, “Propriety to Corporate Capitalism,” Lecture, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 30 November 2007.
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Native Americans were an inferior race, American settlers rationalized their
encroachment on tribe land. Race hate churned in the hearts of settlers and Native
Americans. For example, the Paxton boys, a group of white western settlers believed
“throughout the region’s bloody reciprocal of the Seven Year’s War that the Indians who
by God’s commandment were to be destroyed.”18 Because of violence provoked by race
hate, Congress proposed to separate Native Americans from white settlers. The
document, “The Indian Removal Act Authorizes Transfer of Eastern Tribes to the West,
1830,” explains that Congress called for Indian removal west of the Mississippi.19
Because of the Indian Removal Act, 90,000 Native Americans were relocated to Indian
Territory. It stretched from Texas to the middle of the Missouri River. The river was
meant to be a barrier for white expansion.20 The Cherokee Indians suffered the worst
through the Trail of Tears. For example, the Cherokees may be Christian, literate, and
may have a government like the United States; however, they are ultimately Indian. And
in the end, being Indian is what killed them.21 Because of American’s hunger for land,
the Native Americans were lost and without a home. In the new 20th century foreign
policy, the United States cannot expropriate the lands of a deserving people.
Besides the stealing of lands, the United States cannot form policies that endorse
slave labor. The future of the American empire was in the fate of the Civil War. The
document, James H. Hammond’s “Cotton is King, 1858” declared, with its vast economic
influence, the South should become its own expanding empire free to support slave labor.
Hammond explains, “[Slaves] are ours by all the laws of nature; slave labor will go over
18
Daniel Richter, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America (Harvard University Press, 2001), 202.
“The Indian Removal Act Authorizes Transfer of Easter Tribes to the West, 1830,” in Major Problems in American Foreign
Relations, ed. Dennis Merrill and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 162.
20
Ken Burns, The West, Episode 2, Empire Upon the Trails: 1806-1848 (PBS, 1996).
21
Ken Burns, The West, Episode 2, Empire Upon the Trails: 1806-1848 (PBS, 1996).
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every foot of this great valley where it will be found profitable to use it…” 22
Furthermore, Hammond believed America’s destiny favored commercial rather than
territorial expansion. According to the document, in 1858, “The United States exported
in round numbers $279,000,000 worth of domestic produce…[and] of this amount
$158,000,000 worth is the clear produce of the South.” 23 Even though the South profited
billions, its profits were made on the sweat, tears, and blood of slaves. Therefore, the
United States, in the new 20th century foreign policy cannot endorse the expropriation of
labor.
In the debate brewing in the 1890s, President William McKinley needs to reject
colonial imperialism. The United States cannot expropriate the land and labor of
innocent people, whether they are American citizens or foreigners. Since the birth of the
United States, American foreign policymakers focused on territorial expansion. After the
closing of the West, Americans still desired to extend their influences. They then looked
to foreign markets. To learn from the 19th century, Americans should examine the
devastation caused to both Native Americans and slaves. To end the growing social
unrest in the United States during the 1890s, McKinley and foreign policymakers should
broaden their influences and trade to other nations. However, the United States cannot
abuse a country’s land or people. Even though the United States rises as a continental
power and transitions to a competing global empire, the United States should lead by
example and exclude colonial imperialism from their foreign policy in the new 20th
century.
“South Carolina Senator James H. Hammond Thunders: Cotton is King, 1858,” in Major Problems in American Foreign Relations,
ed. Dennis Merrill and Thomas Patterson (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 262
23
“South Carolina Senator James H. Hammond Thunders: Cotton is King, 1858,” 262.
22