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Part VI: TR’s Foreign Policy TIME July 3, 2006 TR was the 5th American Named in Time’s “The Making of America.” Lewis & Clark, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln,Twain. •“American foreign policy has always been an awkward exercise in high-minded humanitarian goals balanced uneasily with strategic [and commercial] calculations.” George Packer, The New Yorker, 7.27.13. •“Every man who has in him any real power of joy in battle knows that he feels it when the wolf begins to rise in his heart; he does not then shrink from blood or sweat or deem that they mar the fight; he revels in them, in the toil, the pain, and the danger, as but setting off the triumph.” Theodore Roosevelt’s Autobiography. •Adm. Alfred Mahan, a Darwinian, believed that “strife is all around us; the struggle of life is invigorating & war is therapeutic. Long periods of peace create effeminate tendencies in men.” • TR made the US a world power. •TR exalted the strenuous life of hunters, cowboys, prize fighters, soldiers, athletes. He supported 1906 founding of the NCAA. Prelude to US Imperial Policy in Asia: Hawaii •1893 Queen Lilliuokalani, who inherited the throne in the ancient kingdom, was concerned over the number of foreign businessmen in the islands. When she tried to restrict voting in the country to Hawaiians only, her local enemies & US business interests, seeing Hawaii as a valuable commercial base, overthrew her government. •A coup leader, Sanford B. Dole set up a committee of public safety to protect American lives & property; he set up provisional government. •US Marines, from the nearby USS Boston, assisted in the overthrow. •Pres. Cleveland, in office 1893-1897 during his second election, denounced it as illegal & refused to annex Hawaii. •After McKinley’s election 1896 Congress approved a resolution for annexation, creating the US Territory of Hawaii. Aug. 1898 the US flag was raised over its new possession, Hawaii, to the joy of businessmen heading the vast sugarcane and later pineapple processing industry. Sugar industry rose to become a giant trust in response to the world’s insatiable demand for sugar. •TR prosecuted the sugar trust in his second term. (From Overthrow, by Stephen Kinzer. For details of US imperial adventures imperial ventures from Hawaii to Iraq, Kinzer’s book is excellent on the negative aspects of imperialism.) The Spanish-American War 1898: Cuba TR in Rough Rider uniform made for him by Brooks Bros. & worn at big political events in his 1st term •Cuban nationalists sought independence from Spain. •US battleship Maine mysteriously blew up Feb. 1898. • “Yellow journalism” & jingoism inflamed US public with undocumented tales of rape, murder, theft. Yet many in US vocally opposed war in Cuba. •US Congress recognized Cuban independence April 20 & passed Teller Amendment forbidding annexation. •With above pledge, Congress declared war on Spain, April 25. •In Congress, North & South found at last a cause they could both embrace & members sang Dixie & Battle Hymn of Republic together. • Cuba: largest Caribbean island; with its sugar wealth & strategic importance it interested US imperialists. •McKinley called for 125,000 military volunteers; over twice that many volunteered. •US fought 3 one-day battles on Cuba’s se coast & US •fleet destroyed Spanish ships anchored at Santiago. •Cuban leader General Garcia was banned from the armistice ceremony in August 1898. The Spanish-American War, Cuba & Puerto Rico (cont.) •John Hay described the Spanish-American War as the “splendid little war, begun with the highest motives, carried on with magnificent intelligence & spirit, favored by that Fortune which loves the brave.” •Puerto Rico: Spain had granted it autonomy March 1898. The island set up its first elected House of Representatives. It convened & elected a cabinet and head of government that held power for 8 days. July 25, 1898 US sailors and Marines waded ashore on Puerto Rico’s sw coast, secured the nearby town, took control of customs house, and raised US flag. •Dec. 1898 Paris Treaty: US won rights in independent Cuba, annexed Guam, Puerto Rico, Philippines. US Senate approved it by 1 single vote in Feb. 1899. •The Anti-Imperialist League had a large following & opposed the treaty. •1899 McKinley: “Cuba will be under US occupation with a military governor.” •1901 Platt Amendment by War Sec Elihu Root, Sen. Orville Platt, stated that US occupation will end when Cubans accept a constitution granting US rights to maintain military bases (Guantánamo), veto any treaty with another country, supervise Cuban treasury, & intervene to preserve Cuban independence if other powers sought influence there. A storm of protest rose in Cuba & US. The Platt Amendment was a direct contradiction of Teller Amendment. The Bloody War Against Filipinos’ Struggle for Independence •In early 1898 Asst Sec Navy TR alerted Commodore George Dewey, of the US Asiatic Squadron, to move his fleet to Manila if war with Spain broke out. •McKinley said he did not know where on the earth the Philippines were. • Dewey handily destroyed the Spanish fleet May 1 and invited to his ship the Filipino independence leader, Émilio Aguinaldo, after which Aguinaldo said they agreed to fight the Spanish together. Dewey denied any agreement. •McKinley first instructed US forces to take Manila, then Luzon, then the whole archipelago. Aguinaldo knew to gather forces to fight the US which by then had announced military occupation of the Philippines. • General Arthur MacArthur was named commander ,then governor, of the Philippines. • US forces captured Aguinaldo but his guerrilla army continued resistance and made a brutal attack killing 54 of 74 US soldiers on Samar Island. •Col. Jacob “Give em Hell” Smith was ordered to subdue the rebels. He said: “I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn. The more you kill and the more you burn, the better you will please me.” (Overthrow, by Kinzer, p. 53) •US soldiers carried out his orders with gusto, using the water cure as the most terrifying method of torture. The Bloody War Against The Filipinos (cont.) •US Troops killed hundreds of people, burned crops, slaughtered cattle, raped & tortured. US newspapers learned about the water cure from returning vets & their newspaper reporters sent to Philippines. Philadelphia Ledger: “Our soldiers have pumped salt water into men to make them talk, have taken people prisoner who held up their hands to surrender, took them to a bridge, shot them, dropped them into the river” as a warning to other Filipinos. •A howl of protest rose, including public figures: Sen. George Hoar MA, Stanford President David Starr Jordan, Harvard professor William James, & Mark Twain who suggested that the American flag be redesigned “with white stripes painted black & stars replaced by skull and crossbones.” •TR suggested that Senator Lodge hold hearings on the conduct of US soldiers. There was much testimony about operational tactics but no exploration of the broader policy behind them. A final report was never issued. TR objected to the torture methods, but felt compelled to defend the American troops he loved. •July 4, 1902 TR declared the Philippines pacified after 3.5 torturous years with 4,374 US killed. At least 36,000 Filipinos died. •Filipinos never forgot the war. But Americans quickly forgot it. (See Overthrow by Kinzer) The Roosevelt Corollary in Latin America 1903-04 •British, Italian & German ships blockaded Venezuela’s ports in Dec. 1902 through early 1903 because Venezuela owed them large debts. •When Germany stalled at a mediation offer, TR sent four US battle- ships to Venezuela’s coast; they remained until the Kaiser backed down and accepted a compromise mediation. •When Santo Domingo was unable to pay its debts to Europeans, TR intervened, seized its customs offices & paid its debts to Europeans. •To keep Europe out of the Americas the Roosevelt Corollary was issued in 1904: US ensures Latin America will act responsibly & Europe’s powers must not intervene in the Americas. •20th c update 1823 Monroe Doctrine. Map from The [London] Times Concise Atlas of World History We Must Have a Canal! “We’re a gr-reat people. We ar-re that. An’ th’ best iv it is, we know we ar-re.” (Mr. Dooley, by Finley Peter Dunne) •US interests in the Caribbean & Pacific heightened the need for a canal to counter rising navy of Germany & Japan. Britain supported a US canal project. Rival canal builders vied for US choice of its location. Engineers decided best location was in Colombia’s province of Panama at a 50-mile strip separating the oceans. Colombia demanded more than Sec. State John Hay agreed to pay; TR called them “highwaymen.” •Philippe Buneau-Varilla, a French adventurer-lobbyist & engineer, organized Panama’s revolt from Colombia in November 1903, expertly choreograping many backroom deals. •Panama’s revolution began the 3rd, ended the 4th, US recognized it as a free country on the 6th, and the HayBuneau-Varilla Treaty was signed the 18th, by which the US agreed to pay Panama $10 mil. plus a yearly Cartoon from Bully! The Life and Times of fee of $250,000. Theodore Roosevelt, by Rick Marschall •Before the Canal: a trip from NY to San Fran. Was about 14,000 mi. After: about 6,000 mi. •Panama’s rain forest ,squalid towns—full of malaria, yellow fever until US doctor, William Gorgas, launched wide campaign to eradicate mosquitoes, improve sanitation. Death rates of workers and residents plummeted. •See next slide for Dr. Walter Reed’s research. •Colonel George Goethals: construction power. •TR gave Colonel George Goethals responsibility for overseeing every detail in digging & building the Canal & resolving many personal disputes. •TR visited canal in rainy season 1906, to see it at its worst. It was the first time a US president had left the country while in office. •At left: TR leaped on a 95-ton Bucyrus steam shovel and grilled the operator about how it worked. The operator asked for overtime pay. •The Canal helped lay basis for US maritime Supremacy; it was opened in 1914. General Walter Reed’s Contribution to Epidemiology, Biomedicine •Arriving at the Army Medical School in 1893 he taught and engaged in research & proved that yellow fever of the enlisted men (near Potomac River) was not caused by drinking river water: yellow fever victims were soldiers who walked trails in the local swampy woods at night. And local civilians who drank river water had no illness. •In 1900 Dr. Reed was sent to Cuba to head a team to research tropical diseases, including yellow fever that had become a problem for US troops & personnel there. •Louis Pasteur’s germ theory of disease & Robert Koch’s method of studying bacteria influenced US researchers. •Risky but significant research was done with human volunteers and Reed’s work confirmed the transmission of yellow fever by mosquitoes. He credited a colleague, Dr. Carlos Finlay, with discovery of the yellow fever vector & how it might be controlled, but Reed improved Finlay’s research methods & is credited with stemming the death rate from yellow fever in the buillding of the Panama Canal. Major General Walter Reed, circa 1901. Completed MD degree at age 18, later joined the new Army Medical School in D.C. as professor Of Bacteriology & Clinical Microscopy US & Russo-Japanese War 1904-05 •TR & US leaders: bias toward Japan & strange ideas on race superiority. Kaneko. •US & British fear Russian expansion. •US encourages Japan attack on Russia. •Japan’s stunning victory, a wake-up call. •US approves Japan’s annexation of Korea. •US role in R-J Treaty at Portsmouth, NH. •TR wins Nobel Peace Prize. Maps from The [London] Times Concise Atlas of World History. TR Helps Settle French-German Disputes over Morocco as Tensions Rise Among Europe’s Great Powers •1904 France & Britain had settled differences over control of N. Africa by agreeing that Britain would dominate Egypt & France, Morocco. •Germany, with its expanding navy & imperial interests in Africa, wanted free access to Morocco, heightening German-French tensions & war clouds. •TR agreed to mediate, at the Kaiser’s suggestion, & France accepted. •The parties met in Algeciras, Spain in 1906 with TR presiding and suggesting a compromise: Morocco would in the future become independent but until then it would be policed jointly by France & Spain. •The agreement held until 1912 when France & Spain partitioned Morocco. The Kaiser was furious. TR, by then long out of office, reminded the Kaiser of a letter he had sent to TR in 1906 pledging that he would support TR’s Algeciras decision. •The Kaiser backed down on threats to Morocco in 1912 but sped up its naval buildup, sensing encirclement by Britain, France and Russia. •TR’s international esteem as a world statesman was heightened by his Roosevelt Corollary, building the Canal, ending the Russo-Japanese War, & mediation at Algeciras. Racial Prejudice Expressed in Foreign Policy •McKinley, TR & US leaders used racial slurs referring to leaders & the citizens of Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Russia, Korea. •1904 World’s Fair at St. Louis: exhibits of the US, Britain, & Japan derogatorily portrayed conquered indigenous people, called “our colonized Others,” as animals with strange anatomical features and often as monkeys, based on drawings of pseudo-”scientists” who promoted racial superiority idea. •Kaneko, Japan’s special envoy to the US, knew that many Westerners believed Aryans had migrated across Central Asia to Japan, which combined the best of Oriental & Occidental traits. Japan emulated the West. •Kaneko repeated TR’s opinion that Japan was the only Asiatic nation that understood Western civilization & must be the model which all other Asiatics should follow in becoming modern, as the US was the model for Latin America. • San Francisco & other CA schools had segregated Japanese students from all other children. After an enormous protest arose in Japan and the US, TR persuaded CA to desegregate schools and persuaded Japan’s govt. to ban the flow of Japanese workers to CA. The 1907 arrangement was called the “Gentlemen’s Agreement.” •Rudyard Kipling, admired by TR, had set the imperial duty of the West in his “White Man’s Burden” phrase: Britain & the US had a moral obligation to conquer & civilize the non-Anglo-Saxon part of the world. The Great White Fleet’s World Cruise •To announce to the world that the US was a global power, TR dispatched the “Great White Fleet”- the US Navy’s 16 battleships & 16 cruisers—on a world cruise. All the ships and guns were painted white. •The fleet set sail in Dec. 1907 on the 46,000 mile, 14-month cruise creating big news & excitement at each of its stops. The stately ships crossed the Pacific, Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea & across the Atlantic seaboard to the US in Feb. 1909. •Over a century later, the world cruise remains the best expression of TR’s belief in naval strength as a chief factor in national policy & world power. •His 1st book, published when he was 24, was The Naval War of 1812 or the History of the United States Navy During the Last War with Great Britain. Above: TR salutes •Alfred T. Mahan, the great naval expert who wrote the departing ships. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, Intense Great Powers’ had a huge influence on TR. Mahan gave lectures at naval rivalries were a the Naval War College in the late 1880’s. TR met him major cause of WWI. then & became a lifelong devotee. •1900-1917 US was well established as a leading industrial & financial giant •US, now a naval power, exerted military might to win in the Americas & Asia • US achieved global acclaim as power broker & international player • Since TR, Presidents used foreign policy to strengthen presidential power