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DIPLOMACY IN THE AMERICAS IN THE 1930s INTRODUCTION TO ROOSEVELT’S GOOD NEIGHBOUR POLICY US Diplomacy in the Americas was centered round the 1823 Monroe Doctrine - This was originally developed to prevent European powers from reasserting themselves in this region after countries here had achieved independence. President Hoover (1929-1933) had sought to improve US relations with Latin America - His course was altered by the Great Depression. - He enacted the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act – which damaged US relations with Latin America! Roosevelt also wanted to improve relations with Latin America - In his inaugural address he emphasised his wish that the USA become a ‘good neighbour’. - It meant that the USA would not intervene in the affairs of other states in the Americas. ROOSEVELT’S GOOD NEIGHBOUR POLICY PUT INTO PRACTICE The policy was declared in December 1933 at the Seventh International Conference of the American States. By the policy’s terms, no state was entitled to intervene in the affairs of another. - This was a sign that the USA would not intervene militarily in the affairs of another country. The Buenos Aires Convention in 1936 further strengthened the policy: - No force would be used to protect property or citizens abroad. - US citizens and investments had to follow the laws of their host countries. US businesses felt threatened by the The Buenos Aires Convention. - The US had billions of dollars in investment in Latin America - This raised the question of US economic interests – which was a clash with the principals of the nonuse of force to protect property abroad. ECONOMIC AGREEMENTS At the Montevideo Convention, other countries of the Americas besides the USA wanted easy access to US markets. The US government established the Export-Import Bank for commercial loans to companies for importing goods from the USA. The US government also passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act – allowing the government to negotiate bilateral agreements to reduce tariffs and thus negate the negative effects of the Smoot Hawley Tariff Act. It was recognised that the USA mainly imported minerals as raw materials for manufacturing, and non-competitive foods (e.g. bananas and coffee). The USA did not produce the commodities so the tariffs were mutually disadvantageous. Brazil benefitted most from the tariff revisions. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS By 1938 the USA was the principal trading partner for all independent countries in the region apart from Argentina – who had agreements with Britain, and saw her future aligned more with Europe. For all the benefits to the Americas, these countries were unintentionally bound by their economies to the USA. Oil was was an area of conflict between the USA and Latin America. - Mexico and Bolivia were oil-rich countries but with concessions owned by foreign nationals. - Both these countries had the potential for large income and they challenged foreign ownership of their oil. - After months of labour disputes and court cases, Mexico expropriated US, Dutch, and British oil companies. Mexico was accused by the USA of violating international law, and demanded to pay compensation for US companies. - Roosevelt had promised that there would be no intervention by the USA, so Mexico did not yield to these demands. - US businesses boycotted Mexican oil, which led to an agreement between Mexico and the Axis powers. - Only with the onset of war did the USA negotiate with Mexico and Bolivia. CULTURAL ASPECTS Over the 1930s, US government agencies were committed to promoting the USA in a positive light. Motion pictures were shown in the USA positively promoting Latin American culture. The out-break of war in Europe in 1939 enhanced this with the Americans keen negate the growth of a suspected pro-Axis position in Latin America. POLICY OUTCOME The policy promoted stability and put some Latin American countries on the road to a stable democracy. Other Latin American countries however, came under dictatorships in this time e.g. El Salvador and Guatemala. CANADA’S INTER-AMERICAS DIPLOMACY - BACKGROUND Canada’s foreign relations has historically been subordinate to Britain. This changed however during WWI. Canada fought with distinction alongside Britain and was given her own seat at the Treaty of Versailles. In the following years, Canada gained more and more autonomy. - In the 1920s Canada started to take more responsibility for her own foreign and military affairs. - In 1931 this increased autonomy officially recognised with the Statute of Westminster, which granted Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Irish Free State, South Africa, and Newfoundland as ‘fully independent dominions equal in status to but closely associated with the mother country as part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Hereafter, laws passed in Britain did not apply to Canada. She could now pursue her own foreign policy. CANADA’S INTER-AMERICAS DIPLOMACY As Canada gained her independence from Britain, the USA became the Canada’s main trading partner in Britain’s place. - It was less expensive to trade with a neighbour country - Canada had the necessary resources and the USA could provide inexpensive manufactured goods. The new relations were negated by the Great Depression and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff. - Canada hit-back it Smoot-Hawley Tariff with her own tariffs. - Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King however realised the need to improve relations with the USA, and signed the Reciprocal Trade Agreement with her to regain trade with the USA and relieve the harsh effect of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff on US-Canadian trade. Like the USA, Canada was keen to improve relations with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. HEMISPHERIC REACTIONS TO EVENTS IN EUROPE AND ASIA Amidst the Great Depression, most countries were mainly focused on their own internal affairs. The Great Depression however coincided with the rise of extremism in Europe and Asia. The League of Nations could merely verbally condemn the extreme actions of aggressors such as Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Eventually – once war broke out in Europe, Roosevelt was keen to come to the aid of Europe against the Nazis, but he had to stop short of all out war. - He was able to give Britain vital supplies but he could do no more after promising the American people that he would not bring the USA into another war. - Only with the Imperial Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour was he finally able to officially bring the USA into the war. CANADA AT WAR – 1939-41 Despite now being independent of Britain by 1939, Canada still felt loyal towards Britain. Although Canada could now choose whether to declare war on Nazi Germany (following the Westminster Statute), Canada freely declared war on Nazi Germany on 10th September 1939. The Canadian army was poorly equipped following the Great Depression – which made military spending very unpopular, although this did increase in wake of the Munich Crisis in 1938. By 1940 Canada’s defense budget was $64.3million. Half of this went to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Canada fought alongside Britain in the Battle of Britain – the outcome of which forced Hitler to call off his invasion plans of Britain – thus saving Britain from ever being invaded by the Nazis. Canada’s Navy was also prominent in WWII. The Battle in the Atlantic kept supply lines in the ocean open. Canada’s Navy patrolled the North Atlantic for German ships and submarines, and protected conveys crossing the ocean. Her naval construction was expanded to meet the battle’s needs. THE AMERICAS AFTER PEARL HARBOUR After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the USA immediately declared war on Japan. All nine independent countries from Central America and the Caribbean followed suit. Columbia, Venezuela, and Mexico promptly severed all pre-existing ties with the Axis powers. Nazi Germany’s response was to attack US and Mexican and Brazilian vessels. This led Mexico to declare war on Nazi Germany in May 1942, and Brazil to declare war on 22nd August 1942 NAZI GERMANY AND CHILE Chile had presidential elections and had no wish to alienate her large German population. She also feared attacks along her long coastline by Nazi German or Imperial Japanese vessels if she too declared war on the Axis powers. The Nazis and the Imperial Japanese used Santiago as an espionage site in the Americas – much to the fury of the USA. By late 1942 the USA started intercepting messages from Berlin and Tokyo and pressured Chile to out the spies, which led to the deportation of three German nationals. Allied success in North Africa and in the Pacific were both effective in ending Chilean neutrality, and hostile actions by the Nazis in the South Atlantic pushed Chile more towards the allies. After Brazil declared war on the Axis, Chile allowed her ships in port to take on Cargo. In 1943 Chile severed links with the Axis but did not declare war, and Axis espionage continued in Chile despite attempts to stop it. Only in February 1945, when allied victory was certain – and the USA had threatened Chile with blocking her from from the new United Nations organisation – did Chile finally declare war. NAZI GERMANY AND ARGENTINA Argentina had been formally pro-Axis. Her government also had similarities to those of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy Of all the Americas, Argentina had expressed the greatest concerns about US domination, and was reluctant to give in to US pressure. The USA boycotted Argentinian goods, but even this did not sway the government. In 1943, the Argentinian President – Ramon Castillo died and his death was followed by a military coup. Allied countries cut diplomatic ties with Argentina which put more pressure on Argentina to end her neutrality. When Juan Peron became Argentinian leader in 1944 he maintained neutrality to support pro-Nazi and proAllied forces in Argentina. Eventually economic necessities forced Peron’s hand, and wise as it was for him to re-establish ties with the USA, Argentina finally declared war on the Axis in March 1945 – the last country of the Americas to do so, and a mere month before the end of the war in Europe! BIBLIOGRAPHY MAMAUX, A et al, History of the Americas 1880-1981, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp.189-194. MAMAUX, A et al, History of the Americas 1880-1981, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp.197-198 MAMAUX, A et al, History of the Americas 1880-1981, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp.201-202
