Download Unit 9 2012

Roots of
Progressivism
The Progressive Era
The period from about 1890
to 1920 when many believed a
solution to social problems in
the nation lay in a more
active role by the government
• Working conditions,
rights for women
and children,
economic reform,
government
corruption,
environmental
issues and social
welfare were a few
of these issues.
Key
Characteristics
1) Government should play an active role in solving
society’s problems
2) Government needed to be more efficient
3) New inventions and new cures (improvements in
science) can help society
4) The people should have more say in their
government
5) Women should have the right to vote
Progressives believed that by applying scientific
principals to solving social problems, the result
would be new inventions and innovations that
would improve the lives of everyone.
MUCKRAKERS
• Young reporters who “dug deep for the dirt that the
public loved to hate”.
• Teddy Roosevelt accused them of raking up muck
through his writings.
• Muckraking Magazines:
-McClure’s
-Cosmopolitan
-Collier’s
-Everybody’s
Muckrakers
Journalists who practiced what today is
called "investigative journalism" in
order to spotlight corruption in society
Jacob Riis
Upton Sinclair
Ida Tarbell
The Social Gospel
• The outrage of social and economic injustice brought on
a humanitarian sense of social responsibility.
• Historian Paul Boyer says, "many Christians came to
believe that through reform efforts, through reform
legislation dealing with child labor, with slums and
tenement houses and unsafe working conditions, human
beings really could build the Kingdom of God on earth."
William Jennings Bryan carried this idea into his three
presidential campaigns (1896, 1900, 1908).
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/peopleevent
s/e_gospel.html
• Disagreeing with the Social
Darwinists progressives
argued that ignorance,
poverty, even criminality
were the result of unhealthy
environment.
• Settlement Homes
• Brought on the field of
social work
• http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/
hull/_learn/_aboutjane/abo
utjane.html
• YMCA
• Salvation Army
Jane Addams opened the Hull
House in Chicago.
PROMOTE MORAL DEVELOPMENT
• Some reformers felt that the
answer to societies problems
was personal behavior
• They proposed such reforms
as prohibition
• Groups wishing to ban
alcohol included the
Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union (WCTU)
• 18th Amendment 1919
• http://www.pbs.org/kenburn
s/prohibition/roots-ofprohibition/
Carrie A Nation
• http://www.pbs.o
rg/wgbh/amex/19
00/peopleevents/
pande4.html
Jacob Riis
Journalist whose book “How the Other
Half Lives” led to calls for government
assistance to help the urban poor
His books gave
a vivid look at
the life for
ethnic groups
of New York
City living in
the tenement
slums
New York City
tenement buildings
in the early 1900s
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle
In 1906, Upton Sinclair wrote The
Jungle to describe the conditions in
the meatpacking industry
Sinclair wanted to highlight the
plight of the working class
Instead, the
book raised
fears of
what was in
the meat
that people
were eating
Impact of The Jungle
Meat Inspection Act
Required federal inspection of meat and required
the Agricultural Department (USDA) to set
standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants
Pure Food and Drug Act
Banned the sale of impure or falsely labeled food
or drugs
Ida Tarbell
• One of the leading
"muckrakers" of her day
• Wrote many notable
magazine series and
biographies.
• Best-known for her 1904
book “The History of the
Standard Oil Company”
Efficient Governments
During the
Progressive Era,
reformers wanted to
rid city government
of political
influence and make
local government
more efficient
Grand Prairie’s city management team
To do so, many city’s hired an outside expert to manage
the city. This person was called a city manager
A More Democratic Union
During the
Progressive Era,
many reformers
felt the people
needed to have
more control of
the government
Politicians like Wisconsin Governor Robert Lafollette,
above, wanted to get power out of the hands of party
leaders and into the hands of the people
The Direct Primary
The direct primary gave voters
power to choose the candidates
in an election. This reform led to
Wisconsin becoming known as
the “laboratory of democracy”
Other voting changes brought
on by Progressives included
the initiative, the referendum
and the recall
Initiative and Referendum
Allows a group of citizens to
introduce legislation (a law) in
their state government and require
the legislature to vote on it
Allows proposed legislation (a law)
to be voted on directly by the people
instead of just its state legislature
• 1905; John H. Mitchell (ROR). Charge: Corruption.
Result: Not Expelled.
Note: Mitchell died on
December 8, while his case was
still on appeal and before the
Senate.
• 1906; Joseph R. Burton (RKS). Charge: Corruption.
Result: Resigned.
Note: Burton was indicted and
convicted of receiving
compensation for intervening
with a federal agency. When
the Supreme Court upheld his
conviction, he resigned rather
than face expulsion
th
The 17 Amendment
In 1913, Congress amended the U.S. Constitution.
Senators were now to be chosen by a direct election of
the people of a state, not by the state governments.
• TR did support a few
individuals such as
Booker T.
Washington. “Put
down your bucket and
work for immediate
self-improvement.”
Birth of the N.A.A.C.P.
One issue the Progressive
Movement did not address
was the issue of equal
rights African Americans.
In response,
W.E.B. Dubois
helped to form the
NAACP in 1909
NAACP FORMED TO PROMOTE
RIGHTS
1964 Application
• 1909 National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People
• The NAACP had 6,000 members
by 1914
• The means to achieve this was
the court system
• The NAACP's principal objective
is to ensure the political,
educational, social and
economic equality of minority
group citizens of United States
and eliminate race prejudice.
William Edward Burghardt
DuBois
• The first African-American to earn a PhD
from Harvard University.
• Professor at Atlanta University.
• He became the head of the NAACP in
1910
• Founder and editor of the NAACP's
journal The Crisis.
• Du Bios rose to national attention in his
opposition of Booker T. Washington’s
ideas of social integration between whites
and blacks, campaigning instead for
increased political representation for
blacks in order to guarantee civil rights,
and the formation of a Black elite that
would work for the progress of the
African American race
Temperance Movement
Some progressives believed that a
lot of the nation’s problems were
tied in with the consumption and
sale of alcohol
The movement to rid
the nation of alcohol
was known as the
temperance
movement.
Three groups led the call for
temperance: women’s groups,
business owners and Christians
Temperance Movement
The leader of the
movement was an hatchet
wielding woman by the
name of Carrie Nation
Women led the call for
temperance because
alcoholism led to abusive
men and loss of jobs
th
18 Amendment passed
The 18th Amendment made
the sale or consumption of
alcohol illegal throughout
the United States
th
18 Amendment passed
Election of 1900
In the presidential election of 1900, President William
McKinley choose as his vice-presidential candidate someone
who was a hero from the Spanish-American War, someone
who had strong ties to the Northeast (New York), and
someone who was a Progressive – Theodore Roosevelt
Roosevelt takes over
McKinley was
assassinated in 1901
Teddy Roosevelt – at the
age of 42 – suddenly
became the youngest
president in U.S. history
THE MODERN PRESIDENT
• When Roosevelt was
thrust into the presidency
in 1901, he became the
youngest president ever
at age 42
• He quickly established
himself as a modern
president who could
influence the media and
shape legislation
Teddy Roosevelt as President
• Brought Dynamic energy
to Presidency.
• “Bully Pulpit.” According to the
"Oxford English Dictionary," bully pulpit
means "a public office or position of authority
that provides its occupant with an outstanding
opportunity to speak out on any issue." It was
first used by TR, explaining his view of the
presidency, in this quotation -- "I suppose my
critics will call that preaching, but I have got
such a bully pulpit!" The word bully itself was
an adjective in the vernacular of the time
meaning "first- rate," somewhat equivalent to
the recent use of the word "awesome." The
term "bully pulpit" is still used today to
describe the president's power to influence the
public.
Roosevelt’s “Square Deal”
Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive president
Roosevelt pushed through laws to:
1) break up big business monopolies (trusts)
2) protect the environment and public health
3) improve working conditions for factory workers
SQUARE DEAL
• Control of corporations
• Consumer protection
• Conservation of natural resources
TR believed in regulating not fragmenting big
business.
Roosevelt: The Trustbuster
Roosevelt saw the
need for government
to regulate large
corporations
While he believed that large
corporations were an important
part of the nation’s prosperity, he
also believed that these
corporations were hurting workers
TRUSTBUSTING
• By 1900, Trusts – legal
bodies created to hold
stock in many
companies – controlled
80% of U.S. industries
• Roosevelt filed 44
antitrust suits under
the Sherman Antitrust
Act
Northern Securities v. the U.S.
Roosevelt and the
government sued
Northern Securities,
a trust made up of
two large railroads
The Supreme Court rules that
Northern Securities was a
monopoly and in violation of
the Sherman Antitrust Act
Northern Securities v. the U.S.
The case set the
precedent for declaring
a trust unconstitutional
and against the law
The victory was important because it:
• Established Roosevelt as a “trust-buster”
• Increased the power of the presidency
• Showed the executive branch was even
more powerful than the nation's most
powerful business institutions.
T.R. and Conservation
Roosevelt put
his stamp on
the presidency
most clearly in
the area of
environmental
conservation
Roosevelt declared millions of acres of land as
protected national forests and urged Americans to
conserve their natural resources
T.R. and Conservation
Authorized by Teddy Roosevelt
 150 national forests
 51 federal bird reserves
 4 national game preserves
 5 national parks
 18 national monuments
 24 reclamation projects -the conversion of
desert, marsh, or other waste land into land
suitable for cultivation
http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/history/ep2/
National Parks started by Teddy Roosevelt
Newlands Reclamation Act
Roosevelt secures passage of the Newlands Reclamation
Act, funded irrigation projects for the arid lands of 20 states
in the American west funded by public land sales.





Bureau of Reclamation
Established in 1902
Constructed dams, power plants, and canals in
17 western states
Sells water wholesale
Provides irrigation to the farmland that
produces 60 percent of the vegetables in the U.S.
58 power plants provide electricity to six million
homes
Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902
Roosevelt felt that
one of his jobs
was to stop job
conflicts between
different groups
in the nation
When the United Mine Workers
went on strike in 1902, Roosevelt
intervened in the strike and got
the union and the owners to
agree to arbitration
Hepburn Act of 1906
Roosevelt wanted the
government to be able
to regulate railroad
rates to insure fairness
The Hepburn Act gave the Interstate
Commerce Commission the power to set
railroad rates to make sure that companies
did not compete unfairly with each other
Progressivism
under Taft and
Wilson
Taft Takes Over
Teddy Roosevelt did not run
for President in 1908.
Instead, he hand-picked his
successor in tabbing
William Howard Taft.
PROGRESSIVISM UNDER
PRESIDENT TAFT
• Republican
William Howard
Taft easily
defeated Democrat
William Jennings
Bryan to win the
1908 presidential
election
Taft, right, was Roosevelt’s War
Secretary
Taft defeats William Jennings Bryan
Problems with Taft
Although he was handpicked by TR, Taft was not
popular with Progressives
Taft was not the politician that
Roosevelt was and lacked the
energy and personal
magnetism of his mentor
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
The Payne-Aldrich
Tariff Act was the law
that called for lower
tariff (taxes on imports)
The tariff was suppose
to provide American
industrialists with
cheap raw materials
Because of compromises
in Congress, it did not
CONTROVERSIES
• Payne-Aldrich Tariff (didn’t cut tariffs
enough, angered progressives)
• Replaced Sec of Interior James R. Garfield
with a lawyer (R. Ballinger) that tried to
sell govt protected land. Chief Forester
Gifford Pinchot leaked the information and
Taft fired Pinchot for insubordination.
Taft’s accomplishments
• Children’s Bureau 1912 (Under the US
Health and Human Services today).
• Mann-Elkins Act (1910) – once again
increased the power of the ICC
• Busted up Standard Oil and filed suit
against US Steel(against Teddy’s
wishes)
Roosevelt challenges Taft
Split Between TR and Taft
• TR angry with Taft’s
actions.
• Believes that only
HE (TR) can unify
the Republican party.
William
Henry
Harrison
Ulysses S.
Grant
Rutherford
B. Hayes
James A
Garfield
Benjamin
Harrison
William
McKinley
William
Howard Taft
Warren
Harding
New Nationalism Speech
• Speech by TR in Osawatomie, Kansas 1910.
• Most radical of career.
• Says that the federal govt. has the responsibility
to protect the social welfare of the citizens.
• Calls for income and inheritance taxes,
workmen’s comp., minimum wage and minimum
hours, etc. The first federal minimum-wage law,
the Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938,
with a 25-cent-per-hour wage floor and a 44hour workweek ceiling for most employees.
The Republican Convention
• Republicans were divided
over who to support—TR
or Taft.
• Taft eventually got the
Republican nomination.
• TR decided to run anyway
and organized the
Progressive (or “Bull
Moose”) Party.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archivefree/pdf?res=990CE7DC1E3AE733A2575AC1A9609C946496D6CF
T.R. and the Bull Moose Party
Upset with the direction that Taft
had taken the country, in 1912
Roosevelt ran for an unprecedented
third term as President.
When it became clear that the
Republican party was not
going to nominate him, TR left
the convention and formed the
Progressive Party, also known
as the Bull Moose Party.
The Democrats
• They Pick Woodrow
Wilson
• He had been a history
professor and then
President of Princeton
University.
• He was a Progressive
governor of New Jersey.
• The Panic of 1893
prompted some Americans
to question the capitalist
economic system
• As a result some workers
embraced socialism
• Eugene Debs organized
the American Socialist
Party in 1901
– Though most
progressives did not
embrace socialism,
many writers saw the
truth in Debs’ criticism
Debs encouraged workers to reject American
Capitalism
Eugene Debs and Socialists
Debs ran for president 4
times; he received over
1 million votes in 1912
Debs believed the role of the
government was to protect the
workers from greedy business
owners. To do this, the
government needed to take
control of big business.
Lafollette and Progressives
Lafollette made his
first run for president
in 1912, running as a
Progressive. He would
run again in 1924.
Lafollette lost the nomination
to Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 and
ran in 1924 as the Labor Party
Election of 1912
William Howard Taft
Republican
Woodrow Wilson
Democrat
Teddy Roosevelt
Progressive
Eugene V. Debs
Socialist
The split between the Republicans opened the
door for the Democratic candidate – Woodrow
Wilson – to win the election.
Election of 1912
WILSON’S NEW FREEDOM
W. Wilson U.S. President 19121920
• As America’s newly
elected president,
Wilson moved to enact
his program, the “New
Freedom”
• He planned his attack
on what he called the
triple wall of privilege:
trusts, tariffs, and high
finance
The Big difference between TR and
Wilson
• TR advocated regulation as the way to deal
with the trusts. “New Nationalism”
• Wilson called for breaking-up the trusts to
restore competition. “New Freedom”
Underwood Tariff
•
•
•
•
•
Passed in 1914
Established Income Tax
1% up to $20,000
7% for incomes above $500,000
Cut tariff rate by the largest percentage in decades
The first major reduction in tariffs.
The average tariffs was decreased from 41
percent to 27 percent.
To replace the lost income, a graduated income
tax was imposed.
th
16 Amendment
The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
created a national income tax. It gave the federal
government the power to directly tax its citizens.
Federal Reserve Act
During those times, many
people lost their savings when
small banks collapsed and
closed, taking people’s savings
along with them.
To restore people’s confidence
in banks, Wilson created the
Federal Reserve system. Under
this system, banks would keep
a portion of their deposits in a
regional reserve bank as a
cushion in case of a crisis.
Federal Reserve Board
–Interest rate
–Cash in circulation
–Requires banks to deposit
portion of their money
Federal Trade Commission
Wilson also wanted to restore
competition in the economy. He
wanted to break up monopolies.
However, once he became
president, Wilson realized it
would unrealistic to be break up
large companies.
In 1914, Wilson asked Congress to create the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate American
business.
FEDERAL TRADE
COMMISSION FORMED
Today the FTC has been working on
protecting consumers from ID theft
• The FTC was formed in
1914 to serve as a
“watchdog” agency to
end unfair business
practices
• The FTC protects
consumers from business
fraud
Clayton Antitrust Act
To strengthen the federal
government’s ability to
break up trusts, the
Clayton Antitrust Act
was passed
The law gave unions
significantly more power
because it legalized
unions, strikes, boycotts
and pickets
What Wilson was against
• At first, Wilson refused to support:
–
–
–
–
Child Labor laws
Women’s Suffrage
Bills that sought to restrict immigration.
Allowed segregation to take place in govt.
– When he had to run for re-election, however, he
changed and was for: workers comp., child labor laws,
and 8-hour workday for railroad workers.
Louis Brandeis
In reality, Wilson’s policies
reflected more of TR’s
“New Nationalism” than
they did the rhetoric of his
“New Freedom.”
Wilson also named the ultraliberal Louis Brandeis to the
Supreme Court.
First Jewish SC justice.
PROTECTING WORKING
CHILDREN
• As the number of child
workers rose, reformers
worked to end child
labor
• John Spargo(1906)~The
Bitter Cry of the
Children-abuses of child
labor
Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of
1916
• Prohibits the sale and interstate commerce
of goods manufactured by underage
children, thus giving an expanded
importance to the constitutional clause
giving Congress the task of regulating
interstate commerce.
Fight for Women’s Suffrage
The fight for women’s
voting rights (suffrage)
began in the mid-1800s
at the Seneca Falls
Convention
By the 1900s, the leader of the
suffrage movement was
Susan B. Anthony, left
Women’s Suffrage
Anthony , a Quaker, organized numerous marches
and gave numerous speeches in the fight for suffrage
THREE-PART STRATEGY FOR
WINNING SUFFRAGE
• Suffragists tried three
approaches to winning the
vote
• 1) Convince state
legislatures to adopt vote
(Succeeded in Wyoming,
Utah, Idaho, Colorado)
• 2) Pursue court cases to
test 14th Amendment
• 3) Push for national
constitutional Amendment
Women’s Suffrage in U.S. (1915)
Alice Paul’s influence
Following Susan B.
Anthony’s death in 1906,
radical suffragists formed
the National Women’s Party
The group, led
by Alice Paul,
protested the
president to
get laws
changed
th
19 Amendment Passed
In 1919, the
Senate passed
the 19th
Amendment to
the Constitution,
granting women
the right to vote.
It was ratified
by the states in
1920
Progressive Foreign Policy
TR & “Big Stick” Diplomacy
• “Speak softly, and
carry a big stick.”
• Called for military
buildup.
• ESPECIALLY THE
NAVY.
TR and Japan
• In 1905, Russia and Japan were at war over control of the
northern part of China.
• TR mediated a peace agreement that ended the RussoJapanese War. (Nobel Peace Prize)
• In 1906, Japan was angry over California’s segregationist
policies towards Japanese.
• TR solved the problem with a “gentlemen’s agreement” in
which the segregationist policies were withdrawn, while
Japan agreed to limit its immigration.
http://www.history.com/topics/gentlemens-agreement
The Great White Fleet
• To show the world (& Japan)
America’s new naval muscle, TR
called for 16 new battleships (all
painted white) to make a world tour.
(To impress upon Japan that the US
Navy could shift from the Atlantic to
the Pacific)
• The fourteen-month long voyage was a
grand pageant of American sea power.
The squadrons were manned by
14,000 sailors. They covered some
43,000 miles and made twenty port
calls on six continents.
Route of Great White Fleet
TR’s Beliefs
• Big believer in AngloSaxon supremacy.
• But also makes
distinction between
“developed” and “nondeveloped.”
Venezuela 1902
• Venezuela was behind on debt payments to
Britain, Italy, and Germany.
• Blockades began with rumors that Germany
was planning to make a permanent base.
• Roosevelt steps in and issues his Roosevelt
Corollary in 1904. The US has the right to
oppose European intervention in the Western
Hemisphere as well intervene on their behalf if
they could not maintain order.
The Roosevelt Corollary
• The Monroe Doctrine told Europeans to stay out of the
Americas (North, Central, & South).
• The Roosevelt Corollary stated that the US would intervene
in Central and South America to maintain order.
• December 1904 stated that the United States would intervene as a last resort to ensure
that other nations in the Western Hemisphere fulfilled their obligations to
international creditors, and did not violate the rights of the United States or invite
"foreign aggression to the detriment of the entire body of American nations." As the
corollary worked out in practice, the United States increasingly used military force to
restore internal stability to nations in the region. Roosevelt declared that the United
States might "exercise international police power in 'flagrant cases of such
wrongdoing or impotence.'" http://history.state.gov/milestones/18991913/RooseveltandMonroeDoctrine
Dominican Republic
• Revolution had toppled the corrupt and
bankrupt government in 1903.
• Under pressure from Roosevelt, the
Dominicans requested U.S. assistance. Using
the RC the US took over the Dominican
Republic’s customs, distributing half to the
country and half to their foreign creditors.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/
features/general-article/tr-foreign/
• Three decades
Cuba
• 1902 under the Platt amendment they were
given limited freedom.
• 1906 domestic uprisings caused TR to send
troops there for 3 years. Cuban President
Palma asks Roosevelt to send American troops to
Cuba to quell a rebellion which arose from a
disputed election.
http://millercenter.org/president/keyevents/roosev
elt
Panama Canal – TR’s biggest
accomplishment!
TR and the Caribbean
• Frequently sent troops
into Central America
and the Caribbean to
restore order and
protect American
investments.
• The Panama Canal
(1903).
The Panama Canal
• Step 1: Hay-Pauncefote Treaty canceled 1850 pact
that US and Britain would build a canal together
• Step 2: Choose a site. 1st thought Nicaragua because
it would be easier at sea level, but instead turned to
the isthmus of Panama in Columbia. 40% complete
and abandoned by the French. The French lowered
their price from $109 million to $40 million.
• Step 3: Sec of State John Hay makes a deal with
Colombia for the canal zone ($10 million and
$250,000 year rent). Colombian senate refuses to
ratify and asks for $20 million.
• In the New York Journal, William Randolph Hearst opined
that "the only way we could secure a satisfactory concession
from Colombia would be to go down there, take the
contending statesmen by the necks, and hold a batch of them
in office long enough to get a contract in mind." Hearst's
statement proved prophetic.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general
-article/tr-panama/
• TR refers to the Colombians as “inefficient bandits” and
“blackmailers.” Philippe Banua-Varilla (chief engineer of
the French project) agrees to help TR by organizing and
financing a revolution in Panama!!
• TR sends the USS Nashville to help “maintain order.”
• 3 days later the US recognizes Panama as a nation and
Panama grants the US the canal zone for $10 million and
$250,000 rent.
“I took the canal zone and let Congress debate and
while the debate goes on, the canal zone does too."
• Canal opens in 1914
• In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty which agreed to
return 60% of the Canal Zone to Panama in 1979. The canal and
remaining territory, known as the Canal Area, was returned to
Panama at noon (local Panama time) on December 31, 1999
Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
• When Taft succeeded TR, he
called for a foreign policy in
Central America and the
Caribbean that emphasized US
investment rather than muscle.
• Taft used government officials
to promote the sale of
American products overseas,
particularly heavy industrial
goods and military hardware.
In Taft's conception of foreign
policy, the U.S. military was a
tool of economic diplomacy.
• http://millercenter.org/presiden
t/taft/essays/biography/5
Nicaragua
• 1909 Taft favored insurgents in a
revolution, who were inspired to revolt by
an American mining company.
• American troops seized custom houses and
Taft encouraged banks to make loans to the
new government.
• 2 years later another revolution broke out,
Taft sent troops that stayed for more than an
decade.
• When Taft ordered two thousand troops to the Mexican border
to stand ready to intervene in revolutionary-torn Mexico to
protect U.S. investments, Congress offered stiff opposition.
Taft then backed off (earning the nickname "Peaceful Bill"),
leaving the situation in Mexico for his successor to handle.
• A primary focus of dollar diplomacy was the Manchurian region of China. Japan
and Russia controlled a large portion of Manchurian resources including the
railroads. Taft, like many people of the era, believed that whoever controlled the
railroads also controlled the economy. He believed that without an interest in the
Manchurian railroad system, the U.S. would be frozen out of the emerging
Chinese markets and the United States’ “open door” policy in China would be
undermined. Taft personally sent a telegram to the Chinese Government on
behalf of American investors interested in railroads in the Yangtze Valley. In
1909, Secretary of State Philander C. Knox offered the Japanese and Russians a
deal. He proposed that American bankers and industrialists would purchase the
Manchurian railroads from Japan and Russia and return them to Chinese control.
Japan and Russia flatly refused the offer, which publicly embarrassed the Taft
administration. Taft persevered in his efforts to gain influence in China, and in
1912 the U.S. and five other nations offered the new Chinese Republic a huge
loan.
Wilson’s “Moral” Diplomacy
• In a statement issued soon after taking office, Wilson
declared that the United States hoped "to cultivate the
friendship and deserve the confidence" of the Latin
American states, but he also emphasized that he
believed "just government" must rest "upon the consent
of the governed." Latin Americans were delighted by
the prospect of being free to conduct their own affairs
without American interference, but Wilson's insistence
that their governments must be democratic undermined
the promise of self-determination.
• Moral Diplomacy was the idea that the United States
would support only Latin American governments that
were democratic or otherwise supported United States
interests.
Nicaragua
• Troops still there from Taft’s presidency
http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/OW/Protectorates-and-Spheres-of-InfluenceU-s-protectorates-prior-to-world-warii.html#b
Haiti 1915
• Mob murdered their unpopular president.
• US drafts a constitution for them.
• Troops leave 1934.
Virgin Islands
• Danish West Indies were in danger of
falling in the hands of the Germans, Wilson
purchased them from the Denmark.
Wilson and Mexico
• When (1910) Mexico’s new leader (Madero)
wasn’t nice to American business leaders. The
US supported Victoriano Huerta’s govt take
over (end of Taft’s term).
• When Wilson took office (1913) Huerta’s new
government murdered Madero. Wilson
refused to recognize “Huerta’s government of
butchers.”
• Wilson then turned his support to
Constitutionalists led by Venustiano Carranza.
• Huerta sets up a military dictatorship.
• In 1914 a few American sailors were
arrested in Tampico and were shortly
released. The Americans demanded a 21
gun salute as an apology. Mexicans refused
and Wilson has the port of Veracruz seized.
• Americans killed 126 Mexicans and 19
Americans died.
• Carranza’s men captured Mexico City and
Huerta fled the country. Wilson sent
instructions on how to set up the new govt.
Mexico refused to follow Wilson’s plan.
• Wilson considers supporting Pancho Villa, but
changes his mind in October 1915.
• An angry Villa (feels betrayed) killed 16
American mining engineers that he took from
a train in northern Mexico. (January 1916)
• 2 months later he attacked Columbus, NM
killing 17 more Americans.
• Without Carranza’s permission John J.
Pershing led an American Expeditionary Force
to capture Villa. American ends up going to
the brink of war. By March 17, 1917 Wilson
withdraw due to larger problems.