pls 341: american foreign policy foreign policy the transition period (1866-1941)
TRANSCRIPT
PLS 341: American Foreign PolicyPLS 341: American Foreign Policy
Foreign PolicyForeign Policy
The Transition Period (1866-1941)
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Thus Far…
• Chittick created a framework with which we can analyze and better understand foreign policies.
• M/M: – Multilateral/Unilateral
• C/C:– Coercive/Non-Coercive
• A/A:– Active/Reactive
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Today…
• Today we will examine the history of the United States between the Civil War and the Great War– How did events and reigning
theories of government shape our foreign policy?
– How did the president influence the foreign policy followed?
– What factors are important in determining foreign policy?
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FP Myth
• American has traditionally had an isolationist foreign policy?
• This is patently false– Indian Tribes
– Latin Americas
– The Caribbean Sea
– The Pacific Ocean
• However…
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US Imperialism was different
• How was territorial gain to be handled?– What mechanisms in the
Constitution allowed for territorial gain?
– Jefferson had constitutional difficulties with the Louisiana Purchase difficulties
– What constitutional difficulties would we have with Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines?
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Constitutional Difficulties
• How can we have anything other than a state?
• What do we do with non-incorporated territories?
• Can we purchase land?
• Can we invade and keep the land?– Spoils of war?
• Should we become engaged in European wars?
• Should we enter as a balancer to help keep the peace?
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The Concert of Europe
• When the French Empire fell in 1815, it was dismembered– Congress of Vienna
– Formalization of Balance of Power in intra-European relations
– Concert of Europe
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Century XIX in Europe
• The rise to the forces of liberalization and nationalism– Unification of Germany (1848-
1871) and Italy (1815-1871) as states
– Two more states to help with the balancing
– Kept these territories from automatically following another state
– Allowed for more flexible balancing
• The industrialization in the world
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Century XIX in the US
• Westward expansion– Manifest Destiny
– Subjugation of the Indian Nations
– Mexican-American War
• Civil War and Reconstruction
• Immigration– European
– Asian
• Industrialization
• Wars– Spanish-American, Philippine-
American, and the Great War
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Post-Civil War Era(1865-1890)
• Civil War was over
• World was industrializing
• Europe was busy with two new states: Germany and Italy
• Concert of Europe still in effect– Focus on multipolar system and
flexible alliances to keep the balance
• We gained no territory through war– Purchase of Alaska in 1867
• Our foreign policy was MCA– Why?
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Post-Civil War Era
• Prosperity– We were busy with Manifest
Destiny and settling the American wilderness
• Agricultural revolution and the Homestead Act (1862) drove the drive to the Midwest
– In the urban centers, it was the start of the Gilded Age
• We eventually surpassed the combined output of Great Britain, Germany, and France.
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Post-Civil War Era
• Security– Main use of military was to
eliminate the Native American threat
• Army strengthened
• Navy faded
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Post-Civil War Era
• Community– Manifest Destiny drove the
American psyche
– Frontier Thesis (JW Powell)
– Massive influx of European immigrants
• Violence against non-Anglo–Saxon immigrants
• America for Americans
• But, KKK disappeared in 1871
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Pre-Great War Era(1890-1920)
• The frontier was settled
• The Frontier Thesis was shown wrong
• Our foreign policy was MCA (except for Wilson)– Why no change in designation, but
big change in our actions?
• This was the age of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine War, and the Great War
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Pre-Great War Era
• This was the age of American colonialism– We gained non-continental territory in
this age
• Cuba (1898)
• Puerto Rico (1898)
• Philippines (1898)
• Guam (1898)
• Hawaii (1898)
• Samoa (1899)
• Wake Island (1899)
• Virgin Islands (1917 purchase)
– BUT, what could we constitutionally do with any of it?
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Pre-Great War Era
• This was also the age of foreign interventions:– Mexico (Vera Cruz)
– Colombia/Panama
– Nicaragua
– Haiti
– Dominican Republic
– The Banana Wars
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Pre-Great War Era
• Prosperity– The second half of the Gilded Age
– Monopolies became extremely powerful engines of the economy
– These required cheap natural resources
• Latin America was close at hand
• US policy towards LA focused on installing and supporting governments that were friendly with our MNCs
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Pre-Great War Era
• Security– Interventionism
• Open Door Policy (China)
– Our versions of diplomacy in this period
• Big Stick Diplomacy
• Dollar Diplomacy
• Gunboat Diplomacy
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Pre-Great War Era
• Community– The Progressive Movement began
in 1890s and continued for at least two decades in response to the immigrants
– The KKK was reborn in 1915 to deal with the immigrants
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WWWD?
• Wilson was different from his immediate predecessors
• He was the quintessential follower of Idealism– National Self-Determination
– Commitment to international institutions
– MCA
• BUT, how different was he from traditional US foreign policy?
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From the Great War to the Great Depression
• What was our foreign policy?
• Our presidents were– Harding
– Coolidge
– Hoover
• Our motto was: “The business of America is business”
• We were living in the “Roaring 20s”
• What kind of foreign policy should result?
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Out of the Depression
• What was our foreign policy?
• Our president was– Franklin D. Roosevelt
• We were working our way out of a depression– The depression was global, not
national
– The rise of totalitarian philosophies was also global
– Could democracy and capitalism survive?
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Finally
• Remember that we are using Chittick’s framework to better understand our foreign policies throughout the ages.
• We have not always been “isolationist”– In fact, I cannot think of a time
when we were
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The Purpose of Theory
• Chittick’s framework also exposes what he thinks are the most important things to look at when analyzing foreign policy– We also call this theory
– Without theory to guide our thinking, we end up not thinking at all
• Too many things happening in the world
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The Purpose of Theory
– Theory helps us answer the question: What should we focus on?
• Does it matter if America is a wealthy state?
• Does it matter that I prefer to wear Nikes?
• What really matters?
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Assignment
• Read: – Chapter 2 (Hook)
– Pages 116 – 133 (Chittick)
• No class Wednesday– Mass of the Holy Spirit
• Friday’s Topic: – From Hot War to Cold War