AP U.S. History Chapter 21 American & the Great War

Main Idea / Details
Roosevelt’s Rise to Power / November 1898 Roosevelt’s tour of duty in the Spanish-
American War had made him famous and
helped him win election to the governor’s
office in his home state of New York
November 1899 Garret Hobart, 24th Vice-President of the
United States dies of heart failure while in
Office.
Vice-Pres. Garret Hobart
The position remains unfilled for several months until Pres. McKinley asks (reluctantly) for Theodore Roosevelt to serve
March 4, 1901
Roosevelt takes office as the 25th Vice-President of the United States
Sept. 14, 1901 Pres. McKinley is assassinated by anarchist
Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York
Roosevelt becomes President / Roosevelt brought energy, intelligence and enthusiasm to the office of President. He is still the youngest man to ever hold this office.
Roosevelt was a Social Darwinist in foreign policy, accepted Anglo-Saxonism and believed that America had a duty to shape the ‘less civilized’ world
He intended to make the United States a world power
American diplomacy in Asia / By 1899, the U.S. had naval bases all across the Pacific & was the third largest navy in the world
The nation’s interest in Asia was primarily in commerce, not conquest
1895-1900 U.S. exports to China increased by four times, but China , being a poor nation, only bought about 2% of U.S. goods
Open Door Policy / 1894 War broke out between China and Japan
The world is shocked when Japan easily
defeats China
In the peace treaty, Korea, had been under
the control of China for many years, was
granted independence; China also granted
Japan territory in Manchuria, including the
important city of Port Arthur

Japan demonstrated that they had successfully
adapted to Western technology and that China
was far weaker than anyone had thought
1898 Russia was greatly worried by Japan’s
increasing strength; demanded that Japan
give back the part of Manchuria they had
acquired from China and lease it to them
instead.
France & Germany forced Japan to give
the territory back Russia, then demanded
that they also be allowed to ‘lease’
territory in China
Pres. McKinley supported the “Open Door” policy which allowed all countries to trade with China and expected all European countries to abide by this plan
The Boxer Rebellion / 1900 Secret Chinese societies were organizing to get
rid of all foreign interference; Christian converts were also targeted; over200 foreigners were killed and others taken prisoner. In August, an international force including U.S. troops stepped in and smashed the rebellion
The Europeans wanted to partition China into ‘spheres of influence,’ with each European country getting one sphere each.
U.S. Secretary of State John Hay persuaded them not to.
As a result, the U.S. still had access to Chinese tea, spice and silk trades as well as keeping the Chinese market open to our goods.
Balancing Power in East Asia / 1906 Theodore Roosevelt awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
for his work negotiating a peace agreement between
Russia and Japan
In the years after the peace treaty, relations with Japan
grew steadily worse.
1907 Roosevelt sent 16 battleships of the new U.S. Navy,
known as the ‘White Fleet’ on a world-wide voyage to
showcase our military might
The tour made a stop in Japan to show the Japanese
that the U.S. could & would protect its interests in Asia
A Growing Presence in the Caribbean / Roosevelt believed in a strong display of power to make nations think twice before attacking the United States
One of his famous quotes was “Speak softly but carry a big stick”

The Panama Canal / 1881 The French began digging in 1881 but due to
problems ranging from engineering to disease to
bankruptcy were forced to sell its rights to build the
canal
1901 Hay-Paunceforte Treaty
The United States & Great Britain sign an agreement to
build & control any proposed canal thru Central
America
1903 In 1903 Panama was still part of Colombia
Sec. of State Hay offered Colombia $10 million and a
yearly rent of $250,000 to build the canal & control a
narrow strip on both sides of the canal
Colombia says “No!”
Revolt in Panama / Some Panamanians wanted to break away from Colombia
The French were still concerned the U.S. would build the canal in Nicaragua instead of Panama
The French company’s agent, Philippe Bunau-Varilla, decided the only way the canal could be built was to declare independence from Colombia & make their own deal with the U.S.
Bunau-Varilla arranged for a small army to stage an uprising
Nov. 3, 1903 Bunau-Varilla forces revolted
Pres. Roosevelt sent ships to Panama to prevent
Colombian ‘interference’
Roosevelt believes that construction of a canal thru
Central America was vital to American power
It would save time & money for both commercial
& military shipping
Within a few days, the U.S. recognized Panama’s
independence
Less than two weeks later, the two nations signed
a treaty allowing the canal to be built
Protestors in both the U.S. & Latin America
condemned Roosevelt’s actions as unjustifiable
aggression
The Roosevelt Corollary / 1904 Growing U.S. involvement in foreign affairs
Caused Roosevelt to expand his ‘Big Stick’
Diplomacy
Roosevelt defined to Congress what came to be
known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe
Doctrine
The U.S. first applied the Roosevelt Corollary
in the Dominican Republic when they fell behind
on their debt payments to several European nations
1905 The U.S. assumed responsibility of collecting
custom tariffs in the Dominican Republic, using
the United States Marine Corps as its agent
Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor, William Taft, continued these policies; but placed more emphasis on helping Latin American industry and less on military force
Taft’s line of reasoning went like this:
U.S. business support Latin American & Asian development à
Everyone benefits à U.S. increases trade à
U.S. business profits à countries in Latin America & Asia would rise up out of poverty & social disorder à
Policy became known as à “Dollar diplomacy”
1911 Taft described his brand of diplomacy as
‘substituting dollars for bullets’ however in
Nicaragua, Taft used both dollars & bullets
U.S. bankers began making loans to support
Nicaragua’s shaky government
The following year, civil unrest forced the Nicaraguan president to ask for more assistance
US Marines entered the country, replaced the collector of customs w/an American agent
U.S. troops remained in Nicaragua to support the government & customs until 1925. Nicaragua became one of several Central American countries who would be known as “Banana Republics.”