The Monroe Doctrine. The Panama Canal. The Spanish-American War. All these and more are examples of events that happened with in the 1898-1919 era. Many historians today are confused on whether these times showed the U.S. as a country of idealism or realism. You could make a case for either side of the stand, but I believe the U.S. efforts in this time were more realism oriented. The Panama Canal began construction in 1904 and took 10 years to complete. The canal reaches 48 miles long, and cost about 400 million dollars to make. But that wasn't the real cost of the Panama Canal. The U.S. had already been losing a lot of money on shipping and trade over the past many years. The canal had been proposed several times, but the Colombian Government …show more content…
After China ended the war they were in with Japan, they became indebted to other foreign countries. To pay off their debts, they started giving away pieces of their land. China starting losing so much land however, that the U.S. was afraid they wouldn't have access to Chinese markets much longer. At the same time, the Boxer Rebellion was happening in China. Many angry Chinese people began killing and destroying foreigners for taking there land, which made the U.S. more worried. That is when the U.S. created the Open Door Policy. The Open Door Policy insisted that “foreign nations not only allow free trade, but also respect Chinese independence.” In reality, America went through the creation of that policy to keep free trade and the market open to business prospects here in the States. A different policy that shows U.S. involving realism is the Big Stick Policy. This policy had to do with what is now known as the Roosevelt Corollary, to the Monroe Doctrine. Roosevelt believed in only having to use force if he had too. Yet, long after the Monroe Doctrine, many countries in the western hemisphere had poor defense systems. Because of this, he insisted that the U.S. must use their force to be an “international police power” to preserve and protect American interests. Just another reason why America can use their military force to use other countries to their own
In his book, Ernest May sets out to show a new perspective of what influenced the creation of the Monroe Doctrine. While reviewing the writings of John Quincy Adams, May was struck with the question of why the Monroe Doctrine was crafted, thus prompting his research into the policy (viii). With France attempting to restore the monarchy in Spain and the establishment of the Holy Alliance, the United States needed to solidify its foreign policy. May begins his book by describing the events surrounding Great Britain’s offer to the United States to have a unified response to expansion into the Americas. He then outlies the major players of the formation of the policy, including President James Monroe, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Secretary
The Monroe Doctrine was a major factor in shaping the United States and its involvement with other countries from Europe and in the Western Hemisphere. The doctrine was the result of a few diplomatic problems. “The first was the minor clash with Russia concerning the northwest coast of North America. In this quarrel, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams expressed the principle that the American continents were no longer to be considered as a field for colonization by European powers“("Monroe Doctrine.") The Monroe Doctrine initially called for an end to any intervention in the Americas by European countries, but the doctrine was later expanded to include all of the Western Hemisphere.
The canal also brought the US great advances in US technology and engineering and a great spot for American military forces to bring dominant power to Central America (Foreign Affairs np). Roosevelt is much different from Washington, and wanted to expand the US’s take on global power with the establishment of the Panama
One of the biggest struggles was the cost to build the canal. The cost was over 350 million dollars. Another struggle was digging out all the dirt to make room for the Canal. The dirt needed to be moved to another location. There was a shortage on cranes due to the earthquakes and fires that were starting.
The Panama Canal is known to be one of the many world wonders that was created by man. This world wonder unlike the others was created by man and the purpose of the canal was to connect the two oceans the Atlantic and the Pacific. The man purpose they made the canal was to help ships cross the land without having to go around all of South America but this canal caused many problems and even deaths during creation. Although this canal is in Panama the canal was created by Americans who moved to Panama to create the canal after the French who were the first to try but the French failed and the Americans moved in and made the canal after years if working. When the canal was built it was considered one of the biggest American project that would
In the late 1800’s, Cuba was fighting for its independence and striving to break free from Spain’s control. On February 28, 1898, the U.S.S Maine mysteriously exploded, which was stationed on the coast of Cuba. This led to the U.S involvement in the Spanish-American War. There were many economic reasons why the U.S joined this war, however, there was nothing significant that would require their involvement. The U.S was already keeping a close eye on the battle between the other two nations; waiting for a reason to intervene.
The American government’s mission to “create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community” rarely impacts their actions in the 19th and early 20th century. The American government holds the wishes of the American people as paramount. International community generally received consideration when it involved other European countries such as Britain and Spain, yet held little bearing when in regard to Native Americans or Filipinos. The American Civil War involved almost no foreign intervention, yet American foreign policy still played a part. In 1861 with the threat of Britain entering the Civil War Captain Charles Wilkes, a Union naval officer, coordinated a search
Ferdinand de Lesseps was the man who was in charge. They started building it in 1880, but they ran out of money. America was still interested in a canal. On June 19, 1902, the U.S. Senate voted in favor of building the canal through Panama. Secretary of State John Hay signed a treaty about with Colombian Foreign Minister Tomás Herrán to build the new canal.
Effects of war to the United States 1.0 Effects of Spanish-American War to the United States The Spanish-America war started on 25 April and ended in 12 August 1898, lasting only 10 weeks (cite). The main cause of the war was the United States economic interests in Cuba who under the Spanish colonial rule. With signing of the Treaty of Paris on 10 December 1898, Spain gave up Guam, Puerto Rico, its possessions in the West Indies, and the Philippines with United States compensating them with $20 million. The United States occupied these regions under guidance of the Teller Amendment of 19 April 1898 (cite).
In 1880 a French company finally decided to attempt to build the canal but it went horribly wrong. People were dying there was not enough money and terrible weather, the French finally gave up 20 years later on the project when they went bankrupt. Then in 1904, the U.S came in the way and decided to finish the canal, which now belongs to Panama. The canal was going to be used for the United States’ military but the US eventually handed the canal over to Panama. In passage one: The Panama Canal the text states, “.
The united states declared war on Spain in April of 1898 over the issue of human rights violations in Cuba, that war lasted a mere four months, within a year the united states found themselves in yet another war, this time against the Philippines. Why did the United States find themselves in another war when one just ended? Americans who advocated annexation had a variety of motivations. First the desire for commercial opportunities in Asia, the second reason was that they thought the Filipinos were incapable of self-rule, and the third reason was the fear that if the United States did not take control of the islands another power would (office of the Historian, the Philippine-American war, 1899-1902)
Many believed that a canal was necessary, as it reduced the journey from ocean to ocean. The logical point of crossing was the small Isthmus of Panama. Panama was located in the province of Columbia, and was only fifty miles ocean to ocean. The terrain or topography was difficult. Hay-Pauncefote Treaty was signed in 1901 which cancelled the 1850 Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and granted the United States permission to build a Canal across Latin America.
The United States wanted to build it through Columbia. But, Columbia refused and said”No. ” We had to wait for panama to be independent. So,They became independent to us(United States).In order for the workers to accomplish The Panama Canal they needed to get past the obstacles getting in the way. After the first year people started dying.
The war years marked the rise of the United States as having world power. During the war, the federal government intruded in the economy and influenced people’s everyday lives as never before. American leaders believed the nation’s future and prosperity and security depended on other lands and the influences from around the world. Economic bonds also allowed political impacts to be exercised abroad and helped spread the American way of life. Hawaiian Annexation and the Spanish-American war we learn many connections about the U.S. involvement.
An attempt by France was made to build a sea-level canal failed, but only after a great amount of excavation was carried out. This was of use to the United States, which completed the