November 10, 2008November 10, 2008•What were the political,

economic, and military benefits of the Panama Canal?–Roosevelt’s Peace–The Canal–Diplomacy

•Homework: Outline

Russo-Japanese War• 1904 – Tsar

Nicholas II of Russia declared war on Japan

• Both imperialist powers competing for control of Korea

• Japanese surprise attacked Russian Pacific fleet and destroyed it

• Japan then destroyed second fleet sent as reinforcement

• Japan won a series of land battles, securing Korea and Manchuria

• As result, Japan began running out of men and money

• Japanese officials approached Roosevelt in secret and asked him to mediate peace negotiations

• He agreed and in 1905, Russian and Japanese delegates convened at Portsmouth, New Hampshire

• The first meeting took place in the President’s yacht

• Japanese wanted Sakhalin Island and a large sum of money from Russia

• Russia refused• Roosevelt persuaded Japan to accept

half of the island and forgo the cash payment

• Russia agreed to let Japan take over Russian interests in Manchuria and Korea

• The successful efforts in negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth won Roosevelt the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize

• As US and Japanese interest expanded in East Asia, the two nations continued diplomatic talks

• In later agreements, they pledged to respect each other’s possessions and interest in East Asia and the Pacific

Roosevelt’s Plan for U.S.

• Remember how he became President?

• Believed in building up navy and felt that connecting the oceans was next step

• Agreed with Mahan that the canal would “become a strategic center of the most vital importance”

Why build a Canal?

• Many Americans felt that the US needed a canal cutting across Central America

• It would greatly reduce travel time for commercial and military ships by providing a short cut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

Two Possible Routes

• Nicaragua which fewer obstacles because it crossed a large lake

• Panama (then province of Columbia) and was shorter and filled with mountains and swamps

1848-55

•Isthmus gained importance after Gold Rush in California and the trans-Panama Railroad was built

•Strong rivalry with Great Britian

•Britain and US agreed to share benefits of the canal

After the Spanish-American War (1899-1901)

•The U.S. had built an empire in the Carribbean

The U.S. Wins Canal

•Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901- Britain gave the US exclusive rights to build and control a canal through Central America

France’s Attempt

• Late 1800’s, a French Company began building the canal across Panama under Ferdinand de Lesseps

• Work began 1881 • Faced poor planning, disease,

construction troubles, and inadequate financing drove company into bankruptcy in 1889

• The French transfer rights and assets to a new company

Meanwhile:

• U.S. Congress was favoring the Nicaragua route

• French sent Philippe Bunau-Varilla, to Washington to convince the US to buy its claim (in Panama)

• In 1903, the president & Congress decided to use the Panama route and agreed to buy the French company’s route for $40 million

• Before building the Panama Canal, the US had to get permission from Colombia, which ruled Panama

PROBLEM

• Colombians refused to sign the Treaty of Hay-Herran which would have given U.S. a strip of land across Isthmus of Panama in return for $10 million dollars and an annuity of $250,000

• When negotiations broke down, Bunau-Varilla helped organize a Panamanian rebellion against Columbia

• November 3, 1903, nearly half dozen US warships were present as Panama declared its independence

• 15 days later, Panama and the US signed a treaty in which the U.S. agreed to pay Panama $10 million plus an annual rent of $250,000 for an area of land across Panama, called the Canal Zone

• payments were to begin 1913

Construction of the Canal

• One of the world’s greatest engineering feats

• Construction of a lock canal was decided in 1906

What is the Lock System?

•work began 1904•clearing of brush and

draining of swamps• builders fought diseases, such

as yellow fever and malaria, and soft volcanic soil that proved difficult to remove from where it lay

• by 1913, the height of the construction, more than 43,400 workers were employed

Cost of the Canal

•More than 5,000 workers on the canal died from accidents or disease

•It cost the US $380 million dollars

•August 15, 1914, the canal opened for business, an more than 1,000 merchant ships passed through during its first year

What is the Panama Canal?

• Waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

U.S. and Latin America

• Financial factors drew US into Latin American affairs– They borrowed from European

banks

• Roosevelt feared that if these nations defaulted on their loans, European nations would intervene

• He was determined to make US predominant power in the Caribbean and Central America

• Roosevelt based his Latin America policy on a West African proverb that said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick”

Roosevelt Corollary in 1904

• Added to the Monroe Doctrine• U.S. may use force to protect

its economic interests in Latin America

• “international police power”

Involvement in Latin American Affairs

•1911 – Nicaragua has rebellion that leaves the nation near bankruptcy

•Taft arranged for bankers to loan money in exchange for control of Nicaragua’s railraod and its national bank

People revolt against their president, Adolfo Diaz because of this

• 2,000 marines were sent to Nicaragua

• Revolt was put down, but marines remained in the country until 1933

Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy

• The Taft administration followed the policy of using the U.S. government to guarantee loans made to foreign countries by American businesspeople

• The policy was called Dollar diplomacy by critics and was often used to justify keeping European powers out of Caribbean

Wilson’s Missionary Diplomacy• Moral responsibility to deny

recognition of Latin America viewed as oppressive, undemocratic, or hostile to US interest

• Before, US recognized any government that controlled a nation

Pressured nations in Western Hemisphere to establish democratic governments

Mexican Revolution

• Porfirio DiazPorfirio Diaz• Dictator for 3

decades• Encouraged

foreign investments

• As a result, foreigners owned large share of Mexican oil wells, mines, railroads, and ranches

• Foreign investors, some Mexican landowners, and politicians had grown rich, the common people of the country were poor.

• Francisco Francisco MaderoMadero

• 1911 – he and followers overthrow Diaz

• promised democratic reforms

• General General Victoriano Victoriano Huerta Huerta

• Took over after 2 years of Madero’s rule

• Wilson refused to recognize his government

Intervention in Mexico

• “watchful waiting” • April 1914 - Huerta’s officers

arrested a small group of American sailors

• Mexicans quickly released them and apologized but Wilson used the incident as excuse to send marines to occupy Veracruz

•18 Americans and at least 200 Mexicans died during the invasion and it brought the US and Mexico close to war

• Others stepped in to mediate the conflict

• They proposed that Huerta step down and that US troops withdraw without paying Mexico for damages

• Mexico rejected the plan, and Wilson refused to recognize a government that had come to power as a result of violence

• Huerta regime collapsed and Venustiano Carranza, a nationalist leader, became president in 1915

• Wilson withdrew the troops and formally recognized the Carranza government

• Emiliano Emiliano ZapataZapata

• “it is better to die on your feet than live on your knees”

• Villa’s followers raided Columbia, New Mexico, and killed 17 Americans

• Americans demanding revenge, Wilson ordered Brigadier General John J. Pershing and a force of about 15,000 soldiers into Mexico to capture Villa dead or alive

Rebellion in Mexico

• Francisco Francisco “Pancho” “Pancho” VillaVilla

• As Wilson sends national guardsmen, Mexicans become angry about “US Invasion”

In June 1916, US troops clashed with Carranza’s army, resulting in deaths on both sides

• As neither back down, war seems imminent

• The US facing war in Europe needed peach on it southern border

• In February 1917, Wilson ordered Pershing to return home

• Later, Mexico adopted a constitution that gave the government control of the nation’s oil and mineral resources and placed strict regulations on foreign investors

• U.S. intervention in Mexican affairs provided a clear model of American imperialist attitudes in the early years of the 20th century

• Americans believed in the superiority of free-enterprise democracy, and the American government attempted to extend the reach of this economic and political system, even through armed intervention

Exit Slips:

•On a separate sheet of paper. Write down how the Panama Canal benefited the U.S. economically, politically, and militarily.