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