American Foreign Policy Dbq

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Recommended: Course of expansionism in the mid to late 19th century

Between 1895 and 1920, the years in which William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, and Woodrow Wilson reigned in the presidents, the United States struggled for not only justice at home but abroad as well. During this period policies such as Roosevelt’s Big Stick diplomacy, William Taft’s Dollar diplomacy, and Woodrow Wilson’s Moral diplomacy were all used in foreign affairs in hopes of benefit for all involved. However, it would be appropriate to say that self-interest was the most important driving factor for American policy and can be exemplified through economic, social, and political relations. Economically speaking, many felt there was a strong need for expansion due to consumer culture and the physical environment. The Food …show more content…

The idea of spheres of influence, which was an agreement of nations to respect a neighboring nation’s culture, accompanied by an Open Door Trade policy, which allowed all nations to participate in international transactions, became a prominent factor of foreign relations with the Asian continent. As stated by President Theodore Roosevelt in his annual message to Congress on December 6, 1904, “We would interfere with them only in the last resort… their iability or unwillingness to do justice at home and abroad had violated ... rights...” (Document E). However, it would be appropriate to say that the United States became power hungry and chose to gain authority and/or mass amounts of influence over other, smaller, rising nations. Examples of this can be found within the Foraker Act of 1900, which restrained the Puerto Rican government and limited rights of the citizens within Puerto Rico, the Treaty of Paris of 1898, which ended the spanish-American War and granted the United States over former Spanish islands, and the Portsmouth Conference of 1905, which the United States made itself the mediator of power and land concluding the Russo-Japanese War, which was spurred over land disputes. The statement “...only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion”, by President Woodrow Wilson to Congress on April 2, 1917, …show more content…

This period of expansionism clearly demonstrates just how power hungry the United States was at this point in its history. One could say that this thirst for international power, and perceived need to exercise such power, directly led to World War One in the

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