Ernie Royer

History 106

Alyssa Arnell

2/20/2025     

Expansion and Bananas

      At the turn of the 20th century, the United States sought to expand its territories through military force, economic manipulation, and political leverage into the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific. This was framed as a noble effort to spread American values and promote economic growth.  The Roosevelt Corollary, basically an addendum to the Monroe Doctrine (which kept Europe out of the Western Hemisphere), positioned the U.S. government as the policeman of the Western Hemisphere, granting itself the right to intervene in the affairs of Latin American nations. 

    The United States Government was 'restoring order' and protecting its interests, while also stopping other governments from gaining power.  It did so by leveraging its military presence.  The U.S government stopped Germany from seizing a port in the Dominican Republic (Policing the Caribbean and Central America), just one example of halting other governments from gaining power in the Caribbean and Central America. The U.S. Government intervened with Haiti's political structure after a mob murdered the Haitian president, and took over their "collection of customs duties" (The United States Becomes a World Power) to ensure their debts to other countries were properly repaid.  Each time the U.S. got tied up in another nation's affairs it would follow "...a common pattern: after intervening to restore order, U.S. forces became embroiled in the countries' internal political disputes. Before exiting, the United States would train and fund a police force and military to maintain order and would sponsor an election intended to put into power a strong leader supportive of American interests. (Policing the Caribbean and Central America)".  This was the expansionist agenda at the seat of U.S. politics, defining American Imperialism at the time.

     However, the United States government had some other expansion strategies too, such as purchasing, annexing, and waging war in order to acquire territories.  The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia (The United States Becomes a World Power), overthrew Hawaii's monarchy (The United States Becomes a World Power), and declared war against Spain.  The Spanish-American War began after the Teller Amendment, which stated the U.S. did not have imperialist ambitions for Cuba.  The U.S. just wanted Spain out, poised as if it were for the good of Cuba, not the underlying U.S. expansionist agenda.  The U.S. government misrepresented itself in the Teller Amendment because it set up a military government in Cuba, and pulled out our troops with a Platt Amendment contingency. "The amendment gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuba to protect 'life, property, and individual liberties.' The 144-day war also resulted in the United States taking control of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. (The Spanish American War)" 

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