Imperialism and Diplomacy

Particular regions of the world have been subject to repeated conquest. You have studied the expansion of European empires and their quests to dominate not only their own continent but to establish colonies elsewhere around the world. Driven by a desire to spread the word, the President McKinley brought the United States into this pursuit of colonies when it entered the Spanish-American War, "the splendid little war," in 1898. The result of this series of military engagements with Spain was the acquisition by the U.S. of its first colonies, or spheres of influence: Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Cuba. The presidents who followed continued U.S. engagement in imperial efforts to spread the word each following the dictates of their own philosophy regarding the means of accomplishing diplomatic goals.

Your job is to examine those philosophies and their applications, both historical and current. Listed below are the philosophies, their associated presidents and examples of their implementation. Each example of foreign engagement includes links to relevant documents or news articles about the events. Use your textbook to help you supplement the information provided here. On the discussion board for Imperialism and Diplomacy discuss how each of these historical events is an implementation of the associated philosophy and to what extent you think or feel the philosophy is an effective one. When this discussion is complete apply these ideas generated to the "current" examples. Submit the ideas to the discussion board for feedback then answer the following questions in writing for a grade (email to me). When and why are these approaches successful? What are their limitations? Are any of them outdated in that possible negative consequences in the current international climate outweigh any measurable benefits?

*  - T. Roosevelt
Reagan
*  - W.H. Taft
Nicaragua/Mexico
* - W. Wilson
Nicaragua/Haiti