US Foreign Policy

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# US Foreign Policy
## US Foreign Policy in the 19th Century
### Michael Flynn
### Kansas State University
### updated: 2021-08-25

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# Lecture Overview

1. Early Years (1783-1870)

2. Transitional Period (1870-1945)

3. Hegemonic Period (1945-Present)

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# Key Questions

1. What are the broad contours of US foreign policy over time?

2. What have been some of the key political and economic divides in each time period?

3. What elements of US foreign policy are common across time period? What changes substantially?

4. What constitutes an "empire"?

5. How do we reconcile the process of US expansion with popular rhetoric about democracy and (more recently) human rights?

6. How does popular historical memory of these earlier time periods shape views on policy today?

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# Why do we care?

1. Try to obtain a basic level of descriptive accuracy

2. Find out if reality matches our basic assumption

3. Identify, or rule out, potential causal factors

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# The Basics

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# The Basics

- US is territorially much, much smaller

- US interactions with other nations were limited

- World is a bigger place

- US had no alliances with other states until the 20th century

- Military was very small

- Low defense expenditures

- US and global trade were very low through 1970s

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<img src="historical-background_files/figure-html/army-campaign-duration-2-1.png" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />

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# The Basics

- Steam technology increases throughout the 19th Century

- Late 19th century development of trans-Atlantic cables enables significantly faster communication

- Proliferation of cables is relatively rapid.

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# The Early Years

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# The Early Years

- Treaty of Paris: September 3, 1783

- Officially ends war with Great Britain

- Freedom!

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# The Early Years

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### But there were new enemies...
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<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/American_Beaver.jpg" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />
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# The Early Years

### Post-Revolution Era

- America still relatively weak

- Small population, no military, not economically developed/diversified

- Still vulnerable to attack and economic exploitation

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# The Early Years

### Key conflicts:

- Managing relations with major powers

- English and Spanish territories in Canada and Florida

- Territorial conflicts with Native Americans on frontier

- Access to the Mississippi

- Access to foreign markets and shipping rights
  
  
  
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# The Early Years

.pull-left[
<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="https://www.vhv.rs/dpng/d/173-1733803_hamilton-linmanuelmiranda-linnamonroll-john-lawrence-hamilton-hd-png.png" alt="Alexander Hamilton"  />
<p class="caption">Alexander Hamilton</p>
</div>
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<div class="figure" style="text-align: center">
<img src="https://toppng.com/uploads/preview/thomas-jefferson-11551056809h29zruw9by.png" alt="Thomas Jefferson"  />
<p class="caption">Thomas Jefferson</p>
</div>
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# The Early Years
Washington’s Farewell Address:
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<blockquote>
The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion [sic] as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.
</blockquote>
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<img src="../images/george-washington.png" style="position:relative;left:10px; top:-100px;">
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# The Early Years

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Louisiana purchase (1803)

- Doubled size of US territories.

- Paid France $15 million for the land

- That’s ~$229 million and change when adjusted for 211 years of inflation

- To right: Napoleon Bonaparte
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<img src="../images/napolean-bonaparte.png" style="position:relative;left:80px; top:-110px; width: 60%">
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# The Early Years

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Robert Livingston

- US Minister to France

- Oversaw negotiations of Louisiana Purchase with James Monroe
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<img src="../images/robert-livingston.jpg" style="left:50px; top:-100px; width= 50%;">
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# The Early Years

### War of 1812

- Extension of Napoleonic Wars in Europe

- British Navy blockades European continent

- France declares a counter-blockade of British Isles

- British seized US merchant ships and forced sailors into service on British war ships

- Native American raids on frontier settlers had British sponsorship

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# The Early Years

### War of 1812: Consequences

- Solidified America’s status

- White House was burned down and rebuilt

- Pre-war borders essentially maintained after conflict

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# The Early Years

### Monroe Doctrine (1823):

- Rejected European interference in the affairs of the Western hemisphere.

- Attempted to establish the United States as the sole power capable of intervening in the affairs of North and South American states.

- Partly a reaction to weakening European control over colonial assets in the Western hemisphere.

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# The Early Years

### Monroe Doctrine: Enforcement

- 1860s: US uses Monroe doctrine to support the overthrow of the Emperor Maximilian in Mexico.

- 1890s: Used to justify naval buildup

- 1904–1915: To justify deploying Marines to Latin America to ward off European creditors

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name: MexicanAmericanWar

# The Early Years
### Mexican–American War (Pre-War 1836–1846)
Texas
  - Migration of US citizens, slaveowners, and slaves into Texas territory
  - Independent Texas, or annexation?
  
California
  - Valuable ports for commerce with Asia
  - American emigration to California increases over time
  - British and French claims?

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# The Early Years

###Mexican–American War (1846–1848)

- US offered Mexico ~$35 million in cash and debt forgiveness ($800 million + in today’s dollars)

- US paid $15 million after war

- Cost of war to US: ~$100 million; 13,000+ dead

- Cost of war to Mexico: ~25,000 dead; large economic losses

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name: civilwar

# The Early Years

### Civil War

- North-South split very deep (slavery, economics, expansion, trade, etc)

- In reality, these are all very closely connected

- Economic interests of the North and South were fundamentally different

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# The Early Years

### Civil War: International Dimension

- European attitudes are mixed (oppose slavery, but want weak America)

- Some British politicians supported the North, but many favored the South in an effort to keep the United States divided

- Weakened United States would pose less of a threat to British hegemony

- Independent Southern states would change dynamics of international trade in Britain’s favor

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# Transition

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# Transition

### Post-Civil War

- United States are again united

- War has led to an enormous increase in military expenditures and industrial productivity

- Military expenditures declines, industrial productivity increases steadily

- By the late-19th century America now extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific

- Idea of “Manifest Destiny” has now been fulfilled

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# Transition

###Foreign powers are still a threat:

- England still has the world’s most powerful navy and controls a great deal of the world’s maritime activity.

- Fights are still being waged over the partitioning of China.

- Spain controls Cuba and Puerto Rico (but not for long)

- German Empire is expanding its navy

- Japanese are also expanding their navy and military capabilities

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# Transition

### Spanish–American War

- February 15, 1898: The USS Maine sinks in Havana Harbor

- Believed at the time to be a mine planted by Spanish agents

- Tensions with Spain spike

- Military expenditures also spike

- Some people blame the press for exacerbating tensions

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# Transition

### Spanish–American War: Consequences

- Spain loses the conflict

- US acquires first overseas colonial territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines)

- US acquires Guantanamo Bay via lease in 1903

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# Transition

### The great debate of the day:

- The course of US foreign policy is uncertain following the Spanish–American War

- Question is between a more assertive, “imperialism-lite", style foreign policy and a less expansionist foreign policy

- Political divides

- Economic divides
    
    
    
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# Transition

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### Supporters of expansion cite:

- Need strong navy for defense

- Secure trade rights and access to foreign markets

- National pride

- Monroe Doctrine

- Religion
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### Opponents of expansion cite:

- History

- Washington's farewell address

- Costs of empire

- Monroe Doctrine

- Religion
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# Transition

## World War I

War breaks out in Europe in 1914

- Imperial competition

- Arms races

- Secret treaties

- Nationalism

- Assassination of an archduke

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<figure>
<img src="../images/WORPOL3_MAP01.02.jpg" style="width:60%;">
<figcaption>Map of Europe on the eve of World War I. Map from Frieden, Lake, and Schultz, 2012.</figcaption>
</figure>

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# Transition

## World War I

Sources extend back further:

- German and Italian unification

- Several small kingdoms unite into larger states

- Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)

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# Transition

## World War I

United States enters the war in 1917

- Initially neutral

- German submarine warfare targets American merchant shipping

- Sinking of the Lusitania

- Stalemate in Europe as war drags on

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<table class="table" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;border-bottom: 0;">
<caption>Costs of WWI by Country</caption>
 <thead>
  <tr>
   <th style="text-align:left;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> Category </th>
   <th style="text-align:right;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> United Kingdom </th>
   <th style="text-align:right;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> France </th>
   <th style="text-align:right;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> Germany </th>
   <th style="text-align:right;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> United States </th>
   <th style="text-align:right;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> Russia </th>
   <th style="text-align:right;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> Austria-Hungary </th>
  </tr>
 </thead>
<tbody>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 8cm; "> Deaths </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 935000.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 1384000.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 1800000.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 116000.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 170000.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 1290000.0 </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 8cm; "> Merchant Shipping Lost (gross tonnage) </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 7756659.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 888783.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 187340.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 394658.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 182993.0 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 15166.0 </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 8cm; "> Direct Costs </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 35.3 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 24.3 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 37.8 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 22.6 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 22.6 </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 20.6 </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot>
<tr><td style="padding: 0; " colspan="100%"><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: </span></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding: 0; " colspan="100%">
<sup></sup> Direct and Indirect Costs of the Great War. 2nd Ed. Washington 1920. Ernest L. Bogart</td></tr>
</tfoot>
</table>

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#Transition

Consequences of the war:

- Breakdown of old imperial powers
- Austo-Hungarian Empire collapses
- Ottoman Empire collapses 
- German Empire defeated
- Creation of several new states
- Nationalism as a driving force in European politics
- Partition of Middle East
- Russian Revolution
- US rejects global leadership role
- New forms of warfare emerge
- League of Nations created
- Reparations imposed on Germany
- Turkey stripped of territory, resources

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# Transition

New states enter the international system:

- Yugoslavia
- Poland
- Austria
- Hungary
- Czechoslovakia
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- Estonia
- Modern Turkey
- USSR

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# Transition

Treaty of Versailles

- Often viewed as unfair/unreasonable

- France aimed to punish Germany

- Severe reparations imposed on Germany

- Industrial resources seized

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# Transition

League of Nations:

- Viewed as a contrast to previous international orders

- Provides for collective security

- Emphasizes self-determination

- Free trade

- US Senate rejects Treaty of Versailles Twice

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# Transition

US ultimately rejects leadership role

Reality is more complicated

- President Wilson (a Democrat) supports a more international role for US

- Many Republicans oppose the League and the treaty as written (The Irreconcilables)

- But some prominent Republicans support it

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<fig>
<img src="../images/henry-cabot-lodge.jpg" style="width:60%; top:80px;">
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<figcaption>
Henry Cabot Lodge
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<fig>
<img src="../images/henry-stimson-young.jpg" style="width:60%; top:80px;">
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Henry Stimson
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# Transition

### The Interwar period and World War II

Roots of World War II lie in period immediately following World war I

- Treaty of Versailles

- Germany economy struggling to meet French demands

- French troops enter Germany in 1923 to enforce payment

- Extreme inflation results (value of German currency rapidly declines)

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# Transition

Other restrictions on Germany

- Democratic government imposed

- Germany military limited after the war

- Army limited to 100,000 men

- Very limited access to armor and artillery

- No navy or air force

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# Transition

The Great Depression

- Stock market crashes on October 29, 1929

- Sparks worldwide depression

- Many countries turn to protectionism and autarky

- Economic crisis exacerbates other crises

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# Transition

### German Domesic Politics

- Germany recovering from initial economic woes, but hit hard by the depression

- Radical political parties benefit from economic crisis

- Hitler rises to power in 1933

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# Transition

### German foreign policy actions

- Germany, Italy, and Japan sign a series of treaties between 1936 and 1937

- March 1938 Germany annexes Austria by "request"

- September 1938 Germany annexes Sudentenland (part of Czechoslovakia)

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# Transition

### Steps to war

- September 3, 1939 Germany invades Poland

- British and French declare war by day's end

- By July 1940 France falls to Germany forces

- Battle of Britain begins in August 1940

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# Transition

### Japanese foreign policy actions

- Japanese military occupied Manchuria in 1931

- Extends control of China through early 1940s

- Japanese seeking to secure access to materials like oil and rubber

- Expansion brings Japan into conflict with Western powers throughout the Pacific

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<table class="table" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;border-bottom: 0;">
<caption>Japanese imports of raw materials as percentage of consumption</caption>
 <thead>
  <tr>
   <th style="text-align:left;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> Resource </th>
   <th style="text-align:right;font-weight: bold;color: white !important;background-color: #512888 !important;"> Percent </th>
  </tr>
 </thead>
<tbody>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 5cm; "> Steel </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 40% </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 5cm; "> Nickel </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 100% </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 5cm; "> Aluminum </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 60% </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 5cm; "> Iron Ore </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 85% </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td style="text-align:left;min-width: 5cm; "> Oil </td>
   <td style="text-align:right;"> 80% </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot><tr><td style="padding: 0; " colspan="100%">
<span style="font-style: italic;">Note: </span> <sup></sup> Data obtained from John Keegan. The Second World War.</td></tr></tfoot>
</table>

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# Transition

### The US in the 1930s

- US resists-ish steps to mobilize for war

- Congress imposes arms embargo on belligerent nations

- Congress passes Neutrality Acts 1935-1939

- December 7, 1941 Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor naval base

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# Transition

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End of the war in Europe

- Hitler dies on April 30, 1945

- Grand Admiral Karl D&ouml;nitz (pictured to the right) becomes president

- D&ouml;nitz oversees the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces
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<img src="../images/karl-donitz.jpg" style="width:60%; left:85px; top:-120px;">
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