The history of U.S. foreign policy from 1897 to 1913 concerns the foreign policy of the United States during the Presidency of William McKinley, Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, and Presidency of William Howard Taft. This period followed History of U.S. foreign policy, 1861–1897 and began with the inauguration of McKinley in 1897. It ends with Woodrow Wilson in 1913, and the 1914 outbreak of World War I, which marked the start of new era in U.S. foreign policy.
During this era, the United States emerged as a great power that was active even outside of its traditional area of concern in the Western Hemisphere. Major events included the Spanish–American War, the permanent annexation of Hawaii, the temporary annexation of the Philippines, the annexation of Puerto Rico, the Roosevelt Corollary regarding oversight of Latin America, the building of the Panama Canal and the voyage of the Great White Fleet that showed the world the powerful rebuilt U.S. Navy.
The Cuban War of Independence against Spain broke out in 1895, and many Americans were angry with Spain's cruelty and demanded Washington work to stop it. The business community and top GOP leaders held back. The issue took highest priority when the USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor while on a peace mission. The cause of the explosion was unclear, but the incident heightened the atmosphere for military intervention. McKinley demanded Spain soften its Cuban controls and Madrid refused. McKinley turned the issue over to Congress, which promptly declared war in April 1898. The United States quickly defeated Spain in the Spanish–American War, taking control of the Spanish possessions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. In the aftermath of the war, Cuba became a de facto U.S. protectorate and the U.S. put down the Philippine Insurrection. Because of Democratic opposition in the Senate McKinley could not get a 2/3 majority to ratify a treaty to annex Hawaii, so he accomplished the same result by a majority vote on the Newlands Resolution in 1898. The result was a major strategic base in the Pacific Ocean. The McKinley administration thus established the first overseas empire in American history.
President Roosevelt was determined to continue the expansion of U.S. influence, and he placed an emphasis on modernizing the small Army and greatly expanding the large Navy. Roosevelt presided over a rapprochement with Britain and promulgated the Roosevelt Corollary, which held that the United States would intervene in the finances of unstable Caribbean and Central American countries in order to forestall direct European intervention. Partly as a result of the Roosevelt Corollary, the United States would engage in a series of interventions in Latin America known as the Banana Wars. After Colombia rejected a treaty granting the U.S. a lease across the isthmus of Panama, Roosevelt supported the secession of Panama and subsequently signed a treaty with Panama establishing the Panama Canal Zone. The Panama Canal was completed in 1914, greatly reducing transport time between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Roosevelt's well publicized actions were widely applauded. President Taft acted quietly, and pursued a policy of "Dollar Diplomacy", emphasizing the use of U.S. financial power in Asia and Latin America. Taft had little success.
The Open Door Policy under President McKinley and Secretary of State John Hay guided U.S. policy towards China, as they sought to keep open trade equal trade opportunities in China for all countries. Roosevelt mediated the peace that ended the Russo-Japanese War and reached the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907 limiting Japanese immigration. Roosevelt and Taft sought to mediate and arbitrate other disputes, and in 1906 Roosevelt helped resolve the First Moroccan Crisis by attending the Algeciras Conference. The Mexican Revolution broke out in 1910, and the handling of unrest at the border would test the Taft administration before escalating under Wilson.
Leadership McKinley administration, 1897–1901
McKinley took office in 1897 after defeating William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 presidential election. McKinley's most unfortunate cabinet appointment was that of elderly Senator John Sherman as secretary of state in order to open a Senate seat for his campaign manager Mark Hanna. Sherman's mental incapacity became increasingly apparent after he took office. He was often bypassed by his first assistant, McKinley's friend William R. Day, and by the second secretary, Alvey A. Adee. Day, an Ohio lawyer unfamiliar with diplomacy, was often reticent in meetings; Adee was somewhat deaf. One diplomat characterized the arrangement, "the head of the department knew nothing, the first assistant said nothing, and the second assistant heard nothing". McKinley asked Sherman to resign in 1898, and Day became the new secretary of state. Later that year, Day was succeeded by John Hay, a veteran diplomat and scholar. Leadership of the Navy Department went to Massachusetts Congressman John Davis Long, an old colleague of McKinley's . Although McKinley was initially inclined to allow Long to choose his own the assistant secretary of the navy, there was considerable pressure on the president-elect to appoint Theodore Roosevelt, the head of the New York City Police Commission. The position of secretary of war went to Russell A. Alger, a former general who had also served as governor. Competent enough in peacetime, Alger proved inadequate once the Spanish–American War began. With the War Department plagued by scandal, Alger resigned at McKinley's request in mid-1899 and was succeeded by Elihu Root, who proved highly competent.
Roosevelt administration, 1901–1909
McKinley was assassinated in September 1901 and was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt came into office without any particular domestic policy goals, broadly adhering to most Republican positions on economic issues. He had strong views on foreign policy, as he wanted the United States to assert itself as a great power in international relations. Anxious to ensure a smooth transition, Roosevelt convinced the members of McKinley's cabinet, most notably Secretary of State John Hay and Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage, to remain in office.Morris (2001) pp 9-10 Another holdover from McKinley's cabinet, Secretary of War Elihu Root, had been a Roosevelt confidante for years, and he continued to serve as President Roosevelt's close ally.Morris (2001) pp 22-23 Root returned to the private sector in 1904 and was replaced by William Howard Taft, who had previously served as the governor-general of the Philippines. The president confided in Taft and took his advice on many foreign policy issues.Ralph Eldin Minger, William Howard Taft and United States Foreign Policy: The Apprenticeship Years, 1900-1908 (1975). After Hay's death in 1905, Roosevelt convinced Root to return to the Cabinet as secretary of state, and Root remained in office until the final days of Roosevelt's tenure.Morris (2001) pp. 394-395
Taft administration, 1909–1913
Roosevelt did not seek re-election in 1908, but instead gave vigorous support to his secretary of war William Howard Taft. In the 1908 presidential election, Taft easily defeated the leader of the Democratic Party William Jennings Bryan. Root wanted to return to his law practice and Taft agreed to his recommendation of Philander C. Knox as Secretary of State. Taft trusted Knox, who took full charge of diplomacy. However, Knox had poor relations with the Senate, the media and foreign diplomats.Gould, Taft p 81.Pringle, Taft 1:384-85. Knox restructured the State Department, especially in setting up divisions for geographical areas, including the Far East, Latin America and Western Europe. The department's first in-service training program was established, and appointees spent a month in Washington before going to their posts.
There was broad agreement between Taft and Knox on major foreign policy goals; the U.S. would not interfere in European affairs, and would use force if necessary to uphold the Monroe Doctrine in the Americas. The defense of the Panama Canal, which was still under construction throughout Taft's term (it opened in 1914), guided policy in the Caribbean and Central America. However they differed on the Far East.
Dollar diplomacy
Previous administrations had made efforts to promote American business interests overseas, but Taft went a step further and used the web of American diplomats and consuls abroad to further trade. it was called "Dollar Diplomacy". Such ties, Taft hoped, would promote world peace. Dollar diplomacy was designed to avoid military power and instead use American banking power to create a tangible American interest in China that would limit the scope of the other powers, increase the opportunity for American trade and investment, and help maintain the Open Door of trading opportunities of all nations. Whereas Theodore Roosevelt wanted to conciliate Japan and help it neutralize Russia, Taft and Knox ignored Roosevelt's policy and his advice. Dollar diplomacy was based on the false assumption that American financial interests could mobilize their potential power, and wanted to do so in East Asia. However the American financial system was not geared to handle international finance, such as loans and large investments, and had to depend primarily on London. The British also wanted an open door in China, but were not prepared to support American financial maneuvers. Finally, the other powers held territorial interests, including naval bases and designated geographical areas which they dominated inside China, while the United States refused anything of the kind. Bankers were reluctant, but Taft and Knox kept pushing them to invest. Most efforts were failures, until finally the United States forced its way into the Hukuang international railway loan. The loan was finally made by the so-called China Consortium in 1911, and helped spark a widespread "Railway Protection Movement" revolt against foreign investment that overthrew the Chinese government. The bonds caused no end of disappointment and trouble. As late as 1983, over 300 American investors tried, unsuccessfully, to force the government of China to redeem the worthless Hukuang bonds.Mary Thornton, "U.S. Backs China's Move to Reopen 1911 Railroad Bond Case" Washington Post August 19, 1983. When Woodrow Wilson became president in March 1913, he immediately canceled all support for Dollar diplomacy. Historians agree that Taft's Dollar diplomacy was a failure everywhere, In the Far East it alienated Japan and Russia, and created a deep suspicion among the other powers hostile to American motives.Walter Vinton Scholes and Marie V.Scholes, The Foreign Policies of the Taft Administration (1970) pp 247-248.
Taft avoided involvement in international events such as the Agadir Crisis, the Italo-Turkish War, and the First Balkan War. However, Taft did express support for the creation of an international arbitration tribunal and called for an international arms reduction agreement.
Economic cultural and social connections to the world American knowledge of the world grew exponentially, as businessmen shuttled back and forth. The leading banking house of J.P. Morgan had a dual base in New York City and London. Standard Oil had business operations in many countries, as the chief supplier of kerosene for lamps and fuel for the new diesel engines. Tourism became important, as cost fell and new agencies made packaged tours a convenient vacation item. The number of Americans going to Europe jumped from 100,000 in 1885 to 250,000 by 1913, including tourist, business travelers, and immigrants going back and forth and bringing their families over.George Herring, From colony to superpower (2008) p. 341.Christopher Endy, "Travel and world power: Americans in Europe, 1890-1917," Diplomatic History (1998) 22:565-594