American Political and Economic Foreign Policy in the 19th Century - Research Paper Example

?American Political and Economic Foreign Policy in the 19th Century America has undergone through several changes and ideologies that have determinedits political, economic and foreign policies. These policies have been the driving factor for all the wars that USA has fought since the 19th century. The Manifest Destiny was an idea conceived by the American government in the 19th century, and its ideology of this view was that North America was intended by God to be ruled by Americans of Anglo-Saxon origins. The real meaning of this idea is that it was God’s plan that the USA be at the forefront in pushing for democracy and industrialization in that particular region. However, this idea was not shared by everyone including the native Indians and Mexicans who had differing views or opinions. Although there were no clearly defined principles to guide the idea, it received enormous support from the democrats who used it to justify various decisive actions. Through the notion of manifest destiny, the United States was driven by the temptation of world power and political supremacy, which sought to consolidate the position it held.1 The spanish american war was fought in 1898 and lasted only three months, and was triggered by the increased occupation of Cuba by the Spanish government which was strongly opposed by the US government. The war occurred as a result of intervention which was encouraged by other factors such as the Yellow Press which simply refers to the numerous newspaper articles that were printed in red ink and calling for bloodshed. Sensationalism by William Randolph Hearst through the Hearst papers and Joseph Pulitzer played a serious role in fuelling the war through propaganda views on either side of the war divide. Stories about atrocities committed by the Spaniards in Cuba enraged the Americans in the USA thus shaping their opinion to support the war. As at 1898, the war was at its peak and was nearly coming to an end; on the 4th of April 1898, the Americans intervened through President McKinley ordering war, mainly to end the devastating effect of the war in Cuba on humanitarian grounds and protect American citizens and interests in the island of Cuba. The intervention was also to protect American and Cuban trade and commerce as well as its strategic rights in that particular hemisphere. Through the Treaty of Paris December 10, 1898 America was able to stamp its foreign policy of expansion and imperialism through the acquisition of Philippines, annexation of Hawaii and the acquisition of Puerto Rico, and this occurred after Spain had surrendered. This expansionist theory resonated well with the American public opinion as it seemed to guarantee freedom to every person in the world and also made Americans proud of their institutions especially the military. In addition, it created avenues for commercial expansion in terms of trade in strategic locations of the world. The acquisition of Panama Canal by the US government was the epitome of imperialism by the government of the United States, and this is because of the economic benefits it offered the American government as well as its strategic importance in terms of geopolitical position. It should be noted that the canal offered the government of USA constant flow of revenue as well as saving the economy in terms of inter-coastal trade and commerce. The canal was however not strategic to the US government military-wise as it could be bombed at any time by adversaries such as Japan and the Soviet Union. The destruction would cause war losses that could only be recovered after a year or so during war time and a massive loss of 17 days in travel time as occurred during its sabotage during the Battle of Guadalcanal. This forced the US military to maintain a heavy presence of navy at sea just in case the canal was attacked. However, with time, the US government pulled out of the canal due to economic interests, and his was partly due to the invention of railway cars using diesel which made transporting of produce to coastal ports then shipping them to distant market easier. The development of Interstate Highway System and the increasing growth of the state of California as an alternative big market for US products also led to the downfall of Panama Canal. As the prices of toll fees for going through Panama increased, America no longer saw the economic strategic value of holding on the canal as the extra costs only hurt manufacturers from the Far East trying to access the competitive market in America. Proponents of isolationism sought to preserve the freedom of action of the United States while maintaining cultural and economic interactions with other countries. As such, this led to the adoption of the isolationist doctrine that was precipitated by America's avoidance of the war in Europe.2 This policy highlighted the unwillingness of the United States to use force as a tool to resolve conflict. In order to achieve this, the US heavily relied on diplomacy in the many war fronts that faced it such as the naval disarmament in the Pacific, German war reparations, instability in China and attempts to ease the impacts of war. The main aim of this was to protect the political and economic interests as well as spare the country the ravages of war. The conflict between Britain and France created an economic crisis in the United States owing to the disruption of trade and the US was therefore sucked into action to protect its interests, and it is at this point that the nation reviewed its isolationism policy to adopt a more radical policy. Expansionism is described as the nation’s practice or policy on territorial and economic expansion, which in the United States; saw the emergence of foreign markets.3 This move was not only geared to acquire land for agricultural use, but also to exert political dominance. The US economic policy of industrial capitalism, therefore, is illustrated to have well defined connections to its foreign affairs policies. This is demonstrated by US policy in trade which is based on belief that the US exports are vital to the growth of its economy. Similarly, foreign policies are charged with the task of fostering foreign markets where favorable incentives are provided. The policies ensure that industries offered suitable working environments and this explains why US ensures that diplomatic ties with most nations remain intact to protect its economic interest with regard to exports. All the while, different military leaders such as Admiral Alfred T Mahan and Major General Smedley Butler shared different sentiments concerning the political and economic policies in the United States. Alfred Mahan was naval writer and historian who rose to become a key strategist of the 19th century through his ‘concept of sea power’. His concept suggested that nations with enormous and well-organized navies would greatly influence the world. As such, his work was used and referred to by many while creating navy forces, which led to a naval arms race in Europe in the 1890s. In addition, Mahan’s views saw the defeat of France by the British navy during their confrontation, and this highlights his role in the US expansionism owing to knowledge on naval history and tactics. Similarly, Mahan was in support of the revival of the Manifest Destiny following naval superiority, a notion that required the establishment of defensive bases in the Caribbean and pacific by the US Major Smedley Butler through his work ‘War is a Racket’ believed that war is a racket meant for profiteering whereby the losses come in terms of dollars and the losses come in terms of lives lost.4 To him war is international in nature and is done solely for the benefit of a chosen few for example the World War 1 there were a couple of millionaires that profiteered from the war. For example he gives the view that, from this war alone, there were 21,000 millionaires and a handful of billionaires those who admitted benefitting from the war in their tax returns.5 In his views the beneficiaries of the war did not go to the battlefield themselves, and states that after the wars when nations become victorious, the chosen few took over the captured nations and exploited their economic resources. The public does not benefit from the war as they only shoulder the excessive bills incurred during the war, and this was felt through economic instabilities, depression and increased taxation. Edward Bernays developed what was known as the “engineering of consent” defined as the scientific process of prompting and working up public opinion, and during World War I, as member of the U.S. Committee on Public Information or CPI in what has been known as the Creel Commission, he helped formulate an ideology that they sold to the American citizen the war as one that would “Make the World Safe for Democracy”. Referring to “the new propaganda” Bernays discusses the rise of power for the common people, how political power transcends from economic power and how the technologies from the industrial Revolution especially the idea of universal or public schooling took power away from the bourgeoisie. For all the power attained by the common people, an elite few used it to their own advantage, what he calls “the executive arm of the invisible government”, also known as propaganda. 6 He argues that propaganda is in itself neither either helpful or harmful, and thus is used to influence public opinion on matters concerning war. Bibliography Beisner, Robert. American Foreign Relations Since 1600: A Guide to the Literature, Second Edition. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Bernays, Edward 2005. Propaganda. New York: Ig Publishing. Original work published 1928. . Butler Smedley D. War Is a Racket. New York: Round table press, inc, 1935. Carlisle, Rodney and Goslon, Geoffrey.Manifest Destiny and the Expansion of America.ABC- CLIO. 2007. LaFeber, Walter. The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion, 1860-1898. Ithaca, N.Y: Published for the American Historical Association [by] Cornell University Press, 1963. Schmidt, Hans. Excerpts from Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History, University Press of Kentucky. 1987.Accessed 8 April 2013 http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/53/butler01-by_schmidt.html Read More