The Rough Rider in the White House - Assignment Example

I The Rough Rider in the White House (1901-1909) refers to Theodore Roosevelt. He became the youngest president of the United s when President William McKinley was assassinated in September 1901. He was committed to make the government to work for the people and to regulated the great business trusts to foster fair competition without socializing the free enterprise system. He focused on solving problems regarding the railroads, labor, and the processed food industry. He led by serving as according to him "If the people were to be served, then it was incumbent upon the President to orchestrate the initiatives that would be to their benefit and the nation's welfare." The first of fifty-one national bird sanctuaries, and the national parks and monuments he created are his major contributions to the U.S. (http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/roosevelt/rrwh2.htm). 2. Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, November 18, 1903 is an agreement between the United States of America and the Republic of Panama to insure the construction of a ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It entails the authorization for the U.S. through the president to acquire within a reasonable time the control of the necessary territory of the Republic of Colombia. This is made possible through the powers vested in the Republic of Panama to have sovereignty over Colombia. This is one of the self-protective efforts of the U.S. against likely invasion or opposition from other rising powers like China. (http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/roosevelt/rrwh2.htm). 3. President Theodore Roosevelt's Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1904 covers his declarations and adherence to the U.S. Foreign Policy. He stressed out the importance of the Army and the Navy in its foreign policy. He talked about the peace of justice and the positive and negative factors regarding the concept of peace. It entails both rights and responsibilities to the home country in relation to the other countries and the world at large. In the same message he asserted the Monroe Doctrine which is aimed at US interests as it sought to help other nations in the western hemisphere. (http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/us-relations/roosevelt-corollary.htm). 4. Dollar Diplomacy was a foreign policy that was pursued by President William Howard Taft and Secretary of State Philander C. Knox in 1909-1913. Its goal was to create stability and order promoting American Commercial interests and using private capital to further U.S. interests abroad. It was successful in the Caribbean and Central America but failed in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and China. It grew out of President Theodore Roosevelt's peaceful intervention in the Dominican Republic by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. It is a form of colonizing the finances of struggling countries to ensure that the U.S. is protected from other Powers (http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/history/time6.html#dollar). 5. Washington Naval Conference (Disarmament Efforts) is an effort at restricting the growth of naval tonnage which is thought to be an approximate measure of military strength. The U.S. was at the head of the extensive efforts at disarmaments during the 1920s and 1930s even if it was not an active member of the League of Nations. The United Kingdom, United States and Japan were the major naval powers who recognized the great costs of a naval arms race. The first naval disarmament conference of eight nations was held in Washington in the winter of 1921-1922 which resulted to Five Power Treaty establishing a "holiday" on the building of new warships for ten years with a tonnage ratio of 10:10:6:3:3 for Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy, respectively. (http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/history/time8.html#disarmament). 6. The Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 was a treaty between the United States and the other Powers providing for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy. It was signed at Paris on August 27, 1928 and ratified by the Senate and the U.S. president in 1929. It is also known as Pact of Paris. Though it failed in its purpose, it was significant for later developments in international law. Named after the American secretary of state Frank B. Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand, who drafted the pact, it was originally intended for France and the U.S. but was later agreed as suggested by Kellogg to be a multilateral pact against war and is open for all nations and not just a meaningless statement of utopian idealism. (http://elsinore.cis.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/kbpact/kbpact.htm). 7. The Treaty of Versailles (1919-23) or the Versailles Peace Settlement or the Paris Peace Settlement is a collection of peace treaties between the Central Powers and the Allied powers ending World War I. The main treaty was that of Versailles (June 1919) between the Allied powers (except for the USA, which refused to ratify the treaty) and Germany, whose representatives were required to sign it without negotiation. Its major provision is for Germany to be punished for starting the Great War, thus, it should make amends to the other countries for the damages caused by the war., such as: monetary and territorial reparations. It has been considered by some historians to have failed its purpose and instead sparked the fuse for World War II. (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/partviii.htm). II. A. The War Nobody Won: World War I, 1914-1918. Germany rose to power only after a series of wars in 1871. When Kaiser Wilhelm II chose to undo Bismarck's balance of power by refusing to renew Germany's friendship with Russia it became a minority since its only European ally was the weakest of the European powers, Austria-Hungary. So when Austria declared war against Serbia on July 28, 1914, Germany found itself at war with Russia since it was an ally of Serbia, and also at war with France and Great Britain. The United States chose to stay neutral adhering to its Policy of Neutrality. However, when it found itself torn between warring camps where they interrupted American Shipping to either camp, it was forced to join the Allies (Britain and France). I believe Woodrow Wilson was successful in his war goals. I think it was just the best a man in his position could do at the given time. The Great War has not benefited the United States in its intervention since it has gained new enemies and incurred many damages just like all the other countries involved in World War I. (http://iws.ccccd.edu/kwilkison/Online1302home/20th%20Century/WWI.htm). B. Depression and New Deal, 1929-1940s. The U.S. economy was at such a low point when Franklin D. Roosevelt became President in 1933 because of the ravages of World War I. The fundamental problem, Roosevelt admitted was due to weak consumer demand because of falling wages and unemployment. The Roosevelt Administration's response to the Depression were the New Deals. The New Deal sought to save capitalism and the fundamental institutions of American society from the disaster of the Great Depression. The "first" New Deal (1933-1935) was aimed at restoring the economy from the top down. However, after realizing that the "first" New Deal" was not effective in the sense that Americans were suffering more than he had realized and that he lacked the support of the business right, FDR headed left to the "second" New Deal. The "second" New Deal (1935-1940s) was aimed at restoring the economy from the bottom up. It opened more employment opportunities to over eight million Americans. In addition, the implementation of Social Security protected older workers, promoted increased consumer demand and earned. a place as a fixture on the American political and social landscape. Finally, it attempted to prevent employers' use of intimidation and coercion in breaking up unions. Although the New Deal did not actually end the Great Depression but the World War II did, it has a long term effect in the American society and government even to the present. (http://iws.ccccd.edu/kwilkison/Online1302home/20th%20Century/DepressionNewDeal.html). 3. Course Website Quiz 2 1. alliance systems 2. "Allies" (especially Britain and France) 3. Versailles 4. weaken 5. banks 6. conservative historians, liberal historians, leftists 7. clothing 8. top down 9. bottom up 10. Roosevelt Coalition 11. Monroe Doctrine 12. Colombia 13. international police power 14. Japanese Empire 15. "free hand" 16. "Lend-lease" 17. Munichs 18. United Nations Organization 19. containment 20. Joseph McCarthy 4. Textbook Quiz 2 1Dollar Diplomacy 2 3 45 6 7 8 Early period of Roosevelt's presidency 9 10 25% 11 12 United States, United Kingdom, France 13 isolationists 14 Pearl Harbor 15 16 17 18 Works Cited Background to the War Nobody Won: World War I, 1914-1918 Convention for the Construction of a Ship Canal (Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty), November 18, 1903 1866-1913: Diplomacy and the Rise to Global Power 1921-1936: Diplomacy of Isolationism The Great Depression and New Deal, 1929-1940s Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine Rough Rider in the White House 1901-1909 The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919: Part VIII Read More