Foreign Relations - Assignment Example

History: Foreign Relations Teller Amendment. This was the disclaimer inserted in the Joint-US Resolution izing the US President to declare war against Spain in 1898, which was then holding Cuba. The Amendment essentially precludes the intention to take over Cuba by the US as a reason for declaring war against Spain. 2. Emilio Aguinaldo. He was the leader of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines in the 1890s that resisted Spanish occupation of that country. He declared Philippine independence immediately after the US invaded the Philippines and defeated the Spanish, which did not sit well with the Americans. He led the Philippine Insurrection against the US and was eventually captured by American soldiers. 5. De Lôme Letter. The Letter, meant to be private, was written by a Spanish minister to a friend, and contained snide remarks against President McKinley. It was stolen by Cuba revolutionaries and was leaked to the American press. It triggered a huge diplomatic controversy and contributed to the declaration of war by the US against the Spanish holdover in Cuba. 6. Rules of Cruiser Warfare. The rules, applicable to confrontations between warships and unarmed merchant ships, provided that warships must not attack merchant ships without warning but must first stop and search them and if sinking is warranted, then passengers must be given time to get off for safety. 8. “Dollar Diplomacy.” ‘Dollar diplomacy’ is the term given to the use by the US of economic power to influence the policies of another country. This was first illustrated by President Roosevelt in the early 1900s in granting loans to the Dominican Republic in exchange for the power to choose its customs officers. Subsequently, it became a US foreign policy used to gain economic and political concessions in other states. 9. Customs Receiverships. A customs receivership is an agreement by which one country is given authority to collect and administer the collection and administration of another country’s customs duties revenues. This was first imposed by the US President on the Dominican Republic in the early 1900s, after the latter fell into bankruptcy, in exchange for economic loans extended to it by the USA. 11. Justiciable Disputes. Legally speaking, a justiciable dispute is one which is ripe for judicial determination. In international law, a justiciable dispute is any conflict that can be brought to arbitration or judicial settlement if it is one of those enumerated first, under the Covenant of the League of Nations and subsequently in the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice and the Locarno treaties. 12. Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan is the German war strategy which called for a two-side offensive and defensive plan against France in the east and Russia in the west. The plan was to make a quick attack on nearby France in the west using most of the German troops and have the east watched by the remaining troops and after subjugating France, transpose the troops via trains to the east to meet the anticipated deployment of the Russians. 13. Treaty Port Imperialism. Treaty Port Imperialism is a system of imposing a country’s will against another by forcing the latter to open its markets to free trade, extending to them extraterritorial rights and jurisdiction, depriving the latter of control over its tariffs. This system was imposed on China by the Great Powers in the middle of the 19th century and was carried on before WWI. 14. Boxer Indemnity. It refers to the payment of damages imposed against China under the Boxer Protocol for the killing of foreign officials and the destruction of their properties by a group of anti-foreign natives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It awarded millions of dollars to the different nationals who were victims of the movement. 17. Boxer Rebellion, 1900. This refers to the anti-foreign movement within China, tacitly approved of by the sitting government, in which foreign officials staying in the country were killed and their properties burned. 18. Portsmouth Mediation. The Portsmouth Mediation is the arbitration initiated by President Roosevelt between Japan and Russia to end the war between them in 1900s, which was held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 19. Extraterritoriality. This refers to a principle in international law, which allows a country to extend its jurisdiction beyond its territory, and in so doing, exempts such country from the jurisdiction of the country where its extraterritoriality is being exercised. 21. Platt Amendment. The Platt Amendment is a stipulation, which laid down the conditions of the US troops’ withdrawal from Cuba after the US-Spain war as well as the relations between US and Cuba including Cuban economic and military concessions to the US like the use of the Guantanamo Bay Base. 22. Arbitration. This is a way of settling disputes extra-judicially where parties agree to appear before a third party and be bound legally by the decision of such third party. 23. Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles. The provision in the Treaty, signed after the defeat of Germany in WWI to the Allied Powers, which justified the imposition of the payment of damages by Germany to the destruction sustained by the Allies as a result of Germany’s aggression. 24. May 4th Movement. It refers to the nationalist movement in China in 1919, initiated by students as a protest against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. 25. War Plan Orange. The Plan is a series of contingent strategies adopted by the US in anticipation of a war against Japan, which included the mobilization of its fleets of warships to the Philippines and Guam and finally sailing north to attack and put up a blockade against Japan. 28. Protectorate. It is a concept in international law of a state or territory placed under diplomatic and military protection of a stronger state in exchange for some economic or military concessions. 29. McKinley Tariff, 1890. It refers to an Act sponsored by McKinley which raised tariff rates on manufactured goods and imports aimed at their exclusion from the market and decrease tariff revenues. Essay: Cuba and the American interests in Cuba precipitated the US-Cuba war in 1890. Cuba was then under Spanish rule and in 1898, the Cuban rebellion once again erupted forcing US to send its ship USS Maine to watch over US interests in that country. Maine, however, exploded and sank and although there was some doubt about the cause, it snow balled public opinion against Spain and pressured President McKinley and the US Congress to declare war against Spain. The playing up of the De Lôme letter in the press also added fuel to public anger against Spain. The Teller Amendment inserted the document authorizing war ensured that US’ interest in the war was not to take over Cuba. The war not only fought in Cuba but also in the other colonies of Spain: the Philippines; Guam, and; Puerto Rico. All of these countries were Spanish colonies and the US wrested control over them. They were officially ceded to the US in the Treaty of Paris after it was officially defeated. Some historians, however, attributed the US-Spanish war to US venture into colonial expansion and an imperialist ideology. Read More