INTRODUCTION:
The ‘invisible hand’ has been a staple in American literature ever since it was first coined by Adam Smith in the mid 18th century. Actions made in pursuit of one’s self-interests will always prevail, demonstrating the hands influence. This same concept can be used to describe the actions the United States took towards Argentina during the mid-1970s when it was embroiled in a Dirty War. People went as far as to kidnap and report their own neighbors to the authorities–believing them to be radicals who were against the authoritative regime. Given due time, it would be discovered that the U.S. aided in the Argentine efforts to silence its people in exchange for economic assistance. However, once the international sphere was
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U.S. foreign policy in Latin America did not take into account that countries would want to opt out of monolithic block set up by U.S. corporations and the U.S. government. In Nicaragua, the “Marxist regime allied to the Soviet Union and Cuba” was a constant danger. Nicaragua had previously been a U.S. ally under President Somoza, who like U.S.-backed Chilean Eduardo Frei, held American ideals, but the U.S. lost its influence in the country. The U.S. saw itself as the protector of the Western Hemisphere and intended to keep its influence over Latin America. Partly because of the Monroe Doctrine, in which the U.S. could intervene in American countries that were in danger of European invasion, the U.S. was able to exercise much authority over weak Latin American states. U.S. foreign policy in Latin America began to shift in a way that benefited the U.S. through opening trade, lower tariffs and political allies. After an economic collapse, knowing that countries needed to reconstruct themselves and were in grave need of economic assistance, the U.S. manipulated the situation to persuade countries to adopt policies. The combination of loosening strongholds in Latin America and Cold War threats pressured the U.S. to reevaluate the durability of other Latin American …show more content…
During the early-1970s, Argentina began to be seen as an emerging nation that could prevent communism from reaching South America. Having already involved itself in El Salvador, Chile and Cuba, the U.S. turned its attention to Argentina who was beginning to exhibit signs of civil unrest primarily due to class conflicts and inequality. Hoping to stomp out a communist revolution before it began, the U.S. funded capitalist economic policies to promote a much friendlier U.S.-favoring Argentine government. The development of policies adopted by the U.S. were done for the benefit of the U.S. without regard to what the people of Argentina wanted. Eventually, the internal affairs in Argentina led to several foreign social movements rallying behind humanitarian change, influencing the decisions Argentina made. To what degree did these transnational networks impact foreign policy change? Throughout my paper, I argue that the U.S.’ primary goal was to maintain its superpower status and prove that capitalism was the most superior social system. Over the course of my research, I analyzed U.S. economic policies that span several U.S. presidencies. Changing attitudes and a presidential shift in priorities, profoundly changed American relations
Differing ideas of national identity shaped views of United States overseas expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to a great extent due to the presence of segregation amongst the African American population, acquisition of the Philippines, and encouragement of violence as a result of the Spanish-American War. Imperialism is the policy of taking control over countries around the world for political and economic gain. Since its formation, the United States has imperialized several countries, including the Philippines, Cuba, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Imperialism was incorporated during the Spanish-American War, a four-month battle between the United States and Spain. Then, chaos induced after the explosion of the USS Maine in Cuba.
How did the Carter and Reagan presidencies serve corporate interests? The Carter administration started off with strong corporate connections. He wanted and worked to protect corporate wealth and power.. It was became obvious that Caters actions and cabinet appointments only worked to serve corporate interests while harming the working class.
The Spanish American War was a big step towards American War power and influenced foreign countries greatly with trade, naval power, and territory. The Era of the Spanish - American contributed to the advancement in trade for the United States. After the Hay-Pauncefote treaty with Britain was abolished, the U.S. was free to build a canal in Latin America with their help. The canal was set to be built in Panama, this canal was to benefit America to create ports free from tax in this country. This was granted when the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 gave rights over a 51 mile long and 10 mile wide Canal Zone to protect the U.S. With these rights American manufacturing exporting companies without any tariffs for the citizens of the States.
The Spanish American war was a product of Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis and the urbanization of America. In 1895, a rebellion broke out in Cuba, as Cuban patriots wanted independences from Spain. Through the yellow journalism, reports of Spain’s cruel military tactics lead to a public uproar in the U.S. However, most of these stories were exaggerated as a form to promote war. After an American battleship, the USS Maine, was destroyed, America was “forced” to start war and stop Spanish occupation.
The imperialistic mentality of the American government after the Civil War, led to some degree to the Spanish-American war that would render a great acquisition of land for the United States. However, imperialism would not be the sole factor that led to the war against Spain, but also the sympathy felt by the American government towards Cuba’s efforts in fighting for their independence; additionally, the United States would seek to protect its commercial interests (sugar) in the island. Therefore, after invoking the Spanish to secede from their brutal practices towards Cuban rebels and attain a peaceful end to the situation, the United States arbitrarily sent a navy ship, “The USS Maine” to monitor the area.
Entering WWII brought America out of its depression and into the complicated world of political affairs. The change of U.S. foreign policy from the end of the First World War to the end of the Korean War changed drastically as the U.S. became a stronger world power. From isolationism to encouragement of interventions, it can be said that the U.S. reversed its policy within a few decades. The shift in its policy can be attributed to the international wars that got the U.S. involved with world politics, involvement of U.S. presidents in the world affairs, and the growing power of other foreign powers, such as the Soviet Union. Wars are the one of the central factors in international affairs.
American wanted to ensure Chile did not move towards enforcing funding on trades or stop the authorization of America business ventures. President Nixon ordered for ways to cut off earnings to the Chile, by considering the means of limiting their main way of profit. Nixon begin to take steps towards gradually cutting off any possible profit going to the Chilean people. Washington’s strategy was essential to, because they were aiming to at weaken to the main components of Chiles make up first, in order, to weaken the country as a whole. America held an “invisible blockade” on Chile restricting them of what they relied on most for the constructing of their economy.
The president forced to take action was Felipe Calderón. In Fisher and Taub’s Mexico’s
It seems to me that the United States was benefiting from the rich corporations during this time. Many challenges came about because all of the other nations wanted to satisfy their own ambition as much as the U.S. wanted to. However, the foreign policy is an interventionist savior of other nations because so many products were being shipped and other countries wanted the products that the United States
Essay One: Imperialism Flies circle great black lumps as the moist air ravages the corpses. Dried blood soaked into the ground after faceless soldiers brutally destroyed its owners’ lives. These were the stories in the newspapers, the movies, and the films. Horrified by these crimes against humanity, the American public was spurred into action against the Spanish oppressors. the United States invaded Cuba in 1898 to pursue humanitarian efforts.
Dollar Diplomacy was successful but it failed to counteract economic instability and the tide of revolution in areas like Mexico, China, Nicaragua, and the Dominican
Thomas McCormick’s essay titled The World-System, Hegemony, and Decline, presents some relevant questions that I am unable to answer by just reading his work. Firstly, alluding to economic freedom and freedom of the seas as main U.S. objectives with regards to foreign policy might not be entirely accurate. It is true that the United States have used and will continue to use its elements of national power to protect economic interests all around the world, but are these the only instances where the United States fight for other freedoms? Is Uncle Sam our capitalistic egomaniac above anything else? Additionally, McCormick seems to be disappointed when he writes about how labor compensation differs between core, semi periphery, and periphery countries (Merrill and Paterson, 2010, 4).
This caused Mexico and other latin American countries to alter their foreign policy either not listening to the US asking them to cut ties with Cuba or in Nicaragua
The Kennedy-Johnson years (1961-1969) provided the stimulant for social and economic re-form, but most of their policy initiatives were confounded by domestic strife and foreign policy failure. Discuss. The 1960s heralded a period of both social and economic change as both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to continue the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’. However, “competing domestic and foreign policy constituencies” stymied some of their efforts at reform therefore whilst in many cases their policies stimulated reform in later decades much of their energies in the 1960s were focused overseas.
The Monroe Doctrine is one of the most influential foreign policies made by an American President in our nation’s history. It strongly defined the principle of American exclusivity and European non-interference in North and South America. In Europe, the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 marked the disintegration of the Spanish empire in the New World. Between 1815 and 1822, Argentina, Venezuela, and Chile declared their independence, and broke away from colonialism. The Monroe administration recognized Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico as independent colonies in 1822.