dimensions of history confronting the united states

DIMENSIONS OF HISTORY

CONFRONTING THE

UNITED STATES

U.S. IMPERIAL POWER

Conquest and incorporation

Formal colonization

Informal “spheres of influence”

STRATEGIES FOR POWER

Mexico Conquest and incorporation Military intervention Political and economic pressure

Central America and Caribbean Colonization (Puerto Rico, Panama?) Dollar diplomacy and “sphere of influence” Military intervention (Dominican Republic, Panama, Haiti)

Cuba Military intervention, occupation (1898-1902) Quasi-colony (Platt Amendment, 1902-33) Sphere of influence (1934-59) Attempts at overthrow (1959- )

STRATEGIES FOR POWER

Mexico Conquest and incorporation Military intervention Political and economic pressure

Central America and Caribbean Colonization (Puerto Rico, Panama?) Dollar diplomacy and “sphere of influence” Military intervention (Dominican Republic, Panama, Haiti)

Cuba Military intervention, occupation (1898-1902) Quasi-colony (Platt Amendment, 1902-33) Sphere of influence (1934-59) Attempts at overthrow (1959- )

U.S. MILITARY INTERVENTIONS, 1898-1933

Costa Rica 1921

Cuba 1898-1902, 1906-1909, 1912, 1917-1922

Dominican Rep 1903, 1904, 1914, 1916-1924

Haiti 1915-1934

Honduras 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924, 1925

Mexico 1913, 1914, 1916-1917, 1918-1919

Nicaragua 1898, 1899, 1909-1910, 1912-1925, 1926-1933

Panama 1903-1914, 1921, 1925

Defining the Challenge

Establishing sovereigntyArticulating national interestsIn the wake of colonial rule (and war)Negotiating international arenaConfronting the United States

STRATEGIC OPTIONS

1. Collective unity (“the Bolivarian dream”)

2. Extra-hemispheric protection

3. Regional hegemony

4. International law

5. Cultures of resistance

6. Alignment with the United States

OPTIONS IN ACTION: MEXICO

Collective unity (as leader of Latin America) Regional hegemony (in Central America) International law (re sovereignty) Cultures of resistance Alignment with United States (NAFTA)

CENTRAL AMERICA + CARIBBEAN

Central America Collective unity (unification) Cultures of resistance Alignment with USA

Caribbean Extra-hemispheric protection (Europe) Cultures of resistance Alignment with USA

CUBA

Cultures of resistance + revolutionExtra-hemispheric protectionCollective unity (?)

Outcomes and Implications

• Short-term success and experimentation

• Growth of nationalist anti-imperialism

• Continuing quest for sovereignty

• Tensions in U.S.-Latin American relations