Chapter 17Section 2

Relations with

Latin American

Intervention in Nicaragua

In 1925 General Emiliano Chamorro overthrew the government.

The U.S. refused to recognize his government and President Coolidge ordered the U.S. Marines and Henry Stimson to go to Nicaragua to end the civil war

Stimson helped to negotiate an end to the civil war and negotiated a peace treaty in May 1927

Stimson called for the abolition of Nicaragua's armed forces and {the U.S. troops to train a new Nicaraguan National Guard.}

Augusto Cesar Sandino, a general who opposed Chamorro, refused to accept Stimson’s proposal and in hopes to keep the Americans out of Nicaragua led another revolt

Continued….

The war was getting costly in the midst of the depression so President Hoover ordered the withdrawal of troops in 1933

One year later the commander of the U.S. trained National Guard, {General Anastasio Somoza ordered Sandino’s assassination}

Eventually the resistance to Somoza evaporated Somoza forced out the Nicaraguan president in 1936

and took over the presidency. With U.S. backing Somoza and his family ruled

without interruption until another revolution in 1979.

General Anastasio Somoza

In 1932, the National Guard was headed for the first time in history by a Nicaraguan military: Anastasio Somoza García. The next year, this military leader started an evident persecution of old Sandinista soldiers, illegally arresting, hurting, and even killing these men. This situation forced Sandino to visit Managua to complain about this situation in front of president Sacasa. Sandino was invited to a gala by the president and the same Somoza. After arranging a compromise of ceasefire, Sandino accepted the offer. On the road, in Managua, the car of Sandino was intercepted by soldiers of the National Guard. The soldiers then escorted Sandino and two of his generals to a place where the hero and his men were brutally shot to death.

Augusto Cesar Sandino

The Good Neighbor

In 1933, President {Roosevelt expressed his policy of respect toward Latin America in the Good Neighbor Policy}

He signed a treaty with Cuba that canceled an amendment that gave the U.S. right to intervene in Panama

He also withdrew troops from Haiti Also due to increased U.S. investments in banana,

coffee and sugar plantations in Central America and the Caribbean, the U.S. companies played a large economic role in the economy of Latin America.

But many Latin Americans resented the economic and political power of the large U.S. companies.

< Banana Fields< Banana Fields

Coffee and Pepper > Plantation

Relations with Mexico The Good Neighbor policy was tested when in March

1938, Mexico’s president Lazaro Cardenas began to {nationalize, or assert governmental control}, over the country’s oil industry

Until then the U.S. and Britain, despite the Mexican constitution that gave Mexico absolute control over all of its underground resources, owned and operated all oil companies in Mexico

U.S. oil companies in Mexico pressed Roosevelt to intervene

Meanwhile, the {U.S. Ambassador in to Mexico, Josephus Daniels, tried for a compromise between the Mexican gov. and the oil companies}

{Roosevelt decided to maintain good relations with Mexico and made the oil companies reach an agreement with Mexico} for fair compensation

Lazaro Cardenas

New Latin American Leaders

The Wall Street crash of 1929 affected Latin America as well.

Because all the companies the U.S. had in Central America were affected, farm wages dropped to 8 cents a day

In the 1930’s {caudillos, military leaders who used force to maintain order}, took power in many Latin American countries

U.S. diplomats denounced the restrictions of freedom the caudillos used to maintain their power

However, the U.S. often supported the caudillos because they created environments for American companies to do business

< caudillos

People fleeing caudillo > control