Question 1 : Possible Questions 12

Question 1

Explain why US foreign policy, during the 1890s, moved away from isolationism

Answer 1

1. Economic Influences
   - rapid growth of Am econ proved US needed control new markets overseas-increased influence of theorists
   eg. Mahan -> 1890 ‘the influence of sea power upon history’ naval expansion needed to support economic expansion
   - Senator Henry Cabot Lodge -> expanding US influence to safeguard commercial interest -> prevent repetition of 1893 depression

Link : 1890’s a great age of European imperialism

2. traditional Am. hostility to European ‘interference’
   - Monroe Doctrine formulated 1823
   - felt that Latin America was in US sphere of influence b/c large majority of L Am exports to US
   eg. 1890 Cuban exports to United States valued $54 million
   - Instability in China b/c Japan modernisation from 1868 = threat to Am. interests in Pacific
   - 1899 Open Door Policy

Link : Through newspapers, journals, media etc., Am. public began to see such threats in Am. sphere of influence as immoral

3. Public opinion
   - ‘Yellow Press’ Pulitzer + Hearst- highlighted Spanish atrocities in Cuba
   - blamed Spanish for sinking of USS Maine Feb 1898- ‘Remember the Maine’
   - Leaked ambassador De Lôme letter insulting Mckinley- harsh Spanish treatment of Cubans by General ‘Butcher’ Weyler
   - Mckinley -> “a duty..to humanity to intervene with force”- shifted public opinion from isolationist to interventionist

Question 2

Explain why the USA became increasingly isolationist in the years 1918 to 1921

Answer 2

1. Domestic priorities
   - Rapid readjustment + demobilisation produced social unrest in the United States in 1919–20.
   - Despite wartime patriotism, African Americans = primary victims of urban race riots + rural lynchings -socialists + other radicals (immigrants/ native‐born) targets of the Red Scare.
   - After fighting a war in Europe for dem, gov had to make sure same dem shown to Am. pub.
   - Wilson advocated League of Nations as a barrier against Bolshevism which contributed to the Red Scare.
   - L.o.N not supported b/c collective security
   - Am public wanted a return to normalcy + isolationism under Harding as their foreign policy in order to ease the disrupt Wilson and the first world war had caused.

Link: WW1 not only linked to domestic disrupt but also economic disrupt

2. Economical impact of WW1
   - cost America approximately 32 billion
   - post-war recession in american economy
   - due to cost of the war + sudden halt in the production of arms + decrease in demand for agriculture.
   - Shell production decreased from 16.4 million -2 in a month -> huge loss of jobs in the industry of arms manufacturing
   - > a decrease in value of stocks and inflation-Am public + Rep party recognised that economical problems resulting in WW1 would not be solved by yet another entanglement with foreign powers which led them to isolationism.

Link: Despite post-war recession, WW1 marked a turning point for Am.

• reduced the global influence of Europe, destroying some of its monarchies + empires + diminishing the strength of others.
• WW1 challenged Europe’s international leadership.
• post WW1, Eu allies owed Am 11 billion which transformed America from a net debtor to a net creditor.
• New York replaced London as world’s financial centre.
• pre-war, important for Am to be involved in eu affairs however post, eu allies no longer controlled sufficient military + economic resources to shape world affairs as before.
• > sense of self-sufficiency in America
• > increasingly evident while other nations dependant on America to survive, America could strive ahead in isolationism.

Question 3

Explain why the principle of Open Door in trade was adopted in 1900

Answer 3

1. American foreign policy moved away from isolation in the 1890’s
   - expansionism in 19th c -> more popular idea b/c provided foreign markets for domestic surplus
   - America didn’t believe in imperialism in trad. sense
   - important to have strategic naval bases + other economies to rely on them but against am beliefs to colonise/ take over countries.
   - Consequently, could not act like other nations at the end of the 19th c
   - > join in ‘carving up’ China-> the open door policy needed so Am could have a equal chance of trade with China.

Link: After America moved away from isolationism in the 1890’s, the far east became vital for trade.

2. secure free trade-nations which were ‘carving up’ China were creating discriminative trade practices
   - > Hay sent an open door note on the 6th of Sept 1899 to establish the right of equal trade access
   - It stated that all nations who wanted to do business in China had the right to.
   - Hay also proposed that each power should do away with economic advantages.
   - allowed Chinese Tariffs to apply universally + tariffs to be collected by Chinese themselves
   - >allowed America to be equal to the other nations within China.

Link: The occupation of China by foreign nations angered the Chinese causing them to begin an anti-foreign movement known as the Boxer Rebellion which triggered America to adopt the open door policy.

3. Boxer Rebellion -> violent conflict
   - claimed the lives of hundreds of foreign missionaries + thousands of Chinese nationals.
   - Boxers descended upon Beijing, foreign nationals living there, including embassy staff called upon their home governments for assistance.
   - Hay knew that the foreign powers would use the Boxer Rebellion as an excuse to carve China into individual colonies which is why he administered and adopted the open door note to the foreign powers involved in China.

Question 4

Explain why the USA went to war against Spain in 1898

Answer 4

1. Underlying - prestige and power
   - manifest destiny, a concept of expansionism.
   - increased influence of theorists
   eg. Mahan -> 1890 ‘the influence of sea power upon history’ naval expansion needed to support economic expansion
   - Senator Henry Cabot Lodge -> expanding US influence to safeguard commercial interest -> prevent repetition of 1893 depression
   - 1890’s a great age of European imperialism
   - Monroe Doctrine of 1823 gave the government the mission to expel European powers from North, South and Central America.
   - allow America to dominate these areas

Link: felt that Latin America was in US sphere of influence b/c large majority of L Am exports to US

2. Economic factors
   - By 1898 Am significant tobacco + sugar trading links
   - many American investors in Cuba.
   - > America needed to protect business interest.
   - MD ensured trade between the US and these regions would be undisrupted which relates to their need to protect business interest in Cuba.
   - 1890 Cuban exports to United States worth $54 million- US provided 38% of Cuban imports by 1898

Link: Need for US protection over Cuba created war fever amongst public

3. Public Opinion
   - ‘Yellow Press’ Pulitzer + Hearst portrayal of the sinking of the USS Maine and Butcher Weyler
   - Feb 15th 1898, the USS Maine sank in Havana harbour after an explosion which caused 260 deaths.’Remember the Maine’
   - Ambassador De Lôme letter. In this letter, Mckinley was referred to as a ‘weakling, a bidder for the adoration of the crowd’.

Question 5

Explain why Republicans won all the Presidential elections between 1896 to 1908

Answer 5

1. Economic factors- Rep supported gold standard
   - support from BB, rich farmers + urban workers
   - Dems -> free coinage of silver helped poor farmers + rural areas
   - Reps-> laissez-faire approach most aspects eg. tax- adopted protectionist high tariff policy shield Am. industry from foreign competition

Link: BB gave 3.5 mill to McKinley campaign in 1896

2. Electioneering
   - Mark Hanna -> managed McKinley’s campaign 1896 +1900
   - invention of modern electioneering techniques
   eg. posters -> created clear distinction between 2 main parties
   - similar to propoganda- manipulated mood of country + particular circumstances
   - placed blame on Dems for 1893 depression
   - McKinley speech before Am entry into SPAM -> “a duty..to humanity to intervene with force”

Link: Rep party recognised that Pres. impact on Am. public was significant

3. Candidate profiles + electoral college
   - always put forward well-known figures
   - eg. Mckinley -> Civil War veteran/ TR -> ‘rough rider’ -> made them national figures + household names b4 running
   - gave them backing of more populated states in North Easteg. 1896 McKinley presidency dependant on NY state
   - > highest number of electoral college vote (36) + Pennsylvania second highest (32)

Question 6

Explain why the USA entered the First World War in 1917

Answer 6

1. The German submarine campaign February 1915
   - G torpedo ships – Caused American deaths
   - reported by the press -> encouraged anti-German feeling and pro-war feeling
   - Sinking of the Luisitania
   - British passenger liner was sunk on the 7th May 1915 and caused 128 US deaths. Between February 1915 and April 1917 around 230 Americans died because of the German Submarine Campaign
   - Other ships that were sunk include: ‘The Sussex’ which was sunk in March 1916 and caused 80 casualties and the ‘Laconia’ which was sunk on 27th February 1917 which caused 2 Am deaths.

Link: Trade routes became disrupted by the G torpedo campaign and felt their desire to have access to the seas was affected.

2. Economic factors
   - US bankers lent $2.5 billion to Allies and only $27million to Germany by comparison
   - could not afford to let allies lose
   - When war began, U.S. econ in recession
   - a 32-month economic boom ensued from 1914 to 1917, as Europeans began purchasing U.S. goods for the war later
   - evident that this boom would only increase if US itself joined the battle.

Link: Due to both economic and moral reasons, Am. public opinion began to shift towards war

3. Public Opinion-Propaganda
   - > Americans had easy access to anti-German propaganda- Interception of the ‘Zimmerman Note’
   - Germany offered to support Mexico in regaining the states of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona if there was a successful alliance between Germany and Mexico against USA- seen as a personal attack

Question 7

Explain why many Americans feared mass immigration in the years 1890 to 1920

Answer 7

1. Economic- growth in poverty gap
   - growth in industrial accidents
   - corruption b/c easy exploitation low wage
   - Immigrants tend to do menial jobs affected unskilled US.citizens -> wages down
   - 1/3 population in 12 major cities were immigrants because
   of the job opportunities.
   - rise in working class resentment due to this threat of decreased job opportunities

Link: Government realised opportunities for cheap labour after setting up immigration bureau during the civil war.

2. Politics
   -Some immigrants had little understanding of politics, voted in same ways as the cities in which they lived.
   -Many American’s concerned it went against ‘Jefferson
   Ideal’
   - Immigrants often Catholic, loyalties to foreign Pope.
   - American’s questioned whether they should be trusted to stay patriotic.
   - American’s overtook Plains Indians, feared immigrants would do the same to them.

Link: Anti-semitic and anti- catholic feeling also led to increasing tensions in society.

3. Tensions in society
   - racial tension
   - religious tension (catholic)
   - US = protestant (WASPS)
   - people thought there wasn’t enough room “closing of the frontier”
   - ethnic diversity defined by colour, religion or lang
   - increasing catholic tension
   - growth in pop. of slums (2x as london in early 1900’s)- tended to take over poorer section of cities

Question 8

Explain why Wilson won the 1912 election

Answer 8

1. Republican party was split
   - TR failed to win the Republican presidential nomination- organised a new political party: the Progressives.
   - Republican convention of 1912 had been controlled by conservative supporters of Taft who nominated him for four more years in the White House
   - Roosevelt broke with the Republicans.
   - he and his supporters held their own convention.
   - formed the Progressive Party + approved a platform that promised reforms.
   - reforms were proposed to make the government serve the people and carry out more fully their desire for social progress.

Link: TR reforms similar to Wilsons’s made his party redundant

2. Wilson campaigned on a program called the New Freedom
   - stressed individualism and states’ rights.
   - Roosevelt’s typically energetic campaign attacked both Wilson and Taft
   - but his domestic program was similar to Wilson’s appeal to working class voters.
   - The Republicans, however, were split. Some supported Taft. The others were for Roosevelt.
   - Roosevelt refused to accept the idea of defeat.
   - He campaigned hard, visiting many cities and towns, making speech after speech.

Link: Wilson had more adequate funds for electioneering as Roosevelt had split from the Republican party and Taft showed little interest in the campaign

3. Electioneering
   - significant aid from practical political organizers
   eg. George Harvey, editor of Harper’s Weekly-relied on key advisers skilled in practical politics, such as Edward “Colonel” House of Texas
   - Wilson’s victory in the Electoral College was overwhelming with 435 electoral votes to 88 for Roosevely and nt president, Taft suffered a humiliating defeat, gaining only 8 electoral votes to Roosevelt’s 88.