Era Of Independence: A Comparative Analysis

There were a few main points that led up to the Latin American independence movement. In, 1797 the Britain blockade of Spain took place for two years, which cut off

Intervention in Latin America, mainly Cuba, also led to the Spanish-American War. When the American naval ship, the USS Maine, exploded in the Havana Harbor, President McKinley immediately decided to go to war after being labeled a coward by yellow journalists. This is a prime example of how incidents in Latin American countries forced presidents to act rapidly and without much thought, causing America to form a bold and aggressive foreign policy.

Both Latin American revolutions and the American revolution were different in term of cause and the result it brought with it. For example, it was much easier for the Americans to gain independence than the Latin Americans because of the unity they manage to take and keep despite the discontent each colonist had against each other. Both of these revolutions were fighting for independence from the Old World because they could not stand the strict systems, applied to them by their mother countries, that prevented the development of a rapidly growing colonial economy. These policies were designed to maximize the trade of a nation to bring money into the suppressing powers but not for the colonists themselves.

The United States has influenced many nations in the world throughout history. Some of the ways the U.S. has been able to dominate poor countries are with military action and corporate activities that allowed the United States to influence their governments. Since the United States extends its power with the previously mentioned methods, it is recognized as an imperialist nation. The United States has specifically demonstrated imperialistic forces in Latin America. The effects that the United States’ imperialism had on Latin American economies and politics were negative since it brought violence and caused the poor to struggle even more. When the United Sates government did not like policies that Latin American presidents were creating, they would take military actions to force American ideologies into Latin American countries’ governments by installing puppets into their governments. Generally, these countries would have flourished economically without the United States, but since the U.S. became involved with the countries’ policies, their economies have weakened because the U.S. wants the benefits of controlling countries’ resources without being responsible for the people who reside there. This pattern of the United States’ imperialistic behavior has been demonstrated many times in Latin America.

The post spanish american war period was a time of many changes in the US physically and mentally. During this time period the United States showed many examples of expansionism like they had earlier in the creation of the country but it also showed that the country was attempting to depart away from imperialism somewhat. The mindset of the American government and public was similar to the mindsets of those that were before them after the revolutionary war. For example, we attempted to gain more land and resources such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and The Philippines these actions were close to how we pushed and took all the land of those who were in the area but it was also different because we did not force people out of the area we were attempting to control we just wanted more influence and control of that area.

With European conquest spreading throughout the world, the US as a growing nation needed political influence and military influence to protect themselves from imperialism. In the early 1800s, Latin America had been establishing their freedom from the Spanish empire, and the US decided to strengthen its power in the region. After acknowledging some of the first Latin American countries, President James Monroe announced the foreign policy, the Monroe Doctrine. President Monroe’s new policy followed three main ideas: no European colonization in the American continents, the US would not meddle with European affairs, and if the Europe did intervene in American matters then it would be considered as an act of war. Despite the lack of US military

Howard Jones who is the author of, Crucible of Power, argues that the U.S. followed a foreign policy of independent internationalism to secure foreign markets through peaceful means and this can be seen in Latin America. Woodrow Wilson promised not to seek territorial acquisitions to the South, but would not renounce the spread of U.S. influence through economic means and this lead to the U.S. having influence in 75 percent of Latin American during the 1920s. To spread economic influence throughout Latin America the U.S. insisted it would be through peaceful policies, but continued the use of military interventionism in countries like the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua until the middle of the 1920 's. This is also an example which shows that the U.S. did not pursue an isolationist foreign policy and wanted to go out in the world and expand its markets.

During the early year of the nineteenth century, aside from Mexico, almost every other important colony in Latin America gained independence from its Mother country in Europe. However, as this occurred, certain powerful monarchies in Europe threatened to stamp out representative governments if they developed in the old colonies. That was the reason that in 1823, President James Monroe issued his now-famous policy statement called The Monroe Doctrine. In it, Monroe warned the European power that he would considered any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. In other words, the Monroe Doctrine warned the European monarchies that they could expect a strong response from

Prior to its independence Latin America had been controlled by external forces for hundreds of years. To be freed of control from these outside interests did not in any way guarantee Latin America a return to the status quo. In fact, the inhabitants of Latin America had done very well in assimilating their in house controllers. They adopted European language, religion, color, and just about everything else that the European culture had to offer them. Although they were free to do as they please and run their own affairs in the global neighborhood as we know it, they struggled to create an entity for themselves. They embody too much of what is not native to their region, yet the people that used to represent their land 500 years earlier

US interventionism in Latin America started a long time ago with the Monroe Doctrine, in 1823. A policy which stated that any intervention by external power for example from Europe is the Americas is a hostile act against the US. In simpler words, America is for the Americas. From the 1900’s till the beginning of the Cold War, the United States started the military intervention mostly in the Caribbean and Central American regions. This has started a long history of the United States intervening on Latin America issues.

American attitudes towards Latin America can be summed up as an extension of larger global directives, and the exclusion of foreign powers in the region. This was highlighted especially during the Cold War as US involvement was essentially in competition with the USSR. Latin America was therefore a mere pawn in the larger context of US-Soviet competition for global dominance. The actions and methods used are also characterized by the lack of an international authority, or an atmosphere of inter-state anarchy, which shaped their calculations in the endeavor to increase their influence over Latin America. When one analyzes the situation, it seems only rational that the United States treated its southern neighbors so, due to the geographical

The United States and the Soviet Union competed against each other during the Cold War in the second half of the 20th Century like a chess game, with the world as their chessboard and countries as pawns in their game. For the Russians, a critical part of the chessboard was Cuba and Latin America. The Russians believed that if they could align themselves with countries in the western hemisphere, America’s “backyard”, it would help the Soviet Union counter the strong political influence and military presence America had in Europe, which made the Russians feel threatened. The Soviet Union tried to align itself politically, militarily, and economically with as many Latin American countries as it could. In

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant

When looking at the history between the United States and Latin America, you see many interactions between them, all that aided the relationship that they have today. Despite that the United States and Latin America are in the same part of the world, the beliefs in which they govern may differ. This difference has often been seen playing a major role in the disputes that have occurred in past. The United States and Latin America have faced many social, economical and governing barriers in forming a strong and positive relationship in the early twentieth century, this is due to the differences that the two had between cultures and the constant demand for power. However, the two countries have found ways to meet in the middle of their cultural differences, to form an equally fair relationship.

Generally, the US foreign policy concerning Latin America was of course for the US' own benefit. If the person in power was trying to nationalize their country's economy, the US accused them of communism and proceeded to push them out, unofficially, under the pretext of national security.