THE ADVANCE OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE CARIBBEAN
At the beginning of the nineteenth century Spain was still in possession
of all the shores of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, but the
downfall of her vast colonial empire was rapidly approaching. By the
secret treaty of San Ildefonso she agreed to cede Louisiana back to
France, and in 1803 Napoleon sold the entire province to the United
States. This was our first acquisition of territory on the Gulf of
Mexico, and it insured a free outlet for the vast region of the
Mississippi valley. The boundaries of the province were indefinite, and
there ensued a long controversy with Spain as to whether Louisiana
included West Florida on the one hand and Texas on the other. These
questions were finally adjusted by the Florida treaty of 1819, which
ceded both East and West Florida to the United States and fixed the
western boundary of Louisiana on the Gulf at the Sabine river. By this
treaty the United States gained undisputed possession of the region
extending from Mobile bay to the Mississippi, but abandoned the claim to
Texas.
[Illustration: THE CARIBBEAN]
It was not many years before American settlers began pouring into Texas
and came into conflict with the government of Mexico, which had by this
time become independent of Spain. There followed the war of
independence and the establishment of the Republic of Texas in 1836.
Texas promptly applied for admission to the United States, but mainly
through the opposition of the Abolitionists she was kept waiting for
nine years. The new republic was recognized by the United States and by
the principal powers of Europe, but Mexico refused to concede
independence. Texas was thus in constant danger of attack from Mexico
and unable to secure admission to the American Union. In April, 1844, a
treaty providing for the annexation of Texas was submitted to the Senate
by President Tyler, but it was rejected by that body. Under these
circumstances the public men of Texas lent a ready ear to British and
French intrigues. Great Britain wished to encourage the development of
Texas as a cotton-growing country from which she could draw a large
enough supply to make her independent of the United States. If Texas
should thus devote herself to the production of cotton as her chief
export crop, she would naturally adopt a free trade policy and thus
create a considerable market for British goods. Great Britain,
therefore, consistently opposed the annexation of Texas by the United
States and entered into negotiations with France, Mexico, and the
Republic of Texas for the express purpose of preventing it. Lord
Aberdeen proposed that the four powers just mentioned should sign a
diplomatic act, or perpetual treaty, securing to Texas recognition from
Mexico and peace, but preventing her from ever acquiring territory
beyond the Rio Grande or joining the American Union. While the United
States would be invited to unite in this act, it was not expected that
the government of that country would agree to it. Despairing of being
received into the American Union, Texas was apparently ready to accept
the British proposal, but Lord Aberdeen's plan was defeated by the
refusal of Mexico to recognize under any conditions the independence of
Texas. Aberdeen was willing to coerce Mexico and, if need be, to fight
the United States, but Louis Philippe was not willing to go that far.
Meanwhile the Texas question had become the leading political issue in
the United States. The Democratic platform of 1844 demanded "the
reannexation of Texas at the earliest practicable period," and on this
platform Polk was elected President. Tyler, however, did not wait for
his successor to carry out this mandate of the American people, but in
the last days of his administration pushed through Congress a joint
resolution providing for the admission of Texas.[259]
Mexico promptly severed diplomatic relations with the United States. As
Mexico had never recognized the independence of Texas, she had of course
never agreed upon any boundary with the new republic. This was a matter
which had to be adjusted and there were also a number of private claims
of American citizens against the government of Mexico which that
government refused to settle. President Polk took up both questions with
characteristic vigor, and on the refusal of Mexico to receive a special
minister sent by him for the purpose of discussing these questions, he
ordered General Taylor to occupy the disputed area between the Nueces
river and the Rio Grande. Thus began the Mexican War, which established
the boundary of the United States on the Rio Grande and added the vast
region of New Mexico and California to the Union. Here the tide of
American expansion to the South was stayed for a full half century.
With the decline of the Spanish power Great Britain had succeeded to
naval supremacy in the Caribbean. As has been related in previous
chapters, the United States and Great Britain long regarded Cuba with
jealous eyes and had a controversy lasting for half a century over the
control of the proposed Isthmian canal. Secretary Seward at the close of
the civil war sought to strengthen the position of the United States in
the Caribbean by the acquisition of Santo Domingo and the Danish West
Indies. In 1867 a treaty was concluded with Denmark providing for the
cession of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John for $7,500,000, on
condition that the inhabitants should by popular vote give their
consent. In undertaking these negotiations the United States was
influenced on the one hand by the desire to acquire a naval base, and on
the other by the fear that these islands might fall into the hands of
one of the greater European powers. The plebiscite in St. John and St.
Thomas was overwhelmingly in favor of the cession, and the treaty was
promptly ratified by the Danish Rigsdag, but the Senate of the United
States took no action until March, 1870, when Senator Sumner presented
an adverse report from the Committee on Foreign Relations and the treaty
was rejected.
In 1867 Admiral Porter and Mr. F. W. Seward, the assistant secretary of
state, were sent to Santo Domingo for the purpose of securing the lease
of Samana bay as a naval station. Their mission was not successful, but
the following year the president of the Dominican Republic sent an agent
to Washington proposing annexation and requesting the United States to
occupy Samana bay at once. In his annual message of December 8, 1868,
President Johnson advocated the annexation of Santo Domingo and a joint
resolution to that effect was introduced into the House, but it was
tabled without debate by an overwhelming vote. President Grant became
much interested in this scheme, and soon after entering the White House
he sent one of his private secretaries, Colonel Babcock, to the island
to report on the condition of affairs. Babcock negotiated a treaty for
the annexation of the Dominican Republic, and another for the lease of
Samana bay. As Colonel Babcock was without diplomatic authority of any
kind, the Cabinet received the treaties in silent amazement, and
Hamilton Fish, who was secretary of state, spoke of resigning, but Grant
persuaded him to remain in office. The annexation treaty was submitted
to the Senate in January, 1870, but encountered violent opposition,
especially from Sumner, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations.
It was finally rejected June 30 by vote of 28 to 28.
The advance of the United States into the Caribbean was thus delayed
until the Spanish War. As a result of that conflict the United States
acquired Porto Rico and a protectorate over Cuba. The real turning-point
in the recent history of the West Indies was the Hay-Pauncefote treaty
of 1901, under the terms of which Great Britain relinquished her claim
to an equal voice with the United States in the control of an Isthmian
canal on which she had insisted for half a century. While the
Hay-Pauncefote treaty was limited in terms to the canal question, it was
in reality of much wider significance. It amounted in effect to the
transference of naval supremacy in the West Indies to the United States,
for since its signature Great Britain has withdrawn her squadron from
this important strategic area. So marked was Great Britain's change of
attitude toward the United States at this time that some writers have
concluded that a secret treaty of alliance was made between the two
countries in 1897. The absurdity of such a statement was pointed out by
Senator Lodge several years ago. England's change of attitude is not
difficult to understand. For one hundred years after the battle of
Trafalgar England had pursued the policy of maintaining a navy large
enough to meet all comers. With the rapid growth of the navies of
Russia, Japan, and Germany during the closing years of the nineteenth
century, England realized that she could no longer pursue a policy of
isolation. Our acquisition of the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, and
Porto Rico and our determination to build an Isthmian canal made a large
American navy inevitable. Great Britain realized, therefore, that she
would have to cast about for future allies. It was on considerations of
this kind that she signed the Hay-Pauncefote treaty with the United
States in 1901, and the defensive alliance with Japan in 1902. In view
of the fact that the United States was bent on carrying out the long
deferred canal scheme, Great Britain realized that a further insistence
on her rights under the Clayton-Bulwer treaty would lead to friction
and possible conflict. She wisely decided, therefore, to recede from the
position which she had held for half a century and to give us a free
hand in the acquisition and control of the canal at whatever point we
might choose to build it. In signing the Hay-Pauncefote treaty she
gracefully recognized the fact that the United States had paramount
interests in the Caribbean which it was unwise for her to contest. Since
the signature of that treaty American supremacy in this area has not
been seriously questioned.
The determination to build a canal not only rendered inevitable the
adoption of a policy of naval supremacy in the Caribbean sea, but led to
the formulation of new political policies to be applied in the zone of
the Caribbean--what Admiral Chester calls the larger Panama Canal
Zone--that is, the West Indies, Mexico and Central America, Colombia and
Venezuela. The policies referred to included the establishment of
protectorates, the supervision of finances, the control of all naval
routes, the acquisition of naval stations, and the policing and
administration of disorderly countries.
The advance of the United States in the Caribbean since the Spanish War
has been rapid. The acquisition of Porto Rico and the establishment of a
protectorate over Cuba were the natural outcome of that struggle. In
1903 we acquired the canal zone under circumstances already described.
The following year President Roosevelt established financial supervision
over the Dominican Republic. In 1915 the United States landed marines in
Haiti and a treaty was soon drafted under which we assumed financial
supervision and administrative control over the affairs of that
country. In 1916 we acquired by treaty from Nicaragua an exclusive right
of way for a canal through her territory and the lease of a naval
station on Fonseca bay, and in 1917 we acquired by treaty from Denmark
her holdings in the West Indies known as the Virgin Islands. These
successive steps will be considered in detail.
The methods employed by President Roosevelt in the acquisition of the
Panama Canal Zone described in a previous chapter caused indignation and
alarm throughout Latin America and created strained relations with
Colombia. The Colombian government refused to recognize the independence
of the Republic of Panama and demanded that her claim to Panama as well
as her interests in the canal should be submitted to arbitration.
Colombia claimed that President Roosevelt had misinterpreted the treaty
of 1846, which established mutual obligations between the United States
and Colombia with reference to the isthmus, by construing its provisions
as obligations to the world at large against Colombia. As the United
States had always advocated the submission to arbitration of questions
involving the construction of treaties, the demand of Colombia proved
embarrassing, but both Secretary Hay and his successor, Secretary Root,
rejected the demand for arbitration on the ground that the questions
involved were of a political nature.[260]
In January, 1909, shortly before the close of the Roosevelt
administration, Secretary Root undertook to reestablish friendly
relations with Colombia through the negotiation in the city of
Washington of three treaties, one between the United States and the
Republic of Colombia, one between the United States and the Republic of
Panama, and one between Colombia and Panama. In the treaty between
Colombia and Panama the Republic of Colombia recognized fully the
independence of Panama, and the Republic of Panama made an assignment to
Colombia of the first ten installments of $250,000, the amount due
annually to the Republic of Panama from the United States as rental for
the canal. According to the treaty between the United States and the
Republic of Panama, concluded November 18, 1903, the payment of this
annual sum was to begin nine years from date. It was now agreed that the
first annual payment should be regarded as due four years from the
exchange of ratifications of the said treaty, so that of the $2,500,000
to be paid to Colombia, half would be paid by the United States and half
by Panama. In the new treaty between the United States and Panama the
necessary modification of the treaty of 1903 was made so as to permit of
this assignment of the first ten installments to Colombia. In the treaty
between the United States and Colombia the most important provision was
as follows:
The Republic of Colombia shall have liberty at all times to
convey through the ship canal now in course of construction
by the United States across the Isthmus of Panama the
troops, materials for war, and ships of war of the Republic
of Colombia, without paying any duty to the United States;
even in the case of an international war between Colombia
and another country.
It was further provided that the products of the soil and industry of
Colombia should be admitted to the canal zone subject only to such duty
as would be payable on similar products of the United States under
similar conditions, and Colombian mails were to have free passage
through the canal zone on payment of such duties or charges as were laid
on the mails of the United States.[261]
These tripartite treaties were of course to stand or fall together. The
United States and Panama promptly ratified the agreements to which they
were parties, but Colombia rejected the arrangement with indignation. In
fact, when the terms of the settlement were made public, the Colombian
administration that urged their acceptance was overthrown, and the
Colombian envoy who participated in the negotiation of the treaties was
forced to flee from the country with an indignant mob at his heels.
Colombia was not to be appeased by the paltry sum of $2,500,000.
The Taft administration made repeated efforts to placate Colombia, but
without success. On September 30, 1912, Mr. Du Bois, the American
minister to Colombia, submitted to Secretary Knox an interesting review
of the whole question in the course of which, after referring to the
friendly relations that had so long subsisted between the two countries,
he said:
Nine years ago this was changed suddenly and unexpectedly
when President Roosevelt denied to Colombia the right to
land her troops upon her own soil to suppress a threatened
revolt and maintain a sovereignty guaranteed by treaty
stipulations. The breach came and it has been growing wider
since that hour. By refusing to allow Colombia to uphold her
sovereign rights over a territory where she had held
dominion for eighty years, the friendship of nearly a
century disappeared, the indignation of every Colombian, and
millions of other Latin-Americans, was aroused and is still
most intensely alive. The confidence and trust in the
justice and fairness of the United States, so long
manifested, has completely vanished, and the maleficent
influence of this condition is permeating public opinion in
all Latin-American countries, a condition which, if remedial
measures are not invoked, will work inestimable harm
throughout the Western Hemisphere.[262]
Mr. Du Bois reported that on inquiry of prominent Colombians of the
causes of the rejection of the Root proposals he received replies to the
following effect:
Five years after President Roosevelt had taken Panama from
us with rank injustice, your government, still under his
chief magistracy, offered us a paltry $2,500,000 if Colombia
would recognize the independence of her revolted province,
fix our frontier at a further loss of territory, open all
our ports free to the refuge of vessels employed in the
canal enterprise, and exempt them from anchorage or tonnage
dues, renounce our rights to all of our contracts and
concessions relating to the construction and operation of
the canal or railroad across the isthmus, release Panama
from obligation for the payment of any part of our external
debt, much of which was incurred in the interest of Panama,
and enter into negotiations for the revision of the treaty
of 1846, which five years before had been openly violated by
the United States in their failure to help maintain the
sovereignty over the rebellious province which they had
solemnly guaranteed. The reply was to this, banishment of
our minister who negotiated the treaty, and all South
America applauded our attitude.[263]
Mr. Du Bois then proceeded to state at length Colombia's claims which he
summarized as follows: "Panama Railroad annuities, $16,000,000; value of
railroad, $16,446,942; Panama Canal rights, $17,500,000; cost of Costa
Rican boundary arbitration, $200,000; total, $50,446,942. [The total
should be $50,146,942.] Besides this sum, Colombia has lost the Province
of Panama, whose value cannot be readily estimated."[264]
In conclusion he urged the importance of a speedy adjustment of the
differences with Colombia in the following words:
South America is advancing along commercial lines with giant
strides. The character of the future relations of the United
States with that country will be of signal importance.
Friendly intercourse with all Latin America should be
carefully developed and maintained, and especially is this
important with Colombia, which borders the isthmus, has fine
ports on both oceans, and is destined to become an
influential factor in the political and commercial life of
South America, especially in all countries bordering on the
Caribbean sea. To approach Colombia in a conciliatory spirit
and seek a renewal of her ancient friendship would not only
be a wise and just move on the part of the United States,
but as Colombia and all South and Central America firmly
believe that the government of the United States was unjust
in the Panama incident, from which has come infinite
distress to Colombia, it would be a benevolent and fraternal
act, and the time to move is the present, before the canal
opens and while the public sentiment of both countries is in
harmony with the movement.[265]
At the time that the above report on relations with Colombia was
prepared by Mr. Du Bois he was in this country, having come home to
confer with the Department of State as to the program to be followed in
the settlement of the differences with Colombia. On his return to
Bogota, Mr. Du Bois submitted the following proposals to the Colombian
government: (1) ratification of the Root treaties, involving the payment
to Colombia of the first ten installments of the annual rental of the
canal zone amounting to $2,500,000; (2) the payment of $10,000,000 by
the United States to Colombia for the right to build an interoceanic
canal by the Atrato route and for the lease of the islands of Old
Providence and St. Andrews as coaling stations; (3) the good offices of
the United States on behalf of Colombia in bringing about an adjustment
of the boundary line between Colombia and Panama; (4) the submission to
arbitration of the claims of Colombia to reversionary rights in the
Panama Railroad assumed by the United States under Article XXII of the
treaty of 1903 between the United States and Panama, estimated by Mr.
Taft's secretary of war at over $16,000,000; and (5) the granting of
preferential rights to Colombia in the use of the Panama Canal.
The Colombian government promptly rejected these proposals and in reply
demanded "arbitration of the whole question of Panama or a direct
proposition on the part of the United States to give Colombia
compensation for all the moral, physical, and financial losses which she
sustained as a result of the separation of Panama." The Colombian
minister declared:
Should Colombia grant any territorial privileges to the
United States after the wrong that country has inflicted
upon this republic, it would result in intense agitation and
possible revolution. It seems as though your people have
never fully realized the enormity of the wrong the United
States has perpetrated against the Colombian people.
Mr. Du Bois then asked whether Colombia would accept $10,000,000, the
good offices of the United States in settling the differences with
Panama, arbitration of the reversionary rights in the Panama Railroad,
and preferential rights in the canal, without granting to the United
States any privileges or concessions whatever. Receiving a negative
reply to this proposal, Mr. Du Bois, acting on his own responsibility,
then inquired informally whether $25,000,000 without options of any kind
would satisfy Colombia. The answer was that Colombia would accept
nothing but the arbitration of the whole Panama question. Mr. Du Bois
was instructed February 20, 1913, to stop negotiations. In reporting the
matter to the President, Secretary Knox said that Colombia seemed
determined to treat with the incoming Democratic administration.[266]
When the Wilson administration came in, Secretary Bryan took up the
negotiations with Colombia where Knox dropped them, and concluded a
treaty according to the terms of which the United States was to express
"sincere regret that anything should have occurred to interrupt or to
mar the relations of cordial friendship that had so long subsisted
between the two nations," and to pay Colombia $25,000,000. The treaty
further granted Colombia the same preferential rights in the use of the
canal which the Taft administration had proposed, and in return Colombia
agreed to recognize the independence of Panama and to accept a boundary
line laid down in the treaty. This treaty was submitted to the Senate
June 16, 1914. As soon as its terms were made public ex-President
Roosevelt denounced it as blackmail, and wrote a letter to the chairman
of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs requesting to be heard before
any action was taken on the treaty. During the first session of the
Sixty-sixth Congress in 1919 the Colombian treaty was reported from the
Committee on Foreign Relations with important amendments. Article I,
containing expressions of regret on the part of the United States for
the events that had taken place on the isthmus, was entirely stricken
out. The clause giving Colombia the right to transport through the canal
its troops, materials of war, and ships of war, "even in case of war
between Colombia and another country," was amended by the elimination of
the words in quotations. The sum of $25,000,000, instead of being paid
in cash, was to be paid in five annual installments. The Senate refused,
however, to give its consent to the ratification of the treaty even in
this form, and it is understood that it was proposed to cut the payment
to Colombia down to $15,000,000.
A great nation like the United States, which has always professed to be
guided in international questions by high standards of justice and
morality, cannot afford to delay indefinitely the settlement of a
dispute of this kind with a weak nation like Colombia. President
Roosevelt's action in the Panama matter made a bad impression throughout
Latin America and caused our policy in the Caribbean to be regarded with
grave suspicion. As to Colombia's rights in the matter, Secretary Bryan
made the following statement in his argument before the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations in support of the treaty:
It is contended by some that the action taken by the United
States was based upon the necessities of the case, and those
necessities, as stated by those who take this position are,
that Colombia was not able to build the canal herself and
was not willing to sell to the United States upon reasonable
terms the right to build the canal. Those who take this
position put the United States in the attitude of exercising
the right of eminent domain in the interest of the world's
commerce; but the exercise of the right of eminent domain
does not relieve those who exercise it of liability for
actual damages suffered. Take, for illustration, the
condemning of a block of ground for a public building.
Suppose that every lot owner excepting one is willing to
sell his land to the government at its market value, but
that one of the lot owners, whose lot is necessary to the
erection of the building, asks more than the land is worth.
The government proceeds to condemn the property, but it does
not attempt to escape from paying what the land is actually
worth, and the actual value of the property is not reduced
one dollar by any effort that the owner may make to obtain
for it more than it is worth. If it is contended that the
price offered by the United States prior to Panama's
separation was a reasonable one, and that Colombia ought to
have accepted it, that valuation cannot be reduced merely
because Colombia was not willing to accept the offer. This
illustration is based upon the theory adopted by those who
say that Colombia was entirely in the wrong in refusing to
accept the offer made by the United States, but this theory,
it will be remembered, is disputed by the people of
Colombia, who defend the position their government then took
and, as has been said before, they have ever since asked
that the controversy be arbitrated by some impartial
tribunal.[267]
In 1904 President Roosevelt made a radical departure from the
traditional policy of the United States in proposing that we should
assume the financial administration of the Dominican Republic in order
to prevent certain European powers from resorting to the forcible
collection of debts due their subjects. On September 12, 1904, Minister
Dawson reported to the State Department that the debt of Santo Domingo
was $32,280,000, the estimated revenues from customs receipts
$1,850,000, and the proposed budget for current expenses $1,300,000,
leaving only $550,000 with which to meet payments of interest, then
accruing and in arrears, amounting to $2,600,000. About $22,000,000 of
this debt was due to European creditors. Most of this indebtedness had
been incurred by revolutionary leaders who had at various times taken
forcible possession of the government and hastened to raise all the
money they could by the sale of bonds, leaving the responsibility with
their successors. The European creditors of Santo Domingo were pressing
for the recognition of their claims. Germany seemed especially
determined to force a settlement of her demands, and it was well known
that Germany had for years regarded the Monroe Doctrine as the main
hindrance in the way of her acquiring a foothold in Latin America. The
only effective method of collecting the interest on the foreign debt
appeared to be the seizure and administration of the Dominican
custom-houses by some foreign power or group of foreign powers.
President Roosevelt foresaw that such an occupation of the custom-houses
would, in view of the large debt, constitute the occupation of American
territory by European powers for an indefinite period of time, and would
therefore be a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. He had before him also
the results of a somewhat similar financial administration of Egypt
undertaken jointly by England and France in 1878, and after Arabi's
revolt continued by England alone, with the result that Egypt soon
became a possession of the British Crown to almost as great a degree as
if it had been formally annexed. President Roosevelt concluded,
therefore, that where it was necessary to place a bankrupt American
republic in the hands of a receiver, the United States must undertake to
act as receiver and take over the administration of its finances.
The policy that he was about to adopt was stated as follows in his
annual message of December 6, 1904:
Any country whose people conduct themselves well can count
upon our hearty friendship. If a nation shows that it knows
how to act with reasonable efficiency and decency in social
and political matters, if it keeps order and pays its
obligations, it need fear no interference from the United
States. Chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in
a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in
America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by
some civilized nation, and in the Western Hemisphere, the
adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may
force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant
cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an
international police power.
About the same time Minister Dawson was directed by Secretary Hay to
suggest to the Dominican government that it request the United States to
take charge of its customs. As the Dominican government saw no other way
out of its difficulties, it responded to this suggestion, and on
February 4, 1905, a protocol was signed by Mr. Dawson and the Dominican
foreign minister which provided that the United States should guarantee
the territorial integrity of the Dominican Republic, take charge of its
custom-houses, administer its finances, and settle its obligations,
foreign as well as domestic. In calling the new agreement a "protocol"
instead of a "treaty," the President had probably not intended to submit
it to the Senate, but the proposal to depart so radically from our past
policy created so much criticism that the Senate was finally asked to
ratify the protocol in regular form. This they failed to do, but the
President did not propose to be thwarted in this way. As the Senate
would not sanction his appointment of a receiver of customs for Santo
Domingo, he drafted a _modus vivendi_, under the terms of which the
President of the Dominican Republic appointed a receiver of customs
named unofficially by President Roosevelt, who proceeded to administer
the affairs of the republic under the protection of the United States
navy, whose ships the President could as commander-in-chief order
wherever he pleased. The President's course met with determined
opposition both in and out of Congress, but as he was bent on having his
way and continued to carry out his policy without the sanction of the
Senate, that body finally decided that it would be best to give the
arrangement a definite legal status. On February 25, 1907, the Senate
agreed to the ratification of a revised treaty which omitted the
territorial-guarantee clause, but provided that the President of the
United States should appoint a general receiver of Dominican customs and
such assistants as he might deem necessary; that the government of the
United States should afford them such protection as might be necessary
for the performance of their duties; and that until the bonded debt
should be paid in full, the Dominican government would not increase its
debt except with the consent of the United States. In the meantime,
under the _interim_ arrangement, conditions in Santo Domingo had greatly
improved, the customs receipts had nearly doubled, and the creditors had
agreed to compromise their claims, so that the total debt at the time
the above treaty was ratified amounted to not more than
$17,000,000.[268]
In spite of the criticism that President Roosevelt's policy encountered,
the Taft administration not only continued it in Santo Domingo, but
tried to extend it to Nicaragua and Honduras. The five republics of
Central America had been for years in a state of political and economic
disorder as the result of wars and revolutions. In 1906 there was a war
between Guatemala and Salvador, in which Honduras became involved as the
ally of Salvador. President Roosevelt invited President Diaz of Mexico
to unite with him in an offer of mediation, which resulted in a peace
conference held aboard the U. S. S. _Marblehead_. At this conference the
belligerents agreed to suspend hostilities and to attend another
conference for the purpose of drafting a general treaty of peace. The
second conference was held at San Jose, Costa Rica, but President Zelaya
of Nicaragua declined to send a representative because he was unwilling
to recognize the right of the United States to intervene in Central
American affairs. At this time Zelaya was systematically interfering in
the internal affairs of the other Central American states, and exercised
such complete control over the government of Honduras that Guatemala and
Salvador were endeavoring to stir up revolutions against him in that
state and in Nicaragua. War was about to break out in the summer of 1907
when President Roosevelt and President Diaz again intervened
diplomatically and persuaded the Central American governments to suspend
warlike preparations and to attend a conference in the city of
Washington. In November the delegates of the five Central American
states met in the Bureau of American Republics and were addressed by
Secretary Root and the Mexican ambassador. The delegates adopted a
general treaty of peace, providing for the settlement of existing
differences and for the establishment of a Central American court of
justice composed of five judges, one to be elected by the legislature of
each state. The five republics agreed to submit to this tribunal all
controversies of whatever nature that might arise between them which
could not be settled through ordinary diplomatic channels.
But President Zelaya of Nicaragua, who still controlled Honduras,
continued his interference in the affairs of the other republics by
encouraging revolutionary movements and sending out filibustering
expeditions. He was also hostile to the Central American court of
justice, and it became evident that there was little chance of permanent
peace as long as Zelaya remained in power. When, therefore, in October,
1909, members of the conservative party started a revolution at
Bluefields against Zelaya's government, the movement was regarded with
sympathy in the other Central American republics and in Washington.
Conditions became so intolerable that many people in Nicaragua and
Honduras appealed to the United States to intervene for the purpose of
restoring order. President Diaz of Mexico was friendly to Zelaya and
informed the United States that he did not care to take any further
action. This brought to an end the cooperative efforts of the two
governments and thereafter the United States had to act alone. Nothing
was done, however, until two Americans were executed by Zelaya's order
in November, 1909. As a result of these executions, which were without
legal excuse and attended by barbarous cruelties, President Taft
promptly severed diplomatic relations with Zelaya's government. In a
dispatch to the Nicaraguan charge, December 1, 1909, Secretary Knox
said:
Since the Washington conventions of 1907, it is notorious
that President Zelaya has almost continuously kept Central
America in tension or turmoil; that he has repeatedly and
flagrantly violated the provisions of the conventions, and,
by a baleful influence upon Honduras, whose neutrality the
conventions were to assure, has sought to discredit those
sacred international obligations, to the great detriment of
Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala, whose governments
meanwhile appear to have been able patiently to strive for
the loyal support of the engagements so solemnly undertaken
at Washington under the auspices of the United States and
Mexico.
He added that under the regime of President Zelaya republican
institutions had ceased to exist in Nicaragua except in name, that
public opinion and the press had been throttled, and that prison had
been the reward of any tendency to real patriotism. The government of
the United States was convinced, he said, "that the revolution
represents the ideals and the will of a majority of the Nicaraguan
people more faithfully than does the government of President
Zelaya."[269]
This note caused the speedy downfall of Zelaya's government. He tried to
perpetuate his party in power by resigning the presidency to Dr. Madriz,
but President Taft refused to recognize the Madriz government, and a few
months later it was overthrown and the revolutionary party came into
power, first under the presidency of Estrada and then under that of
Adolfo Diaz.
The revolution had paralyzed agriculture and commerce and thrown the
country into financial chaos. In October, 1910, the United States
government sent Thomas C. Dawson to Managua to investigate conditions
and to straighten out the political and financial affairs of Nicaragua.
While he was engaged in this task, Secretary Knox negotiated at
Washington two treaties, one between the United States and Honduras,
signed January 10, 1911, and a similar treaty between the United States
and Nicaragua, signed June 6. These treaties were intended to place the
two countries concerned under the financial supervision of the United
States. They provided for the appointment in each case of a collector of
customs approved by the President of the United States, and made the
customs receipts responsible for loans to be advanced by American
bankers. The collectorship of customs was immediately established in
Nicaragua without waiting for the ratification of the treaty by the
Senate, and through the efforts of the State Department American
bankers made preliminary loans to the Nicaraguan government. When the
Senate rejected the treaty, the bankers refused to make further loans,
and the situation was almost as bad as ever. In October, 1911, General
Mena, minister of war and head of a faction of his own, was elected by
the Assembly president of the republic, but as this was contrary to an
agreement which had been made with Dawson, it did not meet with the
approval of the United States, and President Diaz removed Mena from
office and forced him to flee from the capital. Shortly afterwards Mena
was taken seriously ill, and the opposition to President Diaz fell again
under the control of Zelaya's followers. As President Diaz was unable to
guarantee protection to the life and property of foreigners, he asked
the United States for assistance. In answer to this request American
marines were landed at Corinto and assumed control of the national
railway which connected that port with the capital and the principal
cities. The American minister made a public announcement to the effect
that the United States intended to keep open the routes of communication
and to protect American life and property. This announcement was a great
blow to the revolutionists. Some of their leaders surrendered
voluntarily to the American marines, while others were attacked and
forced to surrender positions along the railroad which they insisted
upon holding. In these operations seven American marines lost their
lives. Since 1912 a legation guard of one hundred marines has been
maintained at the capital of Nicaragua and a warship has been stationed
at Corinto.
After the revolutionary movement was thus overthrown, Secretary Knox
negotiated a new treaty for the purpose of helping the Nicaraguan
government out of the financial straits in which it found itself. Great
Britain was threatening to force the payment of its claims and certain
German interests, which were operating banana plantations in Costa Rica,
were trying to secure from the Nicaraguan government a concession for
the construction of a canal from the Great Lake to the Atlantic along
the San Juan river. According to the terms of the Knox treaty the United
States was to pay Nicaragua $3,000,000 in return for an exclusive right
of way for a canal through her territory, a naval base on the Gulf of
Fonseca, and the lease for ninety-nine years of the Great Corn and
Little Corn Islands in the Caribbean. This treaty was submitted to the
Senate February 26, 1913, but the close of the Taft administration was
then at hand, and no action was taken.
The Wilson administration followed the same policy, however, and in
July, 1913, Secretary Bryan submitted a third treaty with Nicaragua
containing the provisions of the second Knox treaty and in addition
certain provisions of the Platt Amendment which defines our protectorate
over Cuba. This treaty aroused strong opposition in the other Central
American States, and Costa Rica, Salvador, and Honduras filed formal
protests with the United States government against its ratification on
the ground that it would convert Nicaragua into a protectorate of the
United States and thus defeat the long-cherished plan for a union of the
Central American republics. They also claimed that the treaty infringed
their own rights. In 1858 Costa Rica had been granted perpetual rights
of free navigation in the lower part of the San Juan river, and
Nicaragua had agreed to consult her before granting any concessions for
the construction of an interoceanic canal. Salvador and Honduras
objected to the establishment of a naval base in the Gulf of Fonseca in
close proximity to their coasts. They also asserted proprietary rights
in the Gulf of Fonseca, claiming that Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua,
as successors of the old Central American Federation, exercised joint
ownership over the gulf. Efforts were made by the United States to
arrive at a settlement with Costa Rica and Salvador on the basis of a
money payment, but without success. Moreover, the Senate of the United
States objected to the protectorate feature of the treaty and refused to
ratify it, but the negotiations were renewed, and on August 5, 1914, a
new treaty, which omits the provisions of the Platt Amendment, was
signed at Washington. This treaty, which was finally ratified by the
Senate, February 18, 1916, grants to the United States in perpetuity the
exclusive right to construct a canal by way of the San Juan river and
Lake Nicaragua, and leases to the United States for ninety-nine years a
naval base on the Gulf of Fonseca, and also the Great Corn and Little
Corn Islands as coaling stations. The consideration for these favors was
the sum of $3,000,000 to be expended, with the approval of the Secretary
of State of the United States, in paying the public debt of Nicaragua,
and for other purposes to be agreed on by the two contracting parties.
In consenting to the ratification of the treaty the Senate, in order to
meet the objections raised by Costa Rica, Salvador, and Honduras,
attached to their resolution of ratification the proviso "that nothing
in said convention is intended to affect any existing right of any of
the said states." This reservation did not satisfy Costa Rica and
Salvador, who took their cases to the Central American Court of Justice,
requesting that Nicaragua be enjoined from carrying out the provisions
of the treaty. Nicaragua refused to be a party to the action, but the
court nevertheless assumed jurisdiction. Its decision in the case of
Costa Rica was announced September 30, 1916. It declared that Nicaragua
had violated Costa Rica's rights, but, as the court had no jurisdiction
over the United States, it declined to declare the treaty void. A
similar decision in the case of Salvador was handed down on March 2,
1917.[270]
Neither Nicaragua nor the United States has paid any attention to the
decision of the Central American Court of Justice, which was set up
under such favorable auspices by the Washington conventions. As a matter
of fact, the court had not fulfilled the expectations of those who had
been interested in its establishment, but it was unfortunate that it
should have received its _coup de grace_ from the United States.
Furthermore, it has been charged that the State Department, under the
Knox regime, exploited the situation in Central America for the benefit
of American capitalists, and that the Wilson administration has for
years maintained a minority party in power through the presence of a
body of American marines at the capital and a warship at Corinto. On the
other hand, it cannot be denied that as a result of American policy,
Central America has been freer from wars and revolutions for a longer
period than at any other time in its history. The better element of the
population appears to be satisfied with the situation.[271]
The treaty with the negro republic of Haiti, ratified by the Senate
February 28, 1916, carries the new Caribbean policies of the United
States to the farthest limits short of actual annexation. Shortly before
the outbreak of the European war, Haitian finances were in such bad
shape as the result of internal disorders that there was grave danger of
European intervention, and the United States was considering the
question of acquiring supervision over the finances of the republic. In
June, 1915, a crisis in the internal affairs of Haiti seemed imminent
and, at the request of the State Department, Rear-Admiral Caperton was
ordered to Haitian waters. Towards the latter part of July the
government of President Guillaume was overthrown, and he and members of
his cabinet took refuge in the French and Dominican legations. These
buildings were entered by a mob, President Guillaume was slain at the
gate of the French legation, his body cut in pieces, and dragged about
the town. Admiral Caperton at once landed a force of marines at Port au
Prince in order to protect the lives and property of foreigners. An
additional force was brought from Guantanamo and the total number raised
to two thousand and placed under the command of Colonel Waller. There
was but slight resistance to the landing of the marines, but a few days
later a conflict occurred in which two Americans were killed.[272] On
August 12 a new president was elected who cooperated with the American
forces in their efforts to establish peace and order, and on September
16 a treaty with the United States was signed at Port au Prince. This
treaty provides for the establishment of a receivership of Haitian
customs under the control of the United States similar in most respects
to that established over the Dominican Republic. It also provides for
the appointment, on the nomination of the President of the United
States, of a financial adviser, who shall assist in the settlement of
the foreign debt and direct expenditures of the surplus for the
development of the agricultural, mineral, and commercial resources of
the republic. It provides further for a native constabulary under
American officers appointed by the President of Haiti upon nomination of
the President of the United States. And it extends to Haiti the main
provisions of the Platt Amendment. By controlling the internal financial
administration of the government the United States hopes to remove all
incentives for those revolutions which have in the past had for their
object a raid on the public treasury, and by controlling the customs and
maintaining order the United States hopes to avoid all possibility of
foreign intervention. The treaty is to remain in force for a period of
ten years and for another period of ten years if either party presents
specific reasons for continuing it on the ground that its purpose has
not been fully accomplished.
The latest acquisition of the United States in the Caribbean is that of
the Danish West Indies, or Virgin Islands. Reference has already been
made to the treaty negotiated by Secretary Seward in 1867 for the
purchase of these islands, which was unfortunately rejected by the
Senate. Another attempt at purchase was made by President Roosevelt in
1902. A treaty providing for the cession of the group to the United
States was signed at Washington on January 24 of that year and approved
by the Senate February 17, but this time the Danish Rigsdag refused to
give its approval. President Roosevelt was moved by the consideration
that the Danish Islands were of great strategic importance in connection
with the problem of guarding the approaches to the Panama canal. The
commercial value of the islands is also great. Moreover, the United
States was confronted by the possibility of their falling under the
control of Germany or some other European power, which might use them as
a naval base. Had Germany been successful in the recent war, she might
have forced Denmark to sell or cede the islands to her. In view of this
possibility, negotiations were taken up again with Denmark in 1916, and
on August 4 Secretary Lansing concluded a treaty by which the United
States acquired the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix,
together with some adjacent small islands and rocks, for the sum of
$25,000,000. This treaty was duly ratified by the Senate and the
ratifications were exchanged January 17, 1917.
The rapid advance of the United States in the Caribbean, described in
the preceding pages, naturally aroused the fears of the smaller
Latin-American states and lent color to the charge that the United
States had converted the Monroe Doctrine from a policy of benevolent
protection to one of imperialistic aggression. As a matter of fact, the
Monroe Doctrine has never been regarded by the United States as in any
sense a self-denying declaration. President Monroe said that we should
consider any attempt on the part of the European powers "to extend their
system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and
safety." The primary object of the policy outlined by President Monroe
was, therefore, the peace and safety of the United States. The
protection of Latin-American states against European intervention was
merely a means of protecting ourselves. While the United States thus
undertook to prevent the encroachment of European powers in Latin
America, it has never admitted any limitation upon the possibility of
its own expansion in this region. The silence of the Monroe Doctrine on
this question has been remedied to some extent by President Wilson, who,
at the outset of his administration, gave the assurance that "the United
States will never again seek one additional foot of territory by
conquest." This declaration, followed by his refusal to be forced into
war with Mexico, has done much to remove the suspicion with which our
recent policies in the Caribbean have been regarded by our Southern
neighbors. His sincerity was further attested by his ready acceptance of
the proffered mediation of the A B C powers in the Mexican embroglio and
by the encouragement which he has given to the Pan American movement.
FOOTNOTES:
[259] E. D. Adams, "British Interests and Activities in Texas,
1838-1845" (1910); Justin H. Smith, "The Annexation of Texas" (1911) and
"The War with Mexico," 2 vols. (1919); Diplomatic Correspondence of the
Republic of Texas, edited by G. P. Garrison (Annual Reports, Am. Hist.
Ass'n, 1907, 1908).
[260] House Doc. No. 1444, Sixty-second Cong., Third Sess., pp. 2, 3;
Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, Sixty-fifth Cong., Special Sess., pp. 47, 48.
[261] Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, Sixty-fifth Cong., Special Sess., pp. 24-34.
[262] Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, Sixty-fifth Cong., Special Sess., p. 35.
[263] _Ibid._, p. 41.
[264] Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, Sixty-fifth Cong., Special Sess., p. 44.
[265] _Ibid._
[266] Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, Sixty-fifth Cong., Special Sess., pp. 53-79.
[267] Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, Sixty-fifth Cong., Special Sess., pp. 87-88.
[268] Foreign Relations, 1905, p. 298; Moore, "Digest of Int. Law," Vol.
VI, pp. 518-529; _Am. Journal of Int. Law_, Vol. I, p. 287, and
Documentary Supplement, p. 231.
[269] Foreign Relations, 1909, p. 455.
[270] D. G. Munro, "The Five Republics of Central America," p. 257.
[271] For recent and authoritative information on Central American
affairs, see the volume by Dana G. Munro, "The Five Republics of Central
America." (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1918.)
[272] Secretary of the Navy, Annual Report 1915, pp. 15-17.