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The Monroe Doctrine: The Spanish-American War

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The Monroe Doctrine. The Panama Canal. The Spanish-American War. All these and more are examples of events that happened with in the 1898-1919 era. Many historians today are confused on whether these times showed the U.S. as a country of idealism or realism. You could make a case for either side of the stand, but I believe the U.S. efforts in this time were more realism oriented. The Panama Canal began construction in 1904 and took 10 years to complete. The canal reaches 48 miles long, and cost about 400 million dollars to make. But that wasn't the real cost of the Panama Canal. The U.S. had already been losing a lot of money on shipping and trade over the past many years. The canal had been proposed several times, but the Colombian Government …show more content…

After China ended the war they were in with Japan, they became indebted to other foreign countries. To pay off their debts, they started giving away pieces of their land. China starting losing so much land however, that the U.S. was afraid they wouldn't have access to Chinese markets much longer. At the same time, the Boxer Rebellion was happening in China. Many angry Chinese people began killing and destroying foreigners for taking there land, which made the U.S. more worried. That is when the U.S. created the Open Door Policy. The Open Door Policy insisted that “foreign nations not only allow free trade, but also respect Chinese independence.” In reality, America went through the creation of that policy to keep free trade and the market open to business prospects here in the States. A different policy that shows U.S. involving realism is the Big Stick Policy. This policy had to do with what is now known as the Roosevelt Corollary, to the Monroe Doctrine. Roosevelt believed in only having to use force if he had too. Yet, long after the Monroe Doctrine, many countries in the western hemisphere had poor defense systems. Because of this, he insisted that the U.S. must use their force to be an “international police power” to preserve and protect American interests. Just another reason why America can use their military force to use other countries to their own

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