UNITED STATES HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT - JMap

Anchor Paper – Thematic Essay—Level 4 – B
The main determinant in U.S. foreign policy throughout the years
has been to protect their interests. To enact foreign policy, military
and economic means are most often used. Whether they have been
successful or not varies. Two primary foreign policy events that
typeify this are the Spanish-American War and the Marshall Plan.
Both succeeded in protecting American interests abroad while being
achieved by different means.
Ever since the issuing of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the U.S. has
been very protective of Latin American and South American
countries. While the U.S. did not have direct control over these
nations, their fate affected the wellbeing of the U.S. because these
nations are located close by. Therefore, when Cubans revolted against
the Spanish regime in their country, the U.S. was very interested and
concerned. Rebels used guerilla methods, often burned sugar fields,
and kept the Spanish guessing. Spain responded with brutal tactics,
including forcing people into “reconcentration camps” where many
thousands died. All of this chaos threatened U.S.-owned sugar
plantations and imports of sugar. This fighting lasted several years
and drew the attention of the yellow press in the U.S., which made the
situation appear even worse than it was. Next, an event occurred that
drove the nation to war. When the U.S.S. Maine mysteriously exploded
off the coast of Cuba, killing Americans, Americans at home were
convinced by the newspapers that this was the Spaniards’ doing. Soon
after this event, President McKinley asked Congress to declare war
and a short time later the U.S. was victorious. The Spanish-American
War was an attempt by the U.S. to achieve their foreign policy goal
through military means. During the course of war, the U.S. succeeded
U.S. Hist. & Gov. Rating Guide – June ’13 [20] Vol. 1