Discussion 

• How might the building of the Panama Canal have led to U.S. intervention elsewhere in Latin America?

The success of the canal in Panama showed investors and politicians that the United States could benefit from intervening in Latin American countries.

Background 

• The battleship USS Maine exploded in the harbor at Havana, Cuba, in 1898, while it was anchored to assist evacuation of Americans and protection of U.S. property during a Cuban rebellion. Spain did not send forces to defend Cuba after the United States attacked its Caribbean fleet and destroyed it. The U.S. Navy also attacked the Spanish fleet in the Philippines and destroyed it in a single morning. Spain gave up rights to Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and the United States paid $20 million to Spain for rights to the Philippines.

Background 

• Panama was once part of Colombia. In 1811, a French company obtained a commission to build a canal but failed to construct one. In 1902, the U.S. Congress authorized buying the French rights. When political negotiations with Colombia failed, the U.S. backed Panama's rebellion and won the right to a strip of Panamanian land. The U.S. could now build a canal. It took 40,000 laborers twelve years to remove approximately 100 million cubic yards of rock from the canal. The workers had to deal with deep mud, disease, and poor medical care. Thousands died.  

Background 

• Britain, Germany, and Italy constructed a blockade of Venezuela in 1902 to force it to pay its debts. The Germans even bombed a town. President Theodore Roosevelt threatened Germany, which turned to legal means of collecting the debt instead. In 1904, Roosevelt went before Congress in his annual address and established what later became called the Roosevelt Corollary, which was an extension of his policy for U.S. force in the region, called "talk softly and carry a big stick." He said the United States would police any nation guilty of "chronic misconduct" or mismanagement of its finances.

Discussion 

• Why were U.S. troops sent into Latin American countries?

U.S. troops were sent to protect U.S. investments.

Discussion 

• What issues do the constitution's articles address?

public education, fair trials and government, control of resources

Discussion 

• What do the events in the time line have in common?

They are all revolutions in which a Latin American country revolted against a European country.

Background 

• The long struggle for revolutionary reform in Mexico began in 1910 when the dictator Porfirio Díaz arrested Francisco Madero, who then called for a revolution. Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, and Pascual Orozco led forces against Díaz, who resigned in 1911. Zapata later opposed Madero for not righting the wrongs of Díaz's government fast enough. The U.S. government feared Madero was threatening American business interests and helped to install a new president. Madero was assassinated. Rebels again overthrew the government. Further quarrelling weakened Zapata and Villa. Venustiano Carranza became president, and although he had still the power of a dictator, he oversaw the writing of the Constitution of 1917.

Discussion 

• How did the Constitution of 1917 limit the power of political leaders and the social elite?

It limited a president's power and redistributed land.

Background 

• The Constitution of 1917 removed the debt patronage system and redistributed land to communal holdings. It guaranteed schooling for the poor, a social welfare program, and the rights of urban workers. It asserted national ownership of mineral rights and restricted the rights of foreign interests.

Economic Growth

• Latin America prospered from food exports, but most of the population remained poor.

• A new middle class emerged in large cities.

• The working class also grew in size.

• Industrialization drew immigrants from Europe.

Discussion 

• Why did Latin American still rely on Western nations?

Despite a growing economy, Latin American countries lacked money to invest in their own economies and relied on others for foreign investment.