U.S. Imperialism in Latin America

Latin America's proximity to the United States made the improvement of relations between the two regions imperative in the first two decades of the 20th century. William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State for Woodrow Wilson until 1915, was largely responsible for this task. Although Bryan had denounced as imperialistic his predecessors' political and economic intervention in Latin America, his own policies also had an imperialistic tone. Bryan resigned in June 1915, but his actions while in office served as the foundation for later intervention in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

This work details Bryan's attitudes toward Latin America prior to assuming the title of secretary of state, his actions while in office, and his political stance after resignation. Six topical chapters cover Bryan's policies toward Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Panama Canal Tolls Controversy, and the Columbian Treaty. The work concludes with an analysis of Bryan's inconsistent attitude on imperialism.

EDWARD S. KAPLAN is Professor in the Social Science Department at New York City Technical College of the City University of New York. He is a specialist in the economic history of the United States, and is coauthor of Prelude to Trade Wars: American Tariff Policy, 1890-1922 (Greenwood, 1994) and author of American Trade Policy, 1923-1995 (Greenwood, 1996).