Eleanor Finch
Missionary diplomacy was a policy of US President Woodrow Wilson that held that Washington had a moral responsibility to deny diplomatic recognition to any Latin American government that was not democratic. It was an expansion of President James Monroe's 1823 Monroe Doctrine. This policy was applied to the practices of the United States in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and China during Wilson's presidency from 1913 to 1921. Wilson's ethical and religious beliefs greatly influenced his foreign policy as president, and he believed that democracy was the most Christian form of government, suitable for all peoples.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Policy of US President Woodrow Wilson | 1913-1921 |
| Washington had a moral responsibility to deny diplomatic recognition to any non-democratic Latin American government | Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and China |
| An expansion of President James Monroe's 1823 Monroe Doctrine | Driven by the confidence that the US knew better how to promote peace and well-being in other countries |
| Wilson's ethical and religious beliefs influenced his foreign policy | Nations should adhere to high ethical and moral standards |
| Democracy was the most Christian of governmental systems, suitable for all peoples | The US had a moral mandate for world leadership |
| Led to permanent hostility between the US and Latin America | Led to the same legacy of failure and ill will in other countries |
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What You'll Learn
Democracy promotion
Missionary diplomacy was a policy of US President Woodrow Wilson, which held that Washington had a moral responsibility to deny diplomatic recognition to any Latin American government that was not democratic. This policy was an expansion of President James Monroe's 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
Wilson's ethical and religious beliefs greatly influenced his foreign policy as president. He believed that nations, like individuals, should adhere to high ethical and moral standards. Democracy, he thought, was the most Christian form of government, suitable for all peoples. The democratic United States, therefore, had a moral mandate for world leadership.
Wilson's policy of missionary diplomacy was applied to the US's practices in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and China. In Latin America, Wilson's policy was first tested in Mexico, where he used military force in Veracruz, which has been interpreted as a "blunder" resulting from his "interventionist impulses". Wilson's interventionism in Latin America also extended to Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, creating permanent hostility between the US and the region.
After World War I, Wilson saw the League of Nations as an instrument for the application of Wilsonian democracy on an international scale.
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Moral responsibility
Missionary diplomacy was a policy of US President Woodrow Wilson, which held that the United States had a moral responsibility to deny diplomatic recognition to any non-democratic Latin American government. This policy was an expansion of President James Monroe's 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
Wilson's ethical and religious beliefs strongly influenced his foreign policy as president. He believed that nations, like individuals, should adhere to high ethical and moral standards. Democracy, in Wilson's view, was the most Christian of governmental systems, suitable for all peoples. The democratic United States thus had a moral mandate for world leadership.
According to Arthur S. Link, Wilson and his Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, were "both fundamentally missionaries of democracy, driven by inner compulsions to give other peoples the blessings of democracy and inspired by the confidence that they knew better how to promote the peace and well-being of other countries than did the leaders of those countries themselves."
Wilson first tested his Latin American policy in Mexico. In February 1913, Mexico entered a new stage in the revolution that had begun in 1910 against the dictator Porfirio Díaz. Francisco Madero, the leader of the rebels, was a moderate revolutionist who eventually aroused the ire of radicals like Emiliano Zapata, who demanded the redistribution of land to peasants. Wilson's use of military force in Veracruz was a "blunder," according to historian John Milton Cooper Jr., the result of his "interventionist impulses" temporarily determining his course of action.
Wilson's missionary diplomacy created seemingly permanent hostility between the United States and Latin America, especially in Mexico, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, which experienced Wilsonian interventionism in its most virulent forms. When Wilson used missionary diplomacy elsewhere, it led to the same legacy of failure and ill will as in Mexico.
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Leadership in foreign affairs
Missionary diplomacy was a policy pursued by US President Woodrow Wilson, which held that the United States had a moral responsibility to deny diplomatic recognition to any non-democratic government in Latin America. This policy was an expansion of President James Monroe's Monroe Doctrine of 1823. Wilson believed that nations, like individuals, should uphold high ethical and moral standards, and that democracy was the most Christian form of government, suitable for all peoples. As such, the democratic United States had a moral mandate for world leadership.
Wilson's ethical and religious beliefs deeply influenced his foreign policy. He saw the League of Nations as an instrument to spread democracy on an international scale. This belief in the superiority of democracy led to interventionist policies in Latin America, particularly in Mexico, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Wilson's use of military force in Veracruz, for instance, was seen as a "blunder" resulting from his "interventionist impulses."
However, Wilson's missionary diplomacy faced criticism and led to permanent hostility between the United States and Latin America. Some viewed his actions as economically motivated and aimed at promoting US economic interests in the region. Despite its idealistic goals, missionary diplomacy created a legacy of failure and ill will, especially in Mexico, where negotiations with the Mexican government failed to exempt US citizens from certain articles of the Mexican constitution.
In conclusion, leadership in foreign affairs requires a delicate balance between upholding values and respecting the sovereignty of other nations. While Wilson's missionary diplomacy was driven by democratic ideals, it ultimately damaged relations with Latin America due to its interventionist nature. Effective leadership in foreign affairs necessitates adaptability, continuous learning, and a skilled diplomatic workforce to navigate the complex global landscape and advance a country's interests on the world stage.
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Interventionism
Missionary diplomacy was a policy of US President Woodrow Wilson, which held that Washington had a moral responsibility to deny diplomatic recognition to any non-democratic Latin American government. This policy was an expansion of President James Monroe's 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
The term "missionary diplomacy" is used to describe the interventionist policies and practices of the United States in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and China during Wilson's presidency (1913-1921). This interventionism took several forms, including military force and economic coercion. Wilson's ethical and religious beliefs profoundly influenced his foreign policy, leading him to believe that democracy was the most Christian form of government and that the democratic United States had a moral mandate for world leadership.
One example of Wilson's missionary diplomacy in action was in Mexico, where he first tested his Latin American policy. In 1913, Mexico was in the midst of a revolution against the dictator Porfirio Díaz. Wilson's use of military force in Veracruz during this time has been characterised as a "blunder" resulting from his "interventionist impulses". Wilson's actions in Mexico set a precedent for his administration's intervention in other Latin American countries, including Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
Another instance of Wilson's interventionism was in Nicaragua, where the United States engaged in "dollar diplomacy". In 1913, U.S. firms provided Nicaragua with over $2.5 million by investing in the Pacific Railroad and the National Bank of Nicaragua, purchasing Treasury bills, and lending money to the railroad. This act was approved by Wilson and his Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, and was followed by the signing of the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty in 1914. However, due to concerns about the role of U.S. business interests in Nicaragua and protests from other Central American countries, the Senate delayed approval of the treaty until 1916.
Wilson's missionary diplomacy has been criticised for creating permanent hostility between the United States and Latin America, particularly in the aforementioned countries that experienced more virulent forms of intervention. Despite Wilson's idealistic intentions, his interventionist policies have been characterised as ill-conceived, economically motivated, and ultimately failing to achieve their goals.
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Dollar diplomacy
"Dollar diplomacy" was a foreign policy pursued by US President William Howard Taft and Secretary of State Philander C. Knox from 1909 to 1913. The policy was designed to ensure the financial stability of a region while protecting and advancing US commercial and financial interests there. This was achieved by using the military might of the United States to promote American business interests abroad.
The term "dollar diplomacy" was coined by critics of the Taft administration and is used in a disparaging sense to refer to the manipulation of foreign affairs for strictly monetary ends. The policy was a continuation and expansion of President Theodore Roosevelt's Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which held that if any nation in the Western Hemisphere appeared politically and financially unstable enough to be vulnerable to European control, the United States had the right and obligation to intervene. Taft defended his dollar diplomacy as an extension of the Monroe Doctrine, stating that it was a peaceful alternative to military intervention, "substituting dollars for bullets".
When Woodrow Wilson became president in March 1913, he immediately cancelled all support for dollar diplomacy, marking a return to his initial rejection of the policy.
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Frequently asked questions
The aim of mission diplomacy was for the US to deny diplomatic recognition to any non-democratic Latin American governments. This policy was an expansion of President James Monroe's 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
Mission diplomacy was the policy of US President Woodrow Wilson.
Mission diplomacy created seemingly permanent hostility between the US and Latin America, especially in Mexico, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
