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U.S. National Objectives during the Wilson administration

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How well did US military forces (primarily the Army) accomplish the national objectives in Mexico, Russia, and Panama during the Wilson administration?

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Solution Summary

This solution examines how well US military forces upheld the national objectives, ideals, or in others words foreign policy in Mexico, Russia, and Panama during the Wilson administration.

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Before answering that question, you must first understand what the foreign policy was at that time in American History.

In foreign affairs, Wilson was determined to revise the imperialist practices of earlier administrations, promising independence to the Philippines and making Puerto Ricans American citizens. But Wilson's own policies could sometimes be high-handed. His administration intervened militarily more often in Latin America than any of his predecessors. In the European war, American neutrality ended when the Germans refused to suspend submarine warfare after 120 Americans were killed aboard the British liner Lusitania and a secret German offer of a military alliance with Mexico against the United States was uncovered. In 1917, Congress voted overwhelmingly to declare war on Germany.

In Mexico:

United States Response and Involvement with Mexico during the Revolution

The United States was involved politically and socially with the Mexican revolution from 1910-1920. The US. had attitudes and interests among the Mexican population,(see photos on the right of American crowds watching the revolution unfold). The attitudes stem mostly from common American people including religious groups and womens groups. These organizations were socially involved with Mexico during the revolution because of the harsh times that many Mexican people faced economically and socially. The Mexican people were devastated by the revolution and had no work, adequate food and sheltering. The attitude of American organizations like the religious and womans groups, was that they could not just let the Mexican people suffer, they had to help them. Numerous groups like the Red Cross were able to help the Mexican people out during the revolution, (see photo on the right of the group of Red Cross volunteers). The interests among the US citizens in Mexico during the revolution on the other hand were mostly representative of the US politicians. The economic interest in Mexico during 1910-1920 had decided US policy toward Mexico and thus the US response and involvement with Mexico during this time.

The US economic interest in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution assured revolutionary nationalism and also xenophobia which had determined that the US economic policies towards Mexico would be, unsympathetic, hostile, and even interventionist. The economic interest in Mexico was so great that many Americans were investing in Mexico through capital investments, indirect and direct investments. These investments included government bonds and real estate investments. The biggest economic investment that the US made with Mexico during the revolution was the exportation of oil.
Many of the attitudes of the American religious and womans group, as well as the economic interest of the politicians, correlated into military response and at the time, President Woodrow Wilsons response and involvement in the Mexican revolution.

US Military Involvement

Decisions made prior to the breakout of the Mexican revolution and during the beginning of the war, proposed that the United States would only aid civil authorities in enforcing the neutrality laws. The secretary of war Jacob Dickinson, authorized American Military commanders to only warn the Mexican military about the actions that would be taken if American lives and property were ever threaten. Mexican Military commanders were warned that only if the military endangered the lives and property of North Americans, then the US military would intervene. Otherwise the US had no intention to further disrupt the relations in Mexico.
As the situation in Mexico deteriorated along with the viability of the Diaz administration, US president Taft took action which was an early departure from his non-intervention policy. President Taft in march 1911, ordered the creation of the so-called, "Maneuver Division." ...

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