A World Safe For Capitalism: Dollar Diplomacy And America's Rise To Global Power (columbia Studies In Contemporary American Literature)

This award-winning book provides a unique window on how America began to intervene in world affairs. In exploring what might be called the prehistory of Dollar Diplomacy, Cyrus Veeser brings together developments in New York, Washington, Santo Domingo, Brussels, and London. Theodore Roosevelt plays a leading role in the story as do State Department officials, Caribbean rulers, Democratic party leaders, bankers, economists, international lawyers, sugar planters, and European bondholders, among others. The book recounts a little-known incident: the takeover by the Santo Domingo Improvement Company (SDIC) of the foreign debt, national railroad, and national bank of the Dominican Republic. The inevitable conflict between private interest and public policy led President Roosevelt to launch a sweeping new policy that became known as the Roosevelt corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The corollary gave the U. S. the right to intervene anywhere in Latin American that ''wrongdoing or impotence'' (in T. R.Вґs words) threatened ''civilized society.'' The ''wrongdoer'' in this case was the SDIC. Imposing government control over corporations was launched and became a hallmark of domestic policy. By proposing an economic remedy to a political problem, the book anticipates policies embodied in the Marshall Plan, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. This Book Provides A Window On How America Began To Intervene In World Affairs. In Exploring The Prehistory Of Dollar Diplomacy, Cyrus Veeser Brings Together Developments In New York, Washington, Santo Domingo, Brussels, And London. Theodore Roosevelt Plays A Leading Role In The Story As Do State Department Officials, Caribbean Rulers, Democratic Party Leaders, Bankers, Economists, International Lawyers, Sugar Planters, And European Bondholders, Among Others. The Book Recounts A Little-known Incident: The Takeover By The Santo Domingo Improvement Company (sdic) Of The Foreign Debt, National Railroad, And National Bank Of The Dominican Republic. The Conflict Between Private Interest And Public Policy Led President Roosevelt To Launch A Sweeping New Policy That Became Known As The Roosevelt Corollary To The Monroe Doctrine. The Corollary Gave The U.s. The Right To Intervene Anywhere In Latin American That Wrongdoing (in T.r.s Words) Threatened Civilized Society. The Wrongdoer In This Case Was The Sdic. Imposing Government Control Over Corporations Was Launched And Became A Hallmark Of Domestic Policy. By Proposing An Economic Remedy To A Political Problem, The Book Anticipates Policies Embodied In The Marshall Plan, The International Monetary Fund, And The World Bank. Introduction: Economic Interests And U.s. Expansion, 1892--1907 -- The Gilded Age Goes Abroad: The San Domingo Improvement Company And The Political Economy Of The 1890s -- Remapping The Caribbean: U.s. Caribbean Interests And The Mission Of The Sdic -- Peasants In The World Economy: The Dominican Republic In The Late 1800s -- Dictating Development: Ulises Heureaux And The Sdic Remake The Dominican Republic -- The Cash Nexus: Economic Crisis And The Collapse Of The Heureaux-sdic Regime -- Old Wine In New Skins: The U.s. Government Champions The Sdic, 1899--1904 -- A Reign Of Law Among Nations: John Bassett Moore And The Vindication Of The Sdic, 1904 -- A World Safe For Capitalism: Stabilizing The Dominican Republic, 1901--1905 -- From The Gilded Age To Dollar Diplomacy: The Sdic And The Roosevelt Corollary, 1904--1907. Cyrus Veeser. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [227]-238) And Index. Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 14 Introduction: Economic Interests and U.S. Expansion, 1892–1907......Page 22 1. The Gilded Age Goes Abroad: The San Domingo Improvement Company and the Political Economy of the 1890s......Page 31 2. Remapping the Caribbean: U.S. Caribbean Interests and the Mission of the SDIC......Page 51 3. Peasants in the World Economy: The Dominican Republic in the Late 1800s......Page 64 4. Dictating Development: Ulises Heureaux and the SDIC Remake the Dominican Republic......Page 79 5. The Cash Nexus: Economic Crisis and the Collapse of the Heureaux-SDIC Regime......Page 97 6. Old Wine in New Skins: The U.S. Government Champions the SDIC, 1899–1904......Page 119 7. A Reign of Law Among Nations: John Bassett Moore and the Vindication of the SDIC, 1904......Page 131 8. A World Safe for Capitalism: Stabilizing the Dominican Republic, 1901–1905......Page 147 9. From The Gilded Age to Dollar Diplomacy: The SDIC and the Roosevelt Corollary, 1904–1907......Page 164 Conclusion......Page 176 Notes......Page 184 Bibliography......Page 248 B......Page 260 D......Page 261 H......Page 263 L......Page 264 N......Page 265 R......Page 266 S......Page 267 W......Page 268 A World Safe for Capitalism unravels a little-known incident: a Wall Street corporation's takeover of the foreign debt, national railroad, and national bank of the Dominican Republic in the 1890s. Working with the republic's tyrannical president, the American firm tried to turn self-sufficient peasants into cash-crop farmers, with disastrous results. By 1904, the company's narrow pursuit of profit clashed with Theodore Roosevelt's goal of making the United States a great power, thus triggering a sweeping new policy-the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Praised by Diplomatic History as "a model of globe-trotting multiarchival research," this exciting history covers events in New York, Washington, Santo Domingo, Brussels, and London.