Foreign Affairs Timeline : American relations with Latin- America from 1850 to 1920 1850 May 25 New Mexico, impatient for statehood, formed own state government. Convention set boundaries of state, banned slavery, applied for statehood. July 9 President Zachary Taylor died. Vice-President Millard Fillmore became president on July 10th. Taylor was the 2nd and last of the Whig party to be elected to presidency. Sept 9 Texas and New Mexico act passed. The act established the Texas boundaries, authorized payment of $10 million for relinquishing her claims to territories beyond the new state lines, and established the boundaries of New Mexico territory. Part of Compromise of 1850. 1851 Aug 24 Lopez Expedition, a group unauthorized by the federal government formed for the purpose of taking Cuba by force. General Narciso Lopez was a leader of Spanish refugees agitating for the liberation of Cuba. Lopez attracted a group from New Orleans who thought that Cuba could be annexed to the U.S. 1853 Gadsden Purchase negotiated for $10 million. Southern Arizona and New Mexico, the territory acquired, was the last addition to the present U.S. boundaries. Congress passed legislation, and on June 30, 1854 the treaty was mutually ratified. Under final terms, the U.S. received the Mesila Valley, about 20 million unfertile acres of land and was able to adjust the disputed U.S. Mexican boundary. The treaty made it unnecessary for the U.S. to protect Mexico from Indian invasions. Mar 4 Franklin Pierce, 14th president inaugurated. He was a Democrat and served one term in office. 1854 Oct 18 Drafting of the Ostend Manifesto, declaring that in order to preserve slavery, U.S. should obtain Cuba. William Marcy had ordered the conference to establish policy toward Cuba. 1855 William Walker landed a company of men in Nicaragua, overthrew the government, and set himself up as ruler. Walker, a lawyer, doctor, and newspaper editor had seized Lower California in 1853, and made himself by proclamation president. Walker was executed in Nicaragua in 1860 by a Honduras court when a new invasion of Nicaragua failed. 1857 Feb 21 Foreign coins declared no longer legal tender by Act of Congress. Mar 3 Foreign duties lower to level of about 20% by Tariff Act, and free list enlarged. Mar 4 James Buchanan, 15th president, sworn to office. He was a Democrate and served one term in office. 1861 Feb 18 Jefferson Davis inaugurated president of the confederacy. Capital first established in Montgomery, Alabama. Later moved to Richmond, Virginia. Mar 4 Abraham Lincoln inaugurated president of what was no longer the United States. 1862 July 22 1st draft of Emancipation Proclamation submitted to cabinet by President Lincoln. 1863 Jan 1 Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation. 1865 Apr 15 Andrew Johnson, 17th president inaugurated. 1867 Feb 25 Survey for canal at Darien, Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans provided for by a resolution adopted by Congress. 1869 Mar 4 Ulysses S. Grant inaugurated as 18th president. He was a Republican and served two terms. 1877 Jan 2 Carpetbag government ended in South Carolina when Federal troops evacuated Columbia. 1877 Mar 4 Rutherford B. Hayes inaugurated, 19th president, served one term as Republican. 1878 Jan 17 Commercial Treaty with Samoa signed. Pago Pago harbor reserved for a coaling station for U.S. Naval vessels. 1881 James A. Garfield, 20th president, inaugurated. He was a Republican and died 6 months., 15 days in office. Vice-president Chester A. Arthur succeeded him. On July 2nd, Garfield was shot. He died September 19th, 1881. Sept 20 Chester A. Arthur inaugurated as 21st president, Republican, he served 3 years, 5 months in office. Nov 22 Pan-American movement launched. 1885 Mar 4 Grover Cleveland, 22nd president inaugurated. He was a Democrat. 1889 Mar 4 Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president inaugurated. He was a Republican and served one term. 1890 High protective tariffs issued by President McKinley in order to cut down on imports. Feb 4 Senate ratified the Samoan treaty with Germany and Great Britain. This treaty placed Samoan Islands under the joint control of the three powers, and provided the U.S. with a fueling station for it's Pacific fleet. Apr 14 Resolution of Pan-American Conference held in Washington between Oct. 2nd, 1889, and April 21st, 1890, established the Pan-American Union. 1892 Boll Weevil, of Mexican or Central American origin, first seen in Texas; pest spread widely and has caused as much as $200,000,000 damage a year to U.S. cotton crops. 1893 Mar 4 Grover Cleveland, 24th president, inaugurated for second time. He was a Democrate and served one term. 1895 Feb 24 Revolt against Spanish rule broke out in Cuba. On June 12 President Cleveland called on the U.S. citizens to avoid giving aid to insurgents. Part of the cause of the rebellion was the panic of 1893 which caused severe economic depression in the Cuban sugar industry. Repressive measures taken by the Spanish aroused American sympathy, which was inflamed to a war pitch by the "yellow journalism" of William Randolph Hearst's New Your Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Dec 21 Congress authorized President Cleveland to appoint Venezuelan Boundary Commission. 1897 Mar 4 William McKinley, 25th president inaugurated. He was a Republican and died by assassination after serving 6 months of his 2nd term. May 24 Congress voted $50,000 for relief of Americans in Cuba. Time of Cuban rebellion. 1898 Jan 25 U.S. battleship Maine arrived at Havana on friendly visit. The real purpose of the Maine was to protect American life and property. Feb 15 American battleship Maine blown up in Havana harbor; 260 seamen lost. U.S. sympathies were already strong for Cuba in the revolt against Spanish tyranny; the Maine disaster made U.S. intervention inevitable, though the cause of the sinking was never established. Apr 5 President McKinley recalled U.S. consuls in Cuba. Apr 19 Congress adopted resolutions declaring Cuba independent and directing the president to use forces to put an end to Spanish authority in Cuba. Apr 22 U.S. instituted a blockade of all Cuban ports. 1st prize of the Spanish-American War taken by gunboat Nashville, which captured the Spanish ship, Buena Ventura. Apr 24 Spain recognized state of war. U.S. declared that state of war existed since April 21st when Spain broke diplomatic relations with U.S. June 11 About 600 marines landed at Guantanamo, Cuba, and made contact with the enemy the next day. June 12 (thru 14th) 17,000 Americans embarked under General Shafter at Key West, Florida to attempt an invasion of Santiago. June 15 Battle at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where the U.S. marines repulsed a Spanish force. Pacific island of Guam was taken over. No ammunition was on the island, and they had not yet received word of war. June 22 General Shafer's invasion forces landed at Daiquiri, 15 miles from Santiago. American casualties were 1 killed, 4 wounded. July 1 (thru begining of August) Many battles occured leaving many cities and towns surrendering to U.S. troops. Included in these: Ponce, Puerto Rico; Guanica, Puerto Rico; Cuban harbor of Nipe, and Coamo, Puerto Rico Aug 9 Spanish government formally accepted peace terms. Dec 10 Treaty ending Spanish-American War signed in Paris. U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and Spain relinquished claim to Cuba. Treaty was ratified by congress Jan. 9, 1899. U.S. paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines. 1901 Mar 2 Platt Amendment adopted by Congress. Amendment established a quasi-protectorate over Cuba. It was abrogated May 29, 1934. Apr 19 Rebellion in the Philippines ended by proclamation. Sept 6 President McKinley shot during public reception at Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. He died on September 14th, and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as 26th president serving McKinleys remaining term of 3 years, 5 months and was elected another term in 1904. 1902 May 20 U.S. flag lowered from government buildings in Cuba and replaced with flag of new Cuban government. Cuban independence achived 4 years after end of Spanish-American war. June 28 Isthmian Canal Act passed by Congress. It authorized the financing and building of the canal across the Isthmian of Panama. Negotiated with Columbia to authorize canal through Nicargua. July 1 Philippine Government Act passed by Congress. It declared the Philippine Islands an unorganized territory. 1903 Jan 22 Hay-Herran Treaty (Panama Canal) signed with Columbia. The U.S. Senate ratified it on March 17th, but on August 12th, the Columbian state rejected it. Nov 2 President Roosevelt ordered warships to Panama to maintain "free and uninterrupted transit " across isthmus. This insured success of revolution, which was engineered in part by officers of the Panama Company and in part by native groups, all with tacit approval of Roosevelt's administration. Separatist movement in Panama was directed against Colombia. Nov 3 Quickest recognition ever offered a foreign county by U.S. came when Republic of Panama was recognized 3 days after it was proclaimed. Roosevelt's opponents openly hinted that he was involved in the Panamanian revolution in order to speed negotiations for the Panama Canal. Nov 18 Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty negotiated. It gave U.S. complete control over a 10-mile strip of land in Panama in return for $10 million in gold plus yearly payments of $250,000 1904 Jan 4 Citizens of Puerto Rico are not aliens, ruled the U.S. Supreme Court. Although they are not classified as citizens of the U.S., they can not be denied or refused admission to the continental limits of the U.S. Feb 29 Panama Canal Commission appointed by President Roosevelt. The 7-man board was in charge of the construction of the waterway. 1905 Jan 21 Protocol signed with Santo Domingo which gave the U.S. complete charge of customs finances with the purpose of satifying European creditors of Santo Domingo. This was an example of Roosevelt's corollary to Monroe Doctrine in action. 1906 Aug 23 Tomas Estrada Palma, 1st president of Cuba, requested U.S intervention to quell a revolt arising from election disputes. Order was finaly restored after troops took over Cuban government for 13 days in October. Sept 29 Platt Amendment applied in Cuba when the U.S. assumed military control. Nov 9 1st time a U.S. president left the country while in office occurred when President Roosevelt sailed on battleship Louisiana to visit Isthmus of Panama and inspect the Canal. He returned on Nov. 26, 1906. 1907 Feb 8 Treaty with Santo Domingo signed. Mar 21 U.S. Marines landed in Honduras to protect life and property from revolutionary hazards. 1909 Mar 4 William H. Taft, 27th president inaugurated. He was a Republican and served one term. Nov 18 U.S. Warships and troops ordered to Nicaragua after it was reported that 500 revolutionists, with 2 Americans among them, were executed by dictator Zelaya. 1911 Mar 7 20,000 U.S. troops were ordered to the Mexican boarder. Conditions in Mexico were still chaotic; fighting sometimes occured so close to the border that crowds of U.S. citizens gathered to watch. Troops recalled June 24th. Apr 14 President Taft sent a message to the Mexican Government demanding that fighting cease along the American border. June 5 U.S. Marines landed in Cuba to protect American intrests. 1912 Oct 14 President Roosevelt shot from a distance of 6 ft while in New York making a speech. He insisted on delivering his speech before being taken to the hospital. 1913 Mar 4 Woodrow Wilson, 28th president inaugurated. He was a Democrat and served 2 terms. Aug 27 President Wilson announced his policy on "watchful waiting" in respect to Mexico. 1914 Jan 27 Permanent Civil government established in the Panama Canal Zone by an executive order. Apr 9 Small party of U.S. Marines, landing at Tampico, Mexico, to obtain supplies were arrested and detained for one and a half hours by the Mexican authorities. Apr 11 A breach of diplomatic relations with Mexico occured because of an apology without a special salute to the American flag. Apr 14 President Wilson ordered American fleet to Tampico Bay, Mexico, as result of incident involving arrest of U.S. troops. Apr 21 U.S. fleet seized the custom house at Vera Cruz, Mexico, and Marines occupied the city. U.S. losses: 4 dead; 20 wounded. Apr 22 Mexico severed diplomatic relations with U.S. Apr 25 So-called "ABC" countries - Argentina, Brazil, and Chile - offered to arbitrate U.S.-Mexico dispute. President Wilson quickly accepted. General Huerta was forced to resign presidency of Mexico on July 15th. May 18 Panama Canal opened to barge service. July 28 (thru August 6th) Outbreak of World War I in Europe occured. Aug 15 Panama Canal formally opened. Nov 23 U.S. forces left Vera Cruz. 1915 May 24 Pan-American Finacial Conference opened at Washing D.C. Aug 5 Latin-American Conference to debate means of ending unrest in Mexico opened at Washington D.C.; attended by Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Guatemala, Uruguay, and U.S. Sept 16 Haiti becomes U.S. protectorate under terms of treaty signed with that country. U.S. senate approved February 28, 1916. Oct 19 U.S. government recognized General Venustiano Carranza as President of Mexico. 1916 May 1 U.S. Marines landed in Santo Domingo to settle internal violence. Occupation continued untill 1924. May 9 President Wilson ordered militia of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to be mobilized for duty on the Mexican border. 4500 regular army troops were also sent to supplement the militia. 1917 Feb 19 War department issued an order for the demobilization of U.S troops stationed along the Mexican boarder. Bibliography: American Foreign Policy - edited by Robert A. Divine THE WORLD PUBLISHING COMPANY, N.Y. (c)1960 A History of American Foreign Policy - Alexander Deconde CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, N.Y. (c)1963 An Interpretive History of American Foreign Relations - Cole THE DORSEY PRESS, Homewood, Ill. (c)1968 The Latin American Policy of the United States: An Historical Interpretation - Samual Flagg Bemis HARCOURT, BRACE & Co., N.Y. (c)1943 History of A Free People - Bragdon, McCutchen, Cole MACMILLAN PUBLISHING Co., Inc., N.Y. (c)1973 Class notes were also used as a resource.