History 416
U.S. and the 1920s World
October 31, 2005

I. Wilsonianism after Wilson?

1. The Washington Conference (aftermath of Russian intervention; the vacuum with Wilson’s departure; Borah and pressure for disarmament; postwar turbulence East Asia: Shantung, Yap, Anglo-Japanese alliance; the aggressiveness of Hughes; broadening Washington agenda; the Washington Treaties: 4-, 5-, and 9- power treaties; the implications)

            2. Internationalism by Other Means (debt diplomacy—Ruhr invasion, Dawes Plan; Locarno and Stresseman; US cultural and financial expansion; contradictions: role of USSR, economic nationalism—tariff and foreign debt, formal political commitments—World Court, ChemWeapons; alternatives—Kellogg-Briand, London Naval Treaty)

II. The Crossroads of Empire

1. The Erosion of the Progressive Consensus (Wilsonianism and reconception of US role in Latin America; Fall Committee and more aggressive conservative response; dealing with WW leftovers: Haiti, Dominican Republic, the King Amendment, and the emergence of the peace progressives; anti-imperialism as a progressive cause: NAACP, WILPF, FOR, WPP)

          2. The Battle Joined (Mexico and Article 27; administration response: international law as bludgeon; congressional challenge—Wheeler, Borah, and articulation of anti-imperialism; battle for public opinion; Senate checkmate)

          3. Nicaragua and the Anti-Imperialist Moment (background US-Nicaraguan relations; carryover from Mexican fight; Coolidge and breakdown of Tipitapa accords; the emergence of Sandino; Blaine Amendment and legislative tactics; Havana Conference and international pressure; battle for public opinion: The Nation, FOR, WILPF; Nicaragua in 1928 campaign; Dill Amendment and winding down of occupation)

Time Line
1921                Washington Conference
1922                Senate approval of 4, 5, 9 Power Treaties; King Amendment (Haiti)
1924                Dawes Plan; Borah as Foreign Relations Committee chair
1925                Locarno; World Court and Chemical Weapons defeats; Kellogg as secretary of state
1926                Mexican debate; Nicaraguan intervention
1927                Tipitapa Accords; outbreak Sandino revolt
1928                Blaine amendment; Havana Conference
1929                Dill amendment; Kellogg-Briand Pact