American History - Part 168 - Coolidge - Americas Role in World Affairs 1920s
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 2013-08-06

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION--  American history in VOA Special English.
American foreign investments continued to increase greatly during the 1920s.
Increased foreign investment was not the only sign of growing American economic power. By the end of WWI,  the United States produced more goods and services than any other nation, both in total and per person.
Americans had more steel, food, cloth, and coal than even the richest foreign nations. By 1920, the United States national income was greater than the combined incomes of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, and 17 smaller countries. Quite simply, the United States had become the world's greatest economic power.
America's economic strength influenced its policies toward Europe during the 1920s. In fact, one of the most important issues of this period was the economic aid the United States had provided European nations during World War One.
Americans lent the Allied countries $7,000,000,000 during the war. Shortly after the war, they lent another $3,000,000,000. The Allies borrowed most of the money for military equipment and food and other needs of their people.
The Allied nations suffered far greater losses of property and population than the United States during the war. And when peace came, they called on the United States to cancel the loans America had made. France, Britain, and the other Allied nations said the United States should not expect them to re-pay the loans.
The United States refused to cancel the debts. President Coolidge spoke for most Americans when he said, simply: "They borrowed the money." He believed the European powers should pay back the war loans, even though their economies had suffered terribly during the fighting.
Some Americans with international interests criticized President Coolidge and other conservative leaders for not reducing or canceling Europe's debts.
They said the debts and the new payment plan put foolish pressure on the weak European economies. They said this made the German currency especially weak. And they warned that a weak economy would lead to serious social problems in Germany and other countries.
Many Americans continued to oppose arms spending until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in 1941.
American policy toward the League of Nations did not change much in the 1920s.
In 1919, the Senate denied President Wilson's plea for the United States to join the new League of Nations. The United States, however, became involved unofficially in a number of league activities. But it continued to refuse to become a full member. And in 1930, the Senate rejected a proposal for the United States to join the World Court.
The United States also continued in the 1920s to refuse to recognize the communist government in Moscow. However, trade between the Soviet Union and the United States increased greatly during this period. And such large American companies as General Electric, DuPont, and R-C-A provided technical assistance to the new Soviet government.
In Central America, President Coolidge ordered American Marines into Nicaragua when President Adolfo Diaz faced a revolt from opposition groups. The United States gave its support to more conservative groups in Nicaragua. And it helped arrange a national election in 1928. American troops stayed in Nicaragua until 1933.
However, American troops withdrew from the Dominican Republic during this period. And Secretary of State Hughes worked to give new life to the Pan American union.
Relations with Mexico became worse during the 1920s. In 1925, Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles called for laws to give Mexico more control over its minerals and natural wealth. American oil companies resisted the proposed changes. They accused Calles of communism. And some American business and church leaders called for armed American intervention.
However, the American Senate voted to try to settle the conflict peacefully. And American diplomat Dwight Morrow helped negotiate a successful new agreement.
These American actions in Nicaragua and Mexico showed that the United States still felt that it had special security interests south of its border. But its peaceful settlement of the Mexican crisis and support of elections in Nicaragua showed that it was willing to deal with disputes peacefully.
America's policies in Latin America during the 1920s were in some ways similar to its policies elsewhere. It was a time of change, of movement, from one period to another. Many Americans were hoping to follow the traditional foreign policies of the past. They sought to remain separate from world conflict.
The United States, however, could no longer remain apart from world events. This would become clear in the coming years. Europe would face fascism and war. The Soviet Union would grow more powerful. And Latin America would become more independent.