page_title: Presidency of William Howard Taft
section_title: Central America
hierarchical_section_title: Presidency of William Howard Taft / Foreign affairs / Central America
caption_attribution_description: English: Still image Presidents William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz at their historic summit in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
context_page_description: The Presidency of William Howard Taft began on March 4, 1909, when William Howard Taft was inaugurated as President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1913. Taft, a Republican from Ohio, was the 27th United States president. The protégé and chosen successor of President Theodore Roosevelt, he took office after easily defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 presidential election. His presidency ended with his defeat in the 1912 election by Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
  The Taft administration sought reductions to trade tariffs, then a major source of governmental income, but the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 raised rates when most people expected reductions. Taft continued and expanded his predecessor's efforts to break up trusts, launching cases against U.S. Steel and other companies. Taft made six appointments to the United States Supreme Court, more than all but two other presidents. In foreign affairs, Taft focused on China and Japan, and repeatedly intervened to prop up or remove Latin American governments.
context_section_description: Taft and Secretary of State Knox instituted a policy of Dollar Diplomacy towards Latin America, believing U.S. investment would benefit all involved and minimize European influence in the area. Although exports rose sharply during Taft's administration, his Dollar Diplomacy policy was unpopular among Latin American states that did not wish to become financial protectorates of the United States. Dollar Diplomacy also faced opposition in the U.S. Senate, as many senators believed the U.S. should not interfere abroad.
  In Nicaragua, American diplomats quietly favored rebel forces under Juan J. Estrada against the government of President José Santos Zelaya, who wanted to revoke commercial concessions granted to American companies. Secretary Knox was reportedly a major stockholder in one of the companies that would be hurt by such a move. The country was in debt to several foreign powers, and the U.S. was unwilling to have it (along with its alternate canal route) fall into the hands of Europeans. Zelaya and his elected successor, José Madriz, were unable to put down the rebellion, and in August 1910, Estrada's forces took the capital of Managua. The U.S. had Nicaragua accept a loan, and sent officials to ensure it was repaid from government revenues. The country remained unstable, and after another coup in 1911 and more disturbances in 1912, Taft sent troops; though most were soon withdrawn, some remained as late as 1933.
  Treaties among Panama, Colombia, and the United States to resolve disputes arising from the Panamanian Revolution of 1903 had been signed by the lame-duck Roosevelt administration in early 1909, and were approved by the Senate and also ratified by Panama. Colombia, however, declined to ratify the treaties, and after the 1912 elections, Knox offered $10 million to the Colombians (later raised to $25 million). The Colombians felt the amount inadequate, and the matter was not settled under the Taft administration.
caption: Taft and Porfirio Díaz, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, 1909
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