Foreign Policy in the Caribbean Essay

He suggests that other reasons were secondary and complementary to economic goals. First and foremost, Americans were interested in enriching themselves and the policy of the government reflected this goal.

Healy agrees that there were economic concerns but he argues that there was multiplicity of goals. He specifically emphasizes that Americans were concerned about German threat to American interests in the region. He also notes that Americans viewed Central Americans with disdain and racial arrogance, so their goal in the region was to "civilize" them and develop economically. While I believe these are noteworthy points, they do not negate the fact that economic concerns were at the forefront of U.S. policy in the Caribbean. American leaders were aware that German military threat to American national integrity was severely limited. The threat Germany posed was directed at American economic interests in the region.

American racial arrogance also does not negate the fact that American policy in the region was motivated by economic concerns. Racism simply complemented American economic goals because American leaders believed in the kind of Caribbean development that suited Americans. They did not care about Central American views on their own development (except for some local elites who did not mind American military intervention). Basically, American leaders believed that economic development of the Caribbean (again, in the manner understood by Americans) was fully compatible with American economic interests. Viewing Central Americans with racial arrogance was a convenient way of morally justifying American goals in the region.

Works Cited:

LaFeber, Walter. Inevitable Revolutions: the U.S. In Central America. W.W.: Norton, 1993. Print.

Healy, David. Drive to Hegemony: the United States in the Caribbean, 1898-1917. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Print.