Defaulting Debtors, American Public Opinion, and U.S. International Relations, 1900 to 1940

In the first half of the twentieth century, debt played an unexpectedly large role in shaping public views of American foreign relations. Debt—specifically, the public debt of other sovereign states—seems far removed from the everyday experience of Americans seeking credit from butchers and grocers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inModern American history (Cambridge.) Vol. 6; no. 2; pp. 230 - 233
Main Author Veeser, Cyrus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.07.2023
Subjects
Cooperation
Debt
Diplomacy
Diplomatic & consular services
International finance
International relations
Intervention
Media coverage
Public opinion
Receivership
War
Dominican Republic
England
United Kingdom > UK
France
United States > US
Europe
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Summary:In the first half of the twentieth century, debt played an unexpectedly large role in shaping public views of American foreign relations. Debt—specifically, the public debt of other sovereign states—seems far removed from the everyday experience of Americans seeking credit from butchers and grocers or, in the global arena, decidedly dull in contrast to headlines about wars and assassinations. Yet if articles in thousands of local newspapers are an indicator, before World War I millions of Americans had been exposed to detailed coverage of the problematic indebtedness of the nearer nations of Latin America. To engaged readers in every corner of the United States, the financial entanglements of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras must have been a familiar trope—a sign of weakness if not immorality—and, as the policy of Dollar Diplomacy emerged after 1904, a harbinger of U.S. intervention.
ISSN:2515-0456
2397-1851
DOI:10.1017/mah.2023.25