The commonly held view that the interests of American business dominated U.S. foreign policy in the Caribbean during the early part of this century is challenged by Dana G. Munro, prominent scholar and former State Department official. He argues that the basic purpose of U.S. policy was to create in Latin America political and economic stability so that disorder and failure to meet foreign obligations there would not imperil the security of the United States. The U.S. government increasingly intervened in the internal affairs of the Central American and West Indian republics when it felt that their stability was threatened. This policy culminated in the military occupation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic and varying degrees of control in other countries. Originally published in 1964. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

FROST (Copy 1): From the John Holmes Library Collection.

In the 1890s the Caribbean began to attract the interest of the great powers. United States leaders had both economic and strategic goals in the region, and they believed they could profit from Caribbean nations while leading them to democracy and prosperity. American citizens saw the lack of progress in the Caribbean as the result of the inhabitants' inferiority, and they feared that European countries--particularly Germany--might fill the region's power vacuum. The Spanish-American War crystallized U.S. interests in the region; soon there was an isthmian canal, a protectorate in Cuba, and a colony in Puerto Rico. But Washington's policy makers soon faced growing problems in the Caribbean: How to bring peace to these countries without being drawn into domestic squabbles? How to impose U.S. policy without the use of force? How to promote local democracy while retaining a controlling interest? Eventually the goals of local economic development and self-determination were sacrificed to the need for security and stability, often brought about through U.S.-supported dictatorships. Healy integrates these elements into a broad picture of U.S. policy development in the Caribbean: the differences between successive administrations from McKinley to Wilson; the role of the armed forces; inter-agency differences; and the role of private enterprise and private citizens. He considers the underlying assumptions of both U.S. policy makers and their Caribbean counterparts, forming a balanced and accurate assessmentt. -- Inside jacket flaps.

Between 1921 and 1933, the United States moved from a policy of active intervention to a policy of noninterference in the internal political affairs of the Caribbean states. How the shift from the diplomacy of the Taft and Wilson administrations to the Good Neighbor policy of Franklin Roosevelt occurred is the subject of Dana Gardner Munro's book. The author draws on official records and on his personal experience as a member of the Latin American Division of the United States Department of State to piece together the history of the transition in diplomatic policy. Professor Munro concentrates on several important issues that changed the tone of the relations of the United States with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the five Central American Republics: the failure to compel political reforms in Cuba from 1921 to 1923; the withdrawal of the occupations from the Dominican Republic and Haiti; the intervention in Nicaragua; the response to the Machado and Trujillo dictatorships; and the refusal to recognize revolutionary governments in Central America. The author's analysis sheds new light on the much-discussed Clark memorandum, on the degree to which policy furthered the interests of bankers and businessmen, and on the attitude of the American government toward dictatorial regimes. Originally published in 1974. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.