Page images
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

B. W. HUEBSCH, INC.

PRINTED IN U. S. A.

LOAN STACK

[ocr errors][merged small]

"Dollar Diplomacy" was adopted as a title for this volume because it seemed to include, more completely than any other short phrase, the growth of United States economic interests abroad, and the diplomatic and military support accorded them by the Federal Government. No thorough study has been made of United States extra-territorial economic interests. United States state papers, with minor exceptions, have not been published since about 1915. Consequently, "Dollar Diplomacy" is not a History of American Imperialism, but a description of certain type cases in which United States economic and diplomatic interests have come into collision with the economic and political interests of certain "undeveloped" countries. These cases were picked, first, because they represented distinct phases in imperial development, and second, because sufficient first-hand material was available to make possible a reasonably competent study. The History of American Imperialism is still to be written.

The book has two chief purposes: first, to indicate how far the United States is following an imperial policy, and second, to suggest some of the outstanding characteristics of United States foreign policy.

The authors do not claim originality either for the ideas or for the material collected in this volume, but so far as they are aware, these data have not been assembled elsewhere in this form, and with this general purpose in mind. Where firsthand sources were available, they have been used. Acknowledgment is made for data taken from secondary sources. Complete references covering practically all footnotes appear in a bibliography at the end of the volume.

Scattered through the text are a number of maps and charts,

intended to summarize certain aspects of the problem which lend themselves to that form of treatment. A few of the less easily accessible documents are printed in the appendix.

Acknowledgments are due to a number of men and women who have assisted generously in the preparation of this volume. Melchior Guzman and Adrian Richt secured and translated many of the Latin-American documents, and Adrian Richt prepared much of the material on Cuba. Robert W. Dunn permitted the authors to use statistical information which will shortly appear over his name in book form. The manuscript was read, in whole or in part, by Professors Edwin M. Borchard, Charles A. Beard, Harry Elmer Barnes, Raymond L. Buell, Edward Mead Earle, and Thomas S. Adams, and by Lewis Gannett and James Weldon Johnson. Without committing themselves to the interpretation, emphasis and conclusions presented in the manuscript, all of them made helpful suggestions.

The authors wish to thank Miss Ann Coles, who prepared the maps and charts, Miss Ruth Stout, who typed the manuscript in its final form, verified the references and read the proof, and Miss Natalie Brown, who prepared the manuscript for the publisher. Miss Marion M. Shields and her staff did an immense amount of typing on the manuscript in its preliminary stages.

A special word of appreciation is due the Economics Division of the New York Public Library. All of the members of the Economics Staff have been courteous, patient and extremely efficient in locating material and in verifying the wide range of data which appear in the following pages.

New York City, June 10, 1925.

THE AUTHORS.

« PreviousContinue »