ABSTRACT
The US government’s concern with the viability of the Latin American republics dates back to about 1823, when the famous Monroe Doctrine was pronounced during the presidency of James Monroe. The first major event of the nineteenth century whereby the United States’ “discovery” of Latin America manifested itself was the US invasion of Mexico in 1846, the so-called “Mexican–American War.” The war amounted to little more than a land grab and an attempt by US southerners to extend slavery into the former Mexican territories. The Platt Amendment of 1901 ensured a strong US presence in Cuba, and, two years later, a US-supported independence movement in the Province of Panama demonstrated the country’s intention to construct an interoceanic canal—on its terms and with its military protecting the canal zone. The war put the United States in de facto control of Cuba and Puerto Rico, as the interest, and influence, of the United States in the region expanded.
