guerrilla campaign led by Augusto César
Sandino (1895–1934).The Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic was another
focal point for the American “big stick.” In
1905, in response to the near collapse of
the Caribbean nation’s finances, Roosevelt
arranged for the United States to adminis-
ter its customs department. His aim was to
ensure that customs money went to repay
debts to creditors rather than to line the
pockets of corrupt government officials.
The arrangement, which lasted until 1941,
was part of a policy that became known as
“dollar diplomacy” during the administra-
tion of William Howard Taft (1857–1930;
president 1909–1913). Dollar diplomacy
was the use of the leverage provided by
American economic might to extend
American influence abroad. American
bankers and industrialists were encour-
aged to invest overseas; the United States
financed public debt in places as far-flungas Nicaragua, Haiti, and China. Wherever
possible, notably in the Dominican
Republic and Nicaragua, Americans were
put in charge of collecting customs and
administering finances.
Though the aim of dollar diplomacy
was to achieve political stability by “dol-
lars instead of bullets,” in practice these
efforts were often enforced by bullets. In
response to civil turmoil, U.S. Marines
occupied the Dominican Republic from
1916 to 1924.
For Latin Americans, dollar diploma-
cy, the “big stick,” and the Roosevelt
Corollary were all different names for the
same thing: American disrespect for their
right to govern themselves. The same
disrespect had been shown in the annex-
ation of Puerto Rico and the legalized
domination of Cuba, despite the undeni-
ably good intentions of many Americans
in assisting to drive Spanish colonial
forces out of those islands. The situation
made for tense relations throughout the
20th century between Latin America and
the United States.132 ATLAS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY