Dollar Diplomacy is the effort of the United States—particularly under President William Howard Taft—to further its aims in Latin America and East Asia through use of its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. The term was originally coined by President Theodore Roosevelt on account of money that made it possible to pay soldiers without having to fight; most would agree it was a considerably meager wage.
The concept is relevant to both Liberia, where American loans were given in 1913, and Latin America. Latin Americans tend to use the term "Dollar Diplomacy" disparagingly to show their disapproval of the role that the U.S. government and U.S. corporations have played in using economic, diplomatic and military power to open up foreign markets.
Read more about Dollar Diplomacy: Dollar Diplomacy in The Americas, Complete Overview
Famous quotes containing the words dollar and/or diplomacy:
“Commercial to the core, Elvis was the kind of singer dear to the heart of the music business. For him to sing a song was to sell a song. His G clef was a dollar sign.”
—Albert Goldman (b. 1927)
“The diplomacy of the present administration has sought to respond to the modern idea of commercial intercourse. This policy has been characterized as substituting dollars for bullets.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)