United States-Colombian diplomatic relations, 1933-1943 Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Gallagher, Robert John, 1927- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 28/09/2021 23:44:02 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/317889 UNITED STATES-COLOMBIAN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONSs 1933-1943 tgr Robert John Gallagher A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF BISTORT In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 6 5 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. sign : APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: 'AA^'c._____ .( j i t / £ 6 A 7 RUSSELC C. EWING I (J Date Professor of Hist TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES OOPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IV ABSTRACT oooooooooooaoooooooooooooooo V Chapter I . INTRODUCTION . 1 I I , SOME RESULTS OF THE GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY ........ 7 I I I , THE LETICIA INCIDENT .................. 14 IF , ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS ................. 26 V. THE APPROACH TO WORLD WAR TWO: THE GERMAN INFLUENCE .................. 44 VI. UNITED STATES-COLOMBIAN COUNTERMEASURES ........ 59 V II. CONCLUSION ....................... ?8 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................... 81 ill LIST OF TABLES Table Page lo FOREIGN BONDS OUTSTANDING FOR 1934 ............ 30 2o A CENTURY OF C0L0MB0-AHER1CAN TRADE ........... 39 3. COLOMBIAN EXPORT TRADES 1938 .............. 40 4. COFFEE EXPORT QUOTAS ................... 42 5 . COMPETITIVE EXPORTS TO LATIN AMERICA ........... 45 i v ABS1BACT The diplomatic relations between the United. States and Colom­ bia during the decade between 1933 and 1943 were, for all practical purposes, centered on the Good Neighbor Policy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt= In the opening years of the period, Colombia became con­ vinced that the United States was genuinely interested in an equality of treatment of her neighbors to the south and was respectful of their individual sovereignties 0 The acceptance by the “Colossus of the North" o f th e p o licy o f n o n in terv en tio n , th e amendment to th e Smoot- Hawley T a riff Act, and the abrogation o f the P la tt Amendment, coupled with the final withdrawal of the United States Marines from Haiti, acted as the catalyst« Colombia became more personal in its relation­ ship and requested the use of the good offices of the United States during its difficulties with Peru. Its presidents, Alfonso Ldpez Pu- marejo and Eduardo Santos, joined with Roosevelt in a feeling of trust and admiration. While the United States aided Colombia economically, the latter supported the former in various inter-American conferences and allowed the use of its territory for defense bases. In declaring war on the Axis in 1943, Colombia culminated a decade of cooperation which reflected the results of the diplomatic relations. v I . INTRODUCTION In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolute­ ly respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors A Few nations of Latin America have had more reason to be dis­ trustful of the Unitejd States than has Colombia» The loss of Panama, allegedly through the interference of the United States via the Nash­ v i l l e in 1903, was a direct blow at the sovereignty and pride of the fourth most populous nation of Latin Americae The animosity created by the usurpation of territory which became the international gateway between the two greatest oceans of the world was profound„ The United States seemed to be epitomized ty the phrase MColossus of the North, •* and Latin America appeared as a pawn to be used at the discretion of the northern nationa As war clouds loomed over Europe with the rise of Adolf Hit­ ler, the leadership of the United States re-evaluated its relationship with the other nations of the Western Hemisphere on the basis of self- preservation. In its dealings with Colombia, the United States fo­ cused its attention on that very area where the great disagreement had occurred—Panama and the Panama Canal—but th e United S ta te s had to 1-Franklin D. Roosevelt, "First Inaugural A d d r e s s Nothing to Fears The Selected Addresses of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1932-1945. edo B. Do Zevin (Cambridges Houghton M ifflin Co., 1946), p. 16. overcome the deep m istrust which had permeated the relationship be­ tween th e two countrieso United States-Colom bian re la tio n s became a part of the whole, and was favorably influenced by the conduct of the former toward all of the nations of Latin America through the “Good Neighbor P o licy 0M At th e same tim e, d ir e c t re la tio n s between the two countries were improved by a sympathetic attitude on the part of the United States toward Colombia, and by a most cordial relationship which developed between the presidents of Colombia on one hand and Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the other, Roosevelt°s Good Neighbor Policy became the magnetic force which was the basis of United States foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, that policy was mirrored in the friendly offering of an open hand, less the “Big Stick6* of another era. The intent of the United States was evident in an appreciation of the dignity and equality of the neighboring nations to the south; and the policy brought about a temporary thaw which promulgated a period of inter-American cooperation during a time of crisis. It would not be sensible, however, to minimize the contributions made by the various international conferences of American States and the spe­ cial meetings of foreign ministers during the decade under considera­ tion, The atmosphere engendered by those conferences, and the many agreements reached, furnished the framework for hemispheric resistance to Nazism, Just exactly when the Good Neighbor Policy began is a matter of conjecture. Some say the policy began with the “Mobile Address6* of Woodrow Wilson, but-his continuing interference in the Caribbean gives reason to question that theory. Others point to the administration of Calvin Coolidge as the source of the policy, basing their reasoning on the President®s selection of quality personnel to represent the United States in Latin America—.personnel sent there to "clean up imperial­ istic messes created by the United States» Again, however, some negative argument may be made on the basis of the continuance of armed intervention in Central America during the Coolidge regime. Indeed, the words of the President himself, and the overtones of a unilateral application of the Monroe Doctrine, were hardly conducive to the pol­ icy of a good neighbors While it is well-established international law that we have no right to interfere in the purely domestic affairs of other nations in their dealings with their own citizens, it is equally well established that our Government has certain rights over and certain duties toward our own citizens and their property, wherever they may be located. The person and property of a citizen are a part of the general domain of the n a tio n , even when abroad .... The fundamental laws of justice are universal in their application. These rights go with the citizen. Wherever he goes, these duties of our Gov­ ernment must follow him .3 A more definite approach to the policy of the good neighbor may be seen in the Hoover administration. During the interim period between his election and inauguration, the President-elect travelled throughout Latin America on a goodwill tour. Then upon taking office, Hoover found himself heir to the so-called Clark Memorandum. Prepared in 1928 by Under Secretary of State J, Reuben Clark, Jr. for the out­ going Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg, the memorandum was a ^J. Lloyd Mecham, The United States and Inter-American Secu­ r i t y % 1889-1960 (Austins University of Texas Press, 1961) , p. 113. ^Galvin Coolidge, "Speech Outlining United States World Policy," Mew York Times. April 26, 1927, p. 10. 4 repudiation of Theodore Roosevelt°s 18Corollary81 to the Monroe Doc­ trine—a sore point in Waited States-Latin American relations since 1904o In 1930 the Clark Memorandum was released ty the State Depart­ ment, and with it the United States rejected the controversial Corol­ la r y .^ Hoover°s empathy toward the peoples of Latin America was ex­ pressed early in 1929s I mention one sinister notion as to the policies of the United States upon our relationships with our Latin-American neighbors. That is, fear of an era of the mistakenly called dollar diplomacy.