Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2013 From Gunboats to Good Neighbors: U.S. Naval Diplomacy in Peru, 1919-1942 Joel C. Christenson West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Christenson, Joel C., "From Gunboats to Good Neighbors: U.S. Naval Diplomacy in Peru, 1919-1942" (2013). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 253. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/253 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. From Gunboats to Good Neighbors: U.S. Naval Diplomacy in Peru, 1919-1942 Joel C. Christenson Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History James F. Siekmeier, Ph.D., Chair Bradley L. Coleman, Ph.D. Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D. Jack Hammersmith, Ph.D. Aaron Sheehan-Dean, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2013 Keywords: Peru; naval; diplomacy; inter-war period; Good Neighbor Policy; Intervention; dictatorship Copyright 2013 Joel C. Christenson ABSTRACT From Gunboats to Good Neighbors: U.S. Naval Diplomacy in Peru, 1919-1942 Joel C. Christenson This dissertation examines the role naval power played in the evolution of U.S. policy toward Latin America during the interwar period, when the United States abandoned armed interventionism in favor of the policy of the “Good Neighbor.” Specifically, it focuses on two oft-overlooked types of naval diplomacy the United States used to exercise influence in the South American nation of Peru: the employment of U.S. personnel as naval advisers to the Peruvian government, and the use of U.S. naval vessels as agents of public diplomacy on “goodwill” cruises and port visits in Peruvian waters. It argues that the United States relied on the former while interventionism remained the accepted policy toward much of Latin America but was considered untenable south of the Caribbean (roughly 1919-1932), and embraced the latter after renouncing intervention in the interests of becoming a “Good Neighbor” (roughly 1933 through World War II). This research demonstrates that naval power was a much more flexible, integral part of U.S. diplomacy in Latin America during the 1920s and 1930s than historians have recognized. And importantly, it begins to bridge a persistent gap between the literatures on American diplomatic and naval history – neither of which captures the full extent of the nation’s efforts at naval diplomacy in the interwar period or adequately addresses the broader significance of those efforts to U.S. foreign relations. ii a mi esposa – eres mi hogar. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All I heard before setting out on this journey was that dissertation is a long, lonely pursuit. In some respects that has proven to be true. At the same time, though, as I wound my way through this project it became joyfully clear to me that no person can complete such a highly individual pursuit alone. It is a shame that this work, and the academic title that comes along with its successful completion, bear only my name – for none of it would have been possible without the support of others. I would like, first of all, to thank the members of my dissertation committee. Very deep, heartfelt thanks go to Dr. James Siekmeier, who guided this project at every step with kind, patient encouragement. From the time I arrived at WVU in 2008 to today, he has given me support in ways too numerous to recount here. He is the model of what a doctoral advisor should be: coach, advocate, and in the end, dear friend. I am profoundly grateful also to Dr. Bradley Coleman, who introduced me to graduate education in history in the summer of 2005 and who, in the years since, has done me the high favor of demanding absolute excellence from my work at every turn. He has done more than he knows to shape me into the historian that I am today. He is an excellent scholar and teacher, and an ideal mentor. I am blessed to be able to call him amigo. Dr. Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, chair of the WVU Department of History, has helped nurture this project from seminar paper to completed dissertation. I hope one day to repay her generous, unwavering support of my work, and of my professional development. Special thanks are also in order for Dr. Jack Hammersmith and Dr. Aaron Sheehan-Dean, both of whom served thoughtfully and without hesitation on my dissertation committee despite having a thousand commitments of their own. I am grateful for their contributions. iv I would not be where I am today without the unconditional love and support of my Mom and Dad, who instilled in me both a deep love of learning and the confidence to believe that I could overcome all challenges in my path. From my days as a crying Rat at VMI to now, they’ve proven that parenting never ends. Theirs is the standard to which I aspire in my own walk as a father. I am blessed also to have as in-laws Dennis and Chris Moyer, who, perhaps despite their better judgment, expressed only support when I first mentioned the possibility of taking their daughter to West Virginia to live on a graduate student’s stipend. In the years since, they have provided generous moral support and a whole lot of free room and board during my numerous (and sometimes lengthy) research visits to the DC area. Without this support I would never have been able to complete this project. As this is a project that seeks, in part, to tell a compelling story about the Peruvian Navy, special thanks are in order to two leading authorities on the subject – both of whom were gracious in offering me their valuable perspectives. Dr. Daniel Masterson of the U.S. Naval Academy took time out of his busy schedule to respond thoughtfully to numerous emails, and to talk with me in person about my project. Dr. Jorge Ortíz Sotelo of Peru, a leading voice on Latin American naval history, has been a source of valuable advice and support. I look forward to working with both of these fine scholars in the future. It is always gratifying when others find one’s research not only interesting, but worthy of financial support. I am particularly fortunate to have received funding from a number of excellent institutions. Special thanks go to the U.S. Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command, which honored me with the Rear Admiral John D. Hayes Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Naval History for the 2011-2012 academic year. The Hayes Fellowship made it possible for me to take some much-needed time off of teaching, and, for a time, to devote v all of my professional energies to research and writing. The Naval History and Heritage Command is one of the real gems in the federal government’s historical establishment. It was my good fortune to receive not only crucial funding from the Command, but thoughtful feedback on my work from its top-notch staff of historians. Dr. Michael Crawford (Senior Historian), Dr. Timothy Francis, and Mr. Robert Cressman all provided helpful direction and criticism along the way. I am profoundly grateful also to Rear Admiral Jay DeLoach, former Director of Naval History, who took an interest in my work at the 2010 annual meeting of the Society for Military History. From our first meeting, he supported my research and opened the doors of NHHC’s fantastic resources to me. I appreciate it, and always will. I offer heartfelt thanks to United States Southern Command, and again to its former Command Historian, Bradley Coleman, for helping to sustain this project through four historical research internships. Through those experiences I learned just how important timely, relevant historical knowledge is to the world of contemporary policymaking and military operations – especially in the American “neighborhood.” Thanks go also to the WVU Department of History, which supported my research with a departmental dissertation fellowship as this project wound its way toward a productive conclusion. I also owe a significant debt of gratitude to the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (Hyde Park, New York) and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association (West Branch, Iowa), both of which awarded me grants-in-aid to conduct invaluable research in the Roosevelt and Hoover libraries, respectively. Good, patient archivists are a blessing to every historian who has ever felt overwhelmed stepping into the world of primary source research. At the National Archives in Washington, DC and College Park, Maryland, I have benefitted from the wise counsel of vi Mr. David Langbart (diplomatic records), Mr. Mark Mollan (navy records, downtown DC), and Mr. Nate Patch (navy records, College Park). Mr. Matt Schaefer at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa, made my visit there more productive than I could have hoped. His kind assistance, both in person and, in the months after my visit, by email, has been invaluable.