U.S. Foreign Policy Impact on Latin America and Latinos

Introduction

The United States maintained the role of peripheral state in the nineteenth century despite its important industrial and marine. His foreign policy was isolationist, adopting protectionism in trade and heterodox autonomy from Britain. The way to view international affairs for U.S. diplomacy did not appear at once, or by a sudden inspiration. The foreign policy that was practiced at the beginning of the republic was aimed at strengthening the independence of the new nation, for it is handled, due to the lack of real threat, the balance of European power. His business offices were not only maintain their independence being France and Great Britain but to increase their territories. During the Napoleonic Wars American diplomacy discovered the benefits of neutrality as a negotiating tool.

The U.S. from the beginning sought territorial expansion and, after 1794, fixed the borders with Canada and Florida for the U.S. Also, the Mississippi River was opened to American trade, ending with the purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803 (Napoleon justified to create an enemy against Britain) which led to further territorial claims in Florida and Texas to the Spanish. James Monroe did not see any contradiction in justifying territorial expansion westward; it was necessary conditions for the U.S. were a great nation. The attitudes of U.S. officials regarding international politics had proved that rebelled against the system and European values (Mark, pp. 1). The U.S. thought first values of freedom and human dignity and those within the framework of democracy. Even today the American ruling class believes strongly that the U.S. has a responsibility to disseminate these democratic values to contribute to world peace. In any case, American leaders saw no conflict between these republican ideas and survival (Greg, pp. 1).

In the theory and practice of American foreign policy always has been based on a number of basic requirements, since its enunciation in the nineteenth century, have remained intact. For the U.S. federal government, the term Hispanics is used routinely in censuses since 1970 refers to any non-white person from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America or America South, or other Spanish culture. The term Hispanic is one that is officially used by the federal authorities but the community itself prefers the Latino that is less European. At the 2000 census, the U.S. had a population of 281.4 million (300 million today), which were 35.3 million Hispanics, or 1.5% of the total population. It was estimated that in 2007 Hispanics had reached 45 million and represented 14% of the U.S. population.

The foreign policy of any country consists of three types of interests: security, economic and "other". Among the latter, human rights fit. For decades, America has been proactive in the promotion-sometimes-imposition of human rights and democracy in its foreign policy, so these elements have become accepted by it. Defined minimum in its meaning, that of civil and political liberties, human rights motivated the U.S. government and nongovernmental organizations funded by the same government programs promoting electoral and ...