Hau Tao Garcia 1

James Garcia
George Tao
Kevin Hau
IB History, Per. 3
19 May 2014
Taking Sides Essay: LaFeber Thesis: By looking at two supporting arguments and a counter argument, we can see how
LeFeber’s argument that the US forced the Caribbean nations to be economically dependent on them is stronger than Healy’s argument. In LaFeber’s argument, LaFeber brings up the idea of neodependency ­ the theory that the US used to gain informal control over the Caribbean nations. This dependency is defined as “a way of looking at Latin American development… but as part of an international system in which the leader powers… have used their economic strength to make Latin American development dependent on… the interests of those leading powers” (146). This idea of neodependency summarizes LaFeber’s views of US foreign policy ­ the view that US’s foreign policy is used to make the Caribbean economically dependent on them rather than actually assist them. The economic aspect that LaFeber argues for is also mentioned in neodependency since Latin America’s main export crops’ prices are completely dependent on the international marketplace. As a result, the Caribbean nations are forced to grow ‘money crops’ such as bananas and coffee in order to sustain their economy and nutritious crops are not grown. Consequently, malnutrition and starvation is a problem in the Caribbean. These results show the US intervention, rather than assisting the Caribbean cause, is actually a hindrance towards them and through neodependency, the US causes these nations to become dependent on the US.
LaFeber’s argument is also backed up by the fact that the US. was in critical need of the Panama Canal with mainly economical reasons as well as some military reasons. In order for the US. to have a canal they must first have control of the region where the canal is located and because the Latin American countries at that time extremely unstable, US. felt the need to make sure they had control over those countries whether it would be through economic ties or military usage. Theodore Roosevelt’s Big Stick policy was an example of this. Latin American countries would have to use the US. controlled canal to ship their products, so in the event that a Latin American country started a revolution that the US. did not like, they could close the canal which could damage that country’s economy severely.
Therefore, by having all of this economic control within the Caribbean region, the US. could make the Latin American countries economically dependent upon the US. The Panama Canal was vital to the US. in that it gave the US. control over that region, both economically and militarily. These foreign policies that would come after Roosevelt would further the economic control and Panama Canal was the only the first.
LaFeber’s strong argument towards the United