Objectives:

As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:

• analyze the origins of political instability in Nicaragua in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
  
• evaluate the impact of American intervention in Nicaragua.
  
• evaluate the importance of Augusto César Sandino in Nicaraguan history and mythology.

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Materials:

• Student Handout: Nicaragua and the United States

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Activities:

• Distribute the student handout entitled Nicaragua and the United States.
  
  a. Direct students to read the first section entitled The Walker Affair.
  b. Ask students to evaluate the condition of Nicaragua as described in the first paragraph. Does it appear to be politically stable or unstable? Why?
  c. Ask students to evaluate Walker's role in Nicaragua. Why do Nicaraguans still celebrate their victory over Walker? What does he symbolize?
  
  
• Write the phrase "Monroe Doctrine" on the chalkboard.
  
  a. Ask students to recall what they know of the Monroe Doctrine.
  b. Explain that the Monroe Doctrine is a cornerstone of American foreign policy. Issued in 1823, it declared that the United States would protect the Western Hemisphere from any intervention by the European Powers.
  c. Write the following statement by Secretary of State Richard Olney (1895) on the chalkboard or display it on an overhead transparency: "To-day the United States is practically sovereign on this continent, and its fiat is law upon the subjects to which it confines its interposition."
  d. Ask the class to interpret the implication of Olney's statement. What is he claiming? What is the meaning of the phrase "its fiat is law?"
  
  
• Direct students to read the first three paragraphs in the section entitled The Roosevelt Corollary.
  
  a. Direct the attention of students to President Roosevelt's quote. What does the phrase "international police power" imply?
  b. Ask students to explain how the Roosevelt Corollary was implemented in Nicaragua to remove José Santos Zelaya from power. What does his removal imply about American intentions in Nicaragua?
  
  
• Direct students to read the section entitled Dollar Diplomacy.
  a. Ask students to summarize the basic principles of dollar diplomacy.
  b. Write the word "sovereignty" on the chalkboard and explain that in order to be truly independent a nation-state must have exclusive control (sovereignty) over its own territory.
  c. Ask students to assess the relationship between Nicaragua and the United States during the time period of dollar diplomacy. Did Nicaragua really possess sovereignty over its territory? Why or why not?
  d. Ask students to hypothesize why, as stated by the U. S. envoy, "the natural sentiment of the overwhelming majority of Nicaraguans is antagonistic to the United States."
  
  
• Direct students to read the section entitled Augusto César Sandino.
  
  a. Direct students to focus on President Coolidge's remark in the first paragraph.
  What does it imply about the relationship between Nicaragua and the United States?
  How did the Nicaraguan view differ?
  How do you account for this difference?
  b. Ask students to explain why Sandino is considered Nicaragua's national hero. What did he achieve? What do his effort symbolize?
  
  
• Concluding Activity:
  
  Direct students to write a short essay in response to the following question:
  Webster's Dictionary defines imperialism as "the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries." Based on that definition, can U.S. policy toward Nicaragua before 1933 be classified as imperialistic in nature? Why or why not?
  

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