United States involvement in regime change
Since the 19th century, the United States government has participated and interfered, both overtly and covertly, in the replacement of many foreign governments. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. government initiated actions for regime change mainly in Latin America and the southwest Pacific, including the Spanish–American and Philippine–American wars. At the onset of the 20th century, the United States shaped or installed governments in many countries around the world, including neighbors Hawaii, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
During World War II, the U.S. helped overthrow many Nazi German or Imperial Japanese-controlled puppet regimes. Examples include regimes in the Philippines, Korea, East China, and parts of Europe. United States forces, together with the United Kingdom and Soviet Union, were also instrumental in collapsing Adolf Hitler's government in Germany and deposing Benito Mussolini in Italy. At the end of World War II, the U.S. government struggled with the Soviet Union for global leadership, influence and security within the context of the Cold War. Under the Truman administration, the U.S. government, ostensibly for fear that Soviet Communism would be spread, sometimes with the assistance of the Soviet's own involvement in regime change, promoted the domino theory, a precedent which later presidents followed. Subsequently, the U.S. expanded the geographic scope of its actions beyond the traditional area of operations; Central America and the Caribbean.
Significant operations included the United States and United Kingdom–planned 1953 Iranian coup d'état, the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion targeting Cuba, and support for the overthrow of Sukarno by General Suharto in Indonesia. In addition, the U.S. has interfered in the national elections of countries, including Italy in 1948, the Philippines in 1953, Japan in the 1950s and 1960s, Lebanon in 1957, and Russia in 1996. According to one study, the U.S. performed at least 81 overt and covert known interventions in foreign elections from 1946 to 2000. According to another study, the U.S. engaged in 64 covert and six overt attempts at regime change during the Cold War. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States has led or supported wars to determine the governance of a number of countries. Stated U.S. aims in these conflicts have included fighting the war on terror, as in the Afghan War, or removing supposed weapons of mass destruction, as in the Iraq War.
Prior to 1887
1846–1848: Annexation of Texas and invasion of California
The United States annexed the Republic of Texas, at the time considered by Mexico to be a rebellious state of Mexico. During the war with Mexico that ensued, the United States seized Alta California from Mexico.1865–1867: Mexico
While the American Civil War was taking place in the United States, France and other countries invaded Mexico to collect debts. France then installed Habsburg prince Maximilian I as the Emperor of Mexico. After the Civil War ended, the United States began supporting the Liberal forces of Benito Juárez against the forces of Maximilian. The United States began sending and dropping arms into Mexico and many Americans fought alongside Juárez. Eventually, Juárez and the Liberals took back power and executed Maximillian I. The United States opposed Maximilian and had invoked the Monroe Doctrine. William Seward said afterwards "The Monroe Doctrine, which eight years ago was merely a theory, is now an irreversible fact."1887–1912: U.S. expansionism and Roosevelt administration
1880s
1887–1889: Samoa
In the 1880s, Samoa was a monarchy with two rival claimants to the throne: Malietoa Laupepa and Mata'afa Iosefo. The Samoan crisis was a confrontation between the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom from 1887 to 1889, with the powers backing rival claimants to the throne of the Samoan Islands which became the First Samoan Civil War.1890s
1893: Kingdom of Hawaii
Anti-monarchs, mostly Americans, in Hawaii, engineered the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. On January 17, 1893, the native monarch, Queen Lili'uokalani, was overthrown. Hawaii was initially reconstituted as an independent republic, but the ultimate goal of the action was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was finally accomplished with the Newlands Resolution of 1898.1899–1902: Philippines
The successful Philippine Revolution saw the defeat of the Spanish Empire and the establishment of the First Philippine Republic, ending centuries of Spanish colonial rule in the archipelago. The U.S., which had allied with the revolutionaries and emerged victorious in the concurrent Spanish–American War, was "granted" the Philippines in the Treaty of Paris. Wishing to establish its own control over the country, the U.S. engaged in the Philippine–American War, the success of which saw the dissolution of the self-governing Philippine Republic and formation of an Insular Government of the Philippine Islands in 1902. The Philippines became a self-governing Commonwealth in 1935 and was granted full sovereignty by 1946.1900s
1903: Colombia
In September 1903 Manuel Amador Guerrero, leader of the movement for Panamanian independence from Colombia, traveled to New York to determine how the United States might support the movement. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt privately supported the separatist movement, later ordering the warship USS Nashville under commander John Hubbard to proceed first to Jamaica, then to Panama.1903–1925: Honduras
In what became known as the "Banana Wars", between the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898 and the inception of the Good Neighbor Policy in 1934, the U.S. staged many military invasions and interventions in Central America and the Caribbean. One of these incursions, in 1903, involved regime change rather than regime preservation. The United States Marine Corps, which most often fought these wars, developed a manual called The Strategy and Tactics of Small Wars in 1921 based on its experiences. On occasion, the Navy provided gunfire support and Army troops were also used. The United Fruit Company and Standard Fruit Company dominated Honduras' key banana export sector and associated land holdings and railways. The U.S. staged invasions and incursions of US troops in 1903, 1907, 1911 and 1912, 1919, 1920, 1924 and 1925 to defend US interests.1906–1909: Cuba
After the explosion of the USS Maine the United States declared war on Spain, starting the Spanish–American War. The United States invaded and occupied Spanish-ruled Cuba in 1898. Many in the United States did not want to annex Cuba and passed the Teller Amendment, forbidding annexation. Cuba was occupied by the U.S. and run by military governor Leonard Wood during the first occupation from 1898 to 1902, after the end of the war. The Platt Amendment was passed later on outlining Cuba–United States relations. It said the U.S. could intervene anytime against a government that was not approved, forced Cuba to accept U.S. influence, and limited Cuban abilities to make foreign relations. The United States forced Cuba to accept the terms of the Platt Amendment, by putting it into their constitution. After the occupation, Cuba and the U.S. would sign the Cuban–American Treaty of Relations in 1903, further agreeing to the terms of the Platt Amendment.Tomás Estrada Palma became the first President of Cuba after the U.S. withdrew. He was a member of the Republican Party of Havana. He was re-elected in 1905 unopposed; however, the Liberals accused him of electoral fraud. Fighting began between the Liberals and Republicans. Due to the tensions he resigned on September 28, 1906, and his government collapsed soon afterwards. U.S. Secretary of State William Howard Taft invoked the Platt Amendment and the 1903 treaty, under approval of President Theodore Roosevelt, invading the country, and occupying it. The country would be governed by Charles Edward Magoon during the occupation. They oversaw the election of José Miguel Gómez in 1909, and afterwards withdrew from the country.