Lesson 9: An Emerging World Power Imperialist = Expansionist (Chapter 9 in Textbook) Time Period: Late 1800s- 1914 Presidents William Mckinley 1897-1901 Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909 William Howard Taft 1909-1913 Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921 For most of its early history, America played a small role in world affairs. BUT...in the late 1800s, -The U.S. began to acquire influence/territories outside its continental borders. Following European success, the United States began to consider the benefits of imperialism. -Many Americans worried that if the U.S. remained isolated, America would not survive. Imperialism- strong nations extending their political, military, and economic control over weaker territories. What do strong nations engage in the policy of imperialism? -need for markets to sell goods made in America -need for raw materials/resources -nationalism Pro-------Some Americans believed that imperialism was necessary for the U.S. to gain influence, power, wealth, resources, and territory. Anti------Some Americans believed that imperialism was immoral and contrary to core the core American principles of self government and freedom. Pro-Imperialism -U.S. must compete with other nations for foreign goods, land, and resources. -Need for Raw Materials -Need for New Customers/Markets to Sell Products -Closing of the Frontier Made A Need For New Land(Turner's Thesis) -Spread Christianity and Democracy to New Lands -Desire for More Land, More Wealth, and More Power Industrialists and Farmers pushed for the federal government to engage in imperialist policies. Imperialists used ideas of racial, national, and cultural superiority to justify imperialism. -Social Darwinism... survival of the fittest America is superior to other nations. -Manifest Destiny... God meant for America to be great Anti-Imperialism -It does not support American values of freedom and self government established in founding documents. -It does not uphold the ideals of the United States. -Its greedy. -It will cause conflict with other nations and leads to war. For the United States, the problem was not a shortage of materials, but a surplus of goods. -The U.S. economy was producing more goods than Americans could consume...overproduction. -Farmers complained that overproduction resulted in declining crop prices and profits. -Industrialists urged expanding trade to overseas markets where American products could be sold. Otherwise, they warned, American factories would close and unemployment would rise.
What did the U.S. need to do to expand and compete with the imperialist European nations? -Build a more powerful navy. Annex Pacific territories to enable refueling/resupplying.(alfred Mahan) -So, what will be the plan? Remember Turner's Thesis -What would the U.S. do for new land, materials, and customers now that the frontier was closed? Now that America had spanned the continent, advocates of Turner s thesis urged overseas expansion. -U.S. businessmen saw Latin America as a natural place to expand their trade and investments. -The Monroe Doctrine had already declared that European nations should stay out of the Western Hemisphere. Enforcing the Monroe Doctrine 1895 -Border dispute between British Guiana and Venezuela -Tension between U.S. and GB...U.S. Claimed that GB was violating the Monroe Doctrine. -President Cleveland threatened U.S. intervention if GB did not step aside. GB backed down. -This event showed that America was determined to dominate the western hemisphere and protect its influence. America's First Imperialist Action was the annexation of Hawaii in 1898. Hawaii -In the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles from California White American planters had already gone in to Hawaii and set up farms. American farmers were being successful in Hawaii, but they felt that with American involvement they could dominate farming in the country. So, the farmers(dole) wanted the U.S. to annex Hawaii to protect and expand American business interests there. -Also, American military leaders believed it would be a great place to build naval bases. Under President Mckinley's leadership, U.S. annexed(took over) Hawaii in 1898 we used it for a naval base. Why does the U.S. annex Hawaii? -To protect and expand American business/agricultural interests. -To establish a refueling station in a strategic location...naval base. When we annexed Hawaii, did they immediately become a state? War About Imperialism: The Spanish American War 1898 Cuba was a Spanish colony. Cuba wanted their independence from Spain. -Spain refused to give Cuba its independence and put some of the Cubans into concentration camps. Regular Americans wanted to help the Cubans because of freedom and democracy. American companies had a different reason for wanting to get involved in the fight for Cuban independence. - American businesses had invested $50 million in sugar cane plantations in Cuba...agri-business. -American industrialists saw Cuba as a growing market for American products...new customers. Why does the U.S. get involved in a war against Spain in 1898? The Monroe Doctrine Yellow Journalism stirs the people's emotions. De Lome Letter encourages nationalism/jingoism. American business interests pressure the President. *****Main Event = Blowing up the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, Cuba.
The Maine was sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. -266 American sailors died. -The Yellow Press immediately accused Spain of blowing up the battleship. -War fever gripped the nation. -Newspapers, speeches, and songs demanded that Americans Remember the Maine! On April 11, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain. The goal of the U.S. in the war was Cuban independence. Cuba was worried that the U.S. may take them over just as the Spanish had done. -The Teller Amendment was signed saying that the United States had no intention of annexing Cuba. -U.S. stated that Cuba would have its independence and that the U.S. would not interfere afterwards. Phases of the War #1-Blockade The navy quickly blockaded Cuban ports. What is a blockade? #2-Commodore George Dewey's Naval Battle in the The Philippines in May 1898 What is the main thing must you do to win any foreign war? #3-Ground Troops Fight In Cuba American troops arrived in Cuba in June 1898 poorly trained and poorly supplied. -Obsolete weapons; Heavy wool uniforms; Unaware of disease(malaria) A cavalry unit was organized and commanded by the future President Theodore Roosevelt. -Rough Riders consisted of rugged westerners and upper-class easterners. (Cowboys, bandits, Indian fighters, Ivy League educated men) -The Rough Riders and Roosevelt gained fame for the role they played in the battle for San Juan hill outside Santiago, Cuba. Joined by Buffalo soldiers from the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries, the Riders stormed up those hills to secure high ground surrounding the key city of Santiago. Human Effects of the War -3,000 Americans died during the war but only around 380 died in combat. -Disease, especially malaria and yellow fever, caused most of the deaths. Secretary of State John Hay referred to the conflict with Spain as a splendid little war. -He described it this way because it was short, low cost, and high gain. Spain gave Cuba its independence. After the War in Cuba -U.S. restored order in Cuba. -U.S. helped draft a new Cuban constitution. What do you think it looked like? -Cuba reminded the U.S. about the Teller Amendment! Get out! -U.S. agreed to remove its troops only if Cuba made the Platt Amendment part of its constitution. -The Platt Amendment authorized the U.S. to intervene in Cuban affairs whenever the U.S. thought necessary. -A U.S. naval base was set up at Guantanamo Bay and is still there today.
Cuba became a U.S. protectorate. -U.S. promised to protect Cuba from other nations but reserved the right to intervene in Cuba s affairs The U.S. had used the Spanish American War to gain influence over new territory. -Imperialism To the victor goes the spoils! What did the U.S. gain? -The U.S. gained control of Puerto Rico, the Pacific island of Guam, and the Philippines. The Pro-Imperialists and the Anti-Imperialists argued over what should be done with these new territories. -The Pro-Imperialists believed that the countries were not strong enough to be independent and would get taken over quickly by European countries. -Anti-imperialists believed we were going against our democratic beliefs because we were denying freedom and self government. They believed we were being hypocritical. In 1900, Republican President William McKinley was reelected with Theodore Roosevelt as Vice President. -The President s reelection signaled America s continuing faith in his imperialist policies. -So, the Pro Imperialist view wins out. After the S-A War, The Philippines demanded that the U.S. give them their independence. Mckinley argued that the United States HAD to keep the Philippines under American control. -He reasoned that the islands represented a valuable stepping stone to trade in China and security in the Pacific. -He warned that if the United States gave up the Philippines, other nations would take control of them. The American Anti-Imperialist League, including Bryan and Twain, rejected imperialism as open disloyalty to the distinctive principles of our government. Philippines began a war for their independence From the U.S. -They lost and the U.S. set up a government with a U.S. picked governor to be in charge. -Philippines do not become an independent nation until after World War II. As a result of the Spanish-American War, the United States had an empire and more influence in world affairs. China -Why would the U.S. be interested in China in the late 1800s? TRADE...NEW CUSTOMERS -China had kept all foreign powers out of their country for hundreds of years.(isolationism) -The U.S. and European powers wanted access to China s millions of consumers and began to enter forcefully. -The Chinese Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists(the Boxers) rebelled against the foreign devils. -In May 1900, the Boxers killed foreign missionaries and took foreign diplomats as hostages. -A multinational force of European and American troops went into China and stopped the Boxer Rebellion. Sec. of State John Hay called for an Open Door Policy to divide China between nations for investment. -The Open Door Policy was agreed upon and gave all nations equal access to trade and investment in China. As the U.S. secured its interests in East Asia, Americans called for a more aggressive role in Latin America. -American entrepreneurs and government leaders viewed the region as the nation s backyard and other great powers should be excluded. Americans believed we had a sphere of influence. American influence in Latin America brought obvious benefits to the United States, but it also contributed to anti-american hostility and instability in the region. America s victory over Spain liberated the Puerto Rican and Cuban people from Spanish rule. -Cuba became a protectorate. -Puerto Rico became a territory.
Foreign Policy Under Theodore Roosevelt Russo-Japanese War -Japan started a war with Russia in 1904. This worried President Theodore Roosevelt. -He feared that whoever won that war would take over trade in Asia and prevent the U.S. from trading. -Theodore Roosevelt negotiated a peace treaty that ended the war and kept trade in Asia open. -Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions. -The President s intervention prominently displayed America s growing role in world affairs. The U.S. soon entered troubled waters in its relations with Japan. -In the fall of 1906, the San Francisco School Board banned Japanese, Chinese, and Korean children from attending public schools with white children. -Japan demanded that the U.S. stop anti-asia treatment of Japanese immigrants. -TR negotiated a Gentleman s Agreement with Japan that ended the school board's anti-asia actions. -BUT in return...japan had to agree to limit the immigration of its citizens to the United States. Diplomacy v Military Action Diplomacy is the work of maintaining good relations with foreign countries. Military action is sometimes required when diplomacy fails. -TR used both to protect U.S. interests around the world. TR's Great White Fleet, Big Stick Diplomacy, The Panama Canal, and the Roosevelt Corrollary TR ordered new navy ships, known as the Great White Fleet. -In 1907, Roosevelt sent this armada of 16 white battleships on a good will cruise around the world. -Why would TR do this? Armed with a strong navy, TR promoted his new foreign policy...the Big Stick Policy. -The Big Stick Policy relied on America's strong military to achieve America s goals. -TR believed in this old African proverb... Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far. Big Stick Policy = Gunboat Diplomacy A good example of TR's use of his policy is the Panama Canal. Acquisition and Building of the Panama Canal Zone The U.S. wanted to cut the travel time between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. -TR proposed digging a canal across Panama. A French company had already failed at this. The United States needed the consent of the Colombian government to build across Panama. -Panama was not an independent country. It was controlled by Colombia. -Colombia demanded more money than the United States was willing to pay. Roosevelt felt insulted. -TR supported a Panamanian rebellion against Colombia and Panama declared its independence from Colombia. -Panama immediately granted America control over the Canal Zone. -To secure this land for its vital trade link, America agreed to pay Panama $10 million...cheap! Building the Canal 1904-1914 -51 miles long -More than 35,000 workers helped dig the Panama Canal -5,600 Deaths Importance of the Panama Canal -When the canal opened in 1914, it cut some 8,000 miles off the trip from west coast to east coast of the U.S. -What else is important about the year 1914? The building of the Panama Canal was good for U.S. security and future military operations.
The Roosevelt Corollary Remember the Monroe Doctrine(1823) -Established the U.S. as a protector of the Western Hemisphere -Served as a threat to foreign nations interfering around the U.S. Roosevelt's jingoism and interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine leads to the Roosevelt Corollary. Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine(1904) -U.S. is policeperson in Western Hemisphere to keep order and prevent Europeans from intervening. Many Latin Americans resented America s role as the hemisphere s police force. -They disagreed with Roosevelt s belief that Latin Americans could not police themselves. During the age of U.S. imperialism, America referred to Latin American countries as banana republics. -term used to describe Central American nations dominated by U.S. business interests TR's successor was William Howard Taft. Taft's Foreign Policy: -Taft wanted to maintain the Open Door Policy in Asia and stabilize Latin America. -Taft wanted to improve the American economy by expanding trade in Latin America Taft hoped to achieve these ends by relying less on the big stick and more on dollar diplomacy. -He looked to substitute dollars for bullets. by increasing American investments in businesses and banks throughout Central America and the Caribbean.(plantations, mines, oil wells, railways, etc.) -Of course, dollar diplomacy sometimes required a return to military intervention. Woodrow Wilson becomes President after Taft. Wilson's Foreign Policy: -Wilson criticized the foreign policies of TR and Taft. -Wilson appointed anti-imperialist William Jennings Bryan as Secretary of State, an anti-imperialist. Wilson introduced his own foreign policy...the Moral Diplomacy. -Wilson promised that the United States would never again seek one additional foot of territory by conquest but would instead work to promote human rights, national integrity, and opportunity. In spite of his criticism of the Big Stick...Wilson used the military on a number of occasions for the same reason as TR...to force Latin America to follow our suggestions. Wilson intervenes in Mexico. -In 1913,Pro-U.S. Mexican leader was executed. Wilson stated he would not accept a government of butchers. -In 1914, President sent marines to restore order and U.S. supported power. BUT Wilson soon discovered more trouble in Mexico. -Rebels rose up under Francisco Pancho Villa. His forces fought the U.S. and even killed American citizens. -President Wilson responded by sending General John J. Pershing and than 10,000 troops to apprehend Villa. -Villa evaded the U.S. military and Wilson ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 1914. Victory in S-A War and U.S. actions in Asia and Latin America demonstrated America as a world power. Now, World War I would test that new global strength.