Transcript USA in the Age of Imperialism

USA in the Age of Imperialism
Why did America have to become an important
sea power in the late 19th century?
• A brief look at the
information in the
table provides an
understanding why the
U.S. began to take on
an imperialist foreign
policy.
Year
Imports
Exports
1870
$300 Million
$350 Million
1875
$900 Million
$800 Million
1880
$1.22 Billion
$1.0 Billion
1889
$900 Million
$800 Million
1892
$1.2 Billion
$1.42 Billion
1899
1.3 Billion
1.35 Billion
1903
1.7 Billion
1.8 Billion
1914
1.6 Billion
2.8 Billion
Roosevelt and Mahan
• There was a widely-held belief that the U.S. needed ships, not to make
war, but to protect its rights and prestige (nationalistic pride). Alfred
Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was a naval strategist, historian, and
leading advocate of a powerful U.S. Navy. He was very influential
over his friend and colleague, Teddy Roosevelt. In his writings and
speeches, Mahan stated:
• 1. The increasing production demanded the USA expanded overseas
and gained new markets.
• 2. USA must make sure that no nation owns islands within three
thousand miles of San Francisco. This meant USA had to gain control
of Hawaii.
• 3. A powerful navy must be built.
• Mahan's writings and America's need to expand resulted in two things:
• 1. The creation of a large and powerful navy to protect America's
interests overseas.
• 2. The expansion of US economic interests overseas.
How did the United States justify imperialism?
• Senator Alfred Beveridge expressed this view as a
justification for imperialism: Today we are raising more
than we can consume. Today we are making more than we
can use... Therefore we must find new markets for our
produce, new occupation for our capital, new work for our
labor... Ah! As our commerce spreads, the flag of liberty
will circle the globe and the highway of the ocean carrying trade to all mankind - will be guarded by the guns
of the republic. And as their thunders salute the flag,
benighted (ignorant) peoples will know that the voice of
liberty is speaking, at last, for them... that civilization is
dawning at last, for them.
• --Senator Alfred Beveridge, 1898
The White Man’s Burden
The White Man’s Burden
• Claiming that it was their responsibility. Americans and Europeans
both claimed that it was their responsibility as superior races to uplift,
civilize and Christianize native peoples. This was known as the White
Mans Burden and was based upon the ideas of social Darwinism.
Rudyard Kipling wrote a famous poem by the same name.
• Many Americans felt it was not only our responsibility and duty but it
was also a mandate by God. One of the leading proponents of
imperialism was the Minister Josiah Strong. Minister Strong argued
that America was in a race with other nations to dominate the world
and acquire the limited resources the world had to offer. Strong
claimed that America as the leading nation in the world (arguable at
the time!) it was our destiny to acquire new lands. This idea sounds
alot like Manifest Destiny because it is the same idea! In the following
passage Strong makes his ideas quite clear.
• It seems to me that God, with infinite wisdom and skill, is
training the Anglo-Saxon race for an hour sure to come in
the worlds future. The lands of the earth are limited, and
soon will be taken. Then will the world enter upon a new
stage in its history- the final competition of the races. Then
this race of unequaled energy, with the majesty of numbers
and the might of wealth behind it- the representative of the
largest liberty, the purest Christianity, the highest
civilization... will spread itself over the earth. --Minister
Josiah Strong, 1885
Why did the United States go to war with Spain?
• Industrialism had changed the United States. Americans began to view
their nation with increasing nationalism. The spirit of expansion and
imperialism was fueled by these feelings. For 100 years America had
taken a back seat to the traditional European powers, that many
American felt, should change. They also believed in the validity of the
Monroe Doctrine (1823) and the superiority of their ideology.
• In order for America to take its rightful place amongst the worlds
powers many felt US needed to control a vast empire. This empire
would provide a market for American goods, raw materials for US
factories and protection for US commercial interests. The expansion
was justified by the need for the American people to expand
commercially and the social Darwinist idea of the white man's
burden. With this need in mind eyes turned towards Spain. Spain, a
once mighty empire, still with vast colonial holdings many of them in
the Caribbean, was now a much weaker nation than USA. They were
ripe for the picking and their holdings would be the spoils of victory.
Short Term Causes
• 1. In 1895 civil war broke out in Cuba between Spain and the Cubans.
• 2. The conflict was described by Senator Redfield Proctor of Vermont
as bloody and brutal.
• 3. Newspapers (particularly those owned by William Randolph
Hearst) reported the brutality of the Spanish General Weyler in
graphic and often biased terms. The New York Journal reports
"...blood on the roadsides, blood in the villages, blood, blood, blood!"
American newspapers were clearly pushing the nation towards
intervention in the Cuban situation. Yellow Journalism.
• 4. American Presidents Grover Cleveland and his successor William
McKinley opposed the intervention but a series of events would push
USA over the edge.
What events pushed the United
States into war with Spain?
• 1. The DeLome Letter - A letter by Spanish Ambassador to
the United States Enrique DeLome was intercepted by
Hearst's newspaper and published on the front page. The
DeLome letter called President McKinley "...weak and a
bidder for the affections of the people...a would be
politician who leaves a door open behind himself while at
the same time trying to appease the jingoes of his party."
(The term "jingo" comes from a term used at the term of
the century to describe one who was intensely nationalistic
and often militaristic.) The DeLome letter embarrassed
McKinley and brought USA one step closer to war.
• 2. The Sinking of the Maine - As tensions had increased
the United States has sent it's fleet to Cuba to protect
American economic interests.
• On the night of February 15, 1898, the ship was sunk by a
tremendous explosion, and 260 lives were lost. Reports
pointed to sabotage, but responsibility for the disaster was
not determined. The New York Journal reported that a
Spanish Mine had had sunk the Maine. Other newspapers
showed pictures of Spanish terrorists swimming under the
Maine and placing explosives under the ship.
Yellow journalism
• Publisher William Randolph Hearst had instructed hie photpgraphers:
"You furnish the pictures...I'll furnish the war!" Looking at these
headlines it is obvious that Hearst, and his competitor Pulitzer,
published information that they could not back up. This influenced
Americans to push for war with Spain. This biased and irresponsible
reporting is known a yellow journalism. It is clear that the so called
"yellow press" was deeply involved in pushing the US into war.
• 3. On April 20 President McKinley approved a congressional
resolution that called for immediate Spanish withdrawal from Cuba,
and on April 24 war was declared by the Spanish government. On
April 25 the U.S. Congress declared that hostilities had officially
begun on April 21. Congressional resolutions affirmed Cuban
independence and stated that the United States was not acting to secure
an empire. Clearly this was not the case but the justification was
necessary.
How did the Spanish American War make
the United States a world power?
• The US victory in the Spanish American War resulted in the Us
gaining possession and/or control of many new territories. These and
other territorial gains resulted in the creation of a new far flung empire.
• Prior to the Spanish American War the United States gained control of
the Hawaiian Islands. From the early 1800's American business
interests had grown in Hawaii, a series of islands that remained
independent. In time the Dole Family was the largest landowner and
the Hawaiian Royal family more or less followed whatever they and
the United States said. In the mid 1800's a new queen, Queen
Liliuokalani gained control of the Islands and began to pass a series of
anti American laws. As these laws hurt business the Dole's and other
private American businessmen funded a revolution and took over
Hawaii. The USS Boston, a US Battleship, sat in the Harbor making
any Hawaiian resistance impossible. In 1895 Hawaii became a US
territory.
Acquisitions
• The United States gained control of the following lands as a result of
the Spanish American war.
• 1. Cuba
• 2. Puerto Rico
• 3. Philippines
• 4. Guam
• Not all areas were ruled in the same manner.
• Protectorate: Areas that were given autonomy (but were "protected" by
the US military.
• Cuba was made a protectorate. USA were so interested in "protecting"
Cuba that they inserted the Platt Amendment into the Cuban
constitution. The Platt Amendment said that the United States had the
right to intervene in Cuba's foreign affairs.
• Commonwealth: Areas that were given limited self rule.
• Territory: Areas that were possessed and run directly by the US
The Decision To Annex The
Philippines
• When I realized that the Philippines had dropped into our laps, I
confess I did not know what to do with them. I sought counsel from all
sides - Democrats as well as Republicans - but got little help. I thought
first we would take only Manila; then Luzon; then other islands
perhaps, also.
• I walked the floor of the White House night after night...And one night
late it came to me this way - I don't know how it was, but it came: (1)
That we could not give them back to Spain - that would be cowardly
and dishonorable; (2) That we could not turn them over to France or
Germany, our commercial rivals in the Orient - that would be bad
business and discreditable; (3) That we could not leave them to
themselves - they were unfit for self government, and they would soon
have anarchy and misrule worse then Spain's was; and (4) that there
was nothing left for us to do but take them all, and to educate the
Filipinos, and uplift and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the
very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also
died.
• And then I went to bed...and the next morning I sent for the chief
engineer of the War Department...and I told him to put the Philippines
on the map of the United States...and there they are, and there they
will stay while I am President!
•
Theodore Roosevelt
• The Spanish American war which was named the
"Splendid Little War." In all only 460 Americans
were killed and the result was a vast world wide
empire.
To what extent should the United States be proud
of its policies towards Latin America?
• A. The Monroe Doctrine:
• 1. The Western Hemisphere was closed to further
European colonization.
• 2. U.S. would not interfere with the existing colonies of
Europeans.
• 3. The U.S. would not interfere in the internal affairs of
any Europeans.
• 4. Any attempt by the European powers to intervene in the
Western Hemisphere would be regarded as "dangerous to
our (U.S..) peace and safety.
B. US-Latin American relations
(1900-1933)
• 1. Since 1900, U.S. invades Cuba 4 times. It proclaims it has the right
to go into Cuba to preserve Cuban independence. The US justified it's
actions because it had inserted the "Platt Amendment" into the the
Cuban Constitution after the Spanish American War.
• 2. President Theodore Roosevelt convinces Great Britain, Germany
and Italy not to invade Venezuela in 1902, to collect debts owed to
them by the Venezuelan government. Instead they submit the matter
for international settlement. This was part of America's "Dollar
Diplomacy." Essentially Dollar Diplomacy refers to America's
protection of economic interests.
• 3. 1903--the U.S. provokes Panama to revolt against Colombia, and the
U.S. warships blockade Colombia to prevent the country from putting
down the revolution.
• The US negotiated the "rights" to build the canal from the British in
the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty and then negotiated with Colombia to gain
the Canal Zone for 10 million and 250,000 per year. After a revolution
in Colombia the new government refused t ratify the treaty. The US,
dealing with French Engineer Philippe Bunau-Varilla, agreed that if
Panamanians revolted the US would stop the Colombians from
interfering. A US fleet, led by the USS Nashville, entered the harbor at
Colon and the next day a revolution broke out. Four days later the US
government recognized Panama and Bunau-Varilla became the new
countries first foreign minister to the US. 12 days later the Panamanian
government agreed to the terms previously offered the Colombians.
Construction lasted for 10 years. The canal was formally opened on
August 15, 1914, with the passage of the cargo ship SS Ancon.
• 4. 1904--T. Roosevelt in his State of Union address claims the U.S. is
the "Policeman of the Western Hemisphere" and can intervene in the
affairs of any nation in the hemisphere if it affects the U.S. THIS
BECAME KNOWN AS THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY
(ADDITION) TO THE MONROE DOCTRINE. A corollary is a
statement that follows readily from a previous statement.
• 5. U.S. Presidents cited the Roosevelt Corollary as justification for
U.S. intervention in Cuba (1906–1909), Nicaragua (1909–1910, 1912–
1925 and 1926–1933), Haiti(1915–1934), and the Dominican Republic
(1916–1924). They also protected U.S. investments in most of Latin
America. This was followed by America‘s Dollar Diplomacy which
maintained that if any nation in the Western Hemisphere appeared
politically and financially so unstable as to be vulnerable to European
control, the United States had the right and obligation to intervene.
GoodNeighbor Policy1933
• President Franklin Roosevelt and his Secretary of State,
Cordell Hull, labored to win Latin American good will by
a following policy that included the following objectives:
• 1. Friendship--respecting the rights of others. Americans
hoped to overcome the hostility that many Latin
Americans felt toward the U.S.
• 2. Trade--with the U.S. in the midst of the Great
Depression, American hoped to increase trade with Latin
American and spur economic recovery.
Results Of The Good Neighbor
Policy (1933-1939)
• 1. 1933--At Montevideo Conference, the U.S. and other American
Republics declare, "No state has the right to intervene in the external
and internal affairs of another."
• 2. 1934--American marines withdraw from Haiti.
• 3. 1934--U.S. established the Import-Export Bank to grant low interest
loans for building and developing Latin American natural resources.
• 4. 1936--At the Buenos Aires Conference, the American Republics
pledge together to consult each other in case of threat to peace in the
Americas.
• 5. 1936--U.S. surrenders the right to intervene in the affairs of Panama.
• 6. 1938--At the Lima Conference, the American Republics agreed that
a threat against any one, is a threat to all.
USA and China
• 1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act ends the migration of Chinese laborers
to the U.S. The act was extended and made permanent in 1902 despite
China's protests.
• 1899 - America suggests an Open Door Policy for China. In this
policy (1) spheres of influence would be accepted formally by all
powers, (2) all nations would be treated equally within each sphere of
influence, (3) all nations would receive tariff extensions from China
and (4) China's sovereignty would be preserved. The European powers
rejected Secretary of State John Hay's proposal but the U.S. declared
the Open Door Policy to be in effect anyway.
• The effect of the Open Door Policy was to open China up for trade and
end the policy of spheres of influence allowing competition.
USA and Japan
• 1905 - Newly industrialized Japan takes on and defeats
Russian in the Russo Japanese War thus signaling the
arrival of Japan as a world power. President Theodore
Roosevelt successfully mediates the end to the Russo
Japanese War. He wins the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1906
for his efforts.
• 1907 - President T. Roosevelt persuades California to end
discrimination against Japanese school children. Japan in
return agrees to stop the emigration of Japanese laborers
and their relatives to the United States. This becomes
known as the Gentlemen's Agreement.