Transcript Imperialism Lesson - Emily-Wolfer-Comp-Tools-Fall-10

What they were thinking
Popular ideas behind imperialism
Official Definition!
 Imperialism: the policy of extending the rule or
authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries,
or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.
White Man’s Burden
 1899: Rudyard Kipling publishes “White Man’s Burden” in
McClure’s magazine.
 This poem was aimed at the United States’ relations with the
Philippines
 Kipling justifies the noble cause of colonizing “less civilized”
areas of the developing world, usually for the benefit of the
colonizer.
 The “burden” for the colonizer is taking control of a land and
being responsible for Westernizing its people and making
them civilized, which means, more Westernized.
 This also advocated spreading Christianity
Manifest Destiny
 Coined by John O’Sullivan in 1845
 “From sea to shining sea”
 American belief that the United States (in
particular Anglo-Saxons) were destined to inhabit
all of North America from Atlantic Coast to Pacific
coast
 Used to justify the Mexican-American War
Economy
 Imperialism helped the economy of the colonizer
countries because they could take advantage of the
natural resources of the colonized country.
 Spain-got rich from the Americas
 England-got rich from India
For power
 Ultimately, imperialism was the desire for prestige and
wealth among European countries and America.
IMPERIALSIM IN THE U.S.
REASONS FOR IMPERIALSIM
 Defeating Native Americans set a precedent
 Everyone was doing it (European powers)
 “survival of the fittest”
 Sea power important to becoming a major power
 Depression beginning 1893-businessmen looking overseas
 Fear of natural resources declining
 U.S. wanted to be a super power
MANIFEST DESTINY
 Monroe Doctrine 1823: U.S.
said Europe could not
colonize and expand in the
Western World
 Most Americans believed
their country was better
than all others & they had a
God-given mission to
expand
 Americans were deemed
superior by God and should
expand in order to bring
freedom everywhere
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR: 1898
 Many uprisings in Cuba to try to gain independence
 U.S. said they would not get involved but on Feb. 15, 1898
the USS Main was blown up; U.S. declared war on Spain
 Rough Riders led by Theodore Roosevelt charged up San Juan
Hill, destroying Spanish army
 Dec. 10, 1898: Spain & U.S. sign Peace Treaty: Cuba declared
independent. Puerto Rico & Guam given to U.S. Philippines
could be purchased by U.S. for $20 million
 Spain lost its empire in the West
 This war allowed the U.S. to exercise total control over the
Western Hemisphere
YELLOW JOURNALISM
AND THE WAR
Joseph Pulitzer: World William
Randolph Hearst: New York
Journal, Sensational style—
published stories about SpanishAmerican War
Brought the war into U.S. homes,
big influence on the war (antiSpanish sentiment)
POLITICAL CARTOONS
 They were an important
way of expressing what
Americans were thinking
and of swaying Americans
views on imperialism, the
Spanish-American War, etc.
OTHER TERRITORIES THE
U.S. CONQUERED
Hawaii
Samoa
Alaska
Imperialism in
World History:
The British in India
Background
 India’s difficult geography, lack of centralized govt.
 British influence initially start with the East India
Trading Company in India in 1613-14.
 The Company establishes a monopoly in India, exploiting
production and sale of opium.
 1857 marks Indian Rebellion and the end of the East
India Trading Company, rule in India is formally turned
over to the British Crown.
British Justifications
 Had the capability to
 Political pressure for conquest and expansion
 Claims for an interconnected world
 Racial justifications
 Moral: benefitting the conquered nations, chance of a better life under
colonial rule
 Religious benefits: spreading Christianity and the word of God
 Military: naval ports, human resources for army
 Used Indian soldiers in WWI
 Economic benefits: importing, trading, resources
 Ex: Opium from India going to China
 Ex: British tax on salt to generate revenue
British Techniques
 Massive investment in infrastructure
 Roads, construction, large-scale farming
 Anglicization: spreading of Western language, culture,
intellectual attitudes
 Teaching and writing in English
 Backfires: ideas of democracy, freedom of speech, etc.
 “Indianization”: giving British rule an Indian face
 Creates new Indian middle class who demand increased
power
Mahatma Gandhi
 Lawyer- studied in London and
worked in South Africa
 Inspired peaceful resistance against
British colonial rule
 Peaceful resistance contrasted
against the violence of the British
undermined the moral legitimacy of
imperialism
 Successfully oversaw the expulsion
of the British
Gandhi's Policies and Influence
 Gandhi leads wave of peaceful protests in 1919, at
conclusion of WWI
 Amritsar Massacre- proved British rule relied on violence
 Gandhi encouraged:
 Use of non-violence
 Renouncing Anglicization
 Self-sufficiency
Pressures for Decolonization
 Decolonization: the act or process of eliminating colonialism
or freeing from colonial status
 Gandhi’s pacifism undermined moral justifications
 Undermined by hypocrisy. Allied view that WWII was against
the imperialism of Hitler
 Legitimacy also undermined by criticisms of the new,
expanding Soviet Empire
 WWII devastates European countries. Imperialist powers
concerned about rebuilding after the war. Economies
devastated, making colonial upkeep expensive
 New found criticisms of imperialism
The End of British Rule
 Unrest in India, possibility of uprising in 1942
 India gets promise of independence in exchange for not
revolting and splitting British attention and resources
 British officially decolonize India in 1947
Imperialism’s Impacts
 Leaves India divided with two political parties in
charge, thus dividing the country
 Skepticism towards Europeans causes cooperation with
Soviet Union
 Emphasis on Protectionism- limiting trade to protect
domestic industries from global competition
 Left India unstable, shut off, and in need of vast
reform. In danger of falling victim again?