Transcript Construction of the Panama Canal.

• During the 1800’s the area of
the United States doubled in
size.
• The Industrial Revolution created
interest in overseas markets and
territories.
• Territory stretched from the
• The desire for political and
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
economic expansion led to
growing involvement by the United
•
Territory
was
acquired
through
States in Latin America and in the
negotiation and/or bloodshed
Pacific Islands of Hawaii and
from the British, French, and
Samoa.
Mexicans.
• This eventually led to a war with
Spain.
•
Native
Americans
were
forced
• This put the U.S. in a new role as
off their land.
a world power.
• Cuba was a Spanish colony.
• Americans had important economic ties
with Cuba by investing money there
mainly in sugar plantations.
• Cubans hated Spanish rule.
• Frustration with falling sugar prices led
to a revolt.
• Spain’s response: imprisonment and
brutal treatment of Cubans.
• 1898—President McKinley ordered the Battleship Maine into
Havana Harbor in Cuba to protect American Citizens and property.
• February 15, 1898—a huge explosion on the Maine, killing 260
sailors.
• Deep sea divers examined the
wreckage.
• They said a submarine mine
exploded the ship.
• But……
Explosion of the Battleship Maine
• Headlines spread much anti-Spanish
feelings.
• Blamed Spain for sailors’ deaths.
• Newspapers called for U.S. intervention in
Cuba to avenge this Spanish aggression.
Reporters purposely stir up emotions
without paying much attention to facts
A group of Cubans living in New York also spread anti-Spanish
feelings to publicize the cause of the Rebels.
• This cartoon was part of the
rebel publicity “fed” to the
newspapers to stir up
support for their cause
against Spain.
• Newspapers tried to
compete with other by
reporting more examples of
Spanish cruelty.
• President McKinley initially
opposed US military action
against Spain.
• He proposed a cease-fire.
• Fighting didn’t start in
Cuba.
• The fighting started in the
Philippine Islands,
another Spanish colony.
• The entire Spanish fleet
was sunk during the
Battle of Manila by the
U.S. fleet under the
command of Commodore
George Dewey.
• Only one American
causality.
Dewey had help from a Filipino uprising against the
Spanish. The Filipinos thought the Americans would
grant them independence.
Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders
• Theodore Roosevelt
commanded a volunteer unit
in Cuba called the Rough
Riders.
• The Rough Riders were
cowboys, college students,
and adventurers.
• 5,000 Americans died from typhoid, yellow fever, and the effects of
tainted meat supplied to the army.
• Much of the army had to be quarantined in New York’s immigration centers
to guard against an outbreak of yellow fever in the United States.
• Cartoon in the Detroit News
immediately following the end of the
Spanish-American War.
• The cartoonist, an anti-imperialist,
gave the impression that empire would
create more problems than it was
worth.
• The members of the empire would not
be expected to share the same rights as
the U.S. states.
• John Hay: “a splendid little war”
• But---Cuba left in chaos, U.S. given
right to establish naval stations in Cuba
• Platt Amendment
“How Some Apprehensive People
Picture Uncle Sam After the War”
United States establishes empire:
Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Hawaii
By defeating Spain, acquiring new territory through the peace treaty settling the
Spanish-American War, the United States emerged as a world power.
Presidents
Roosevelt, Taft,
and Wilson all
involved
themselves in the
affairs of various
Latin American
countries---for
different reasons
and in different
ways.
• Energetic, intelligent
• Hero of SpanishAmerican War
• Elected Vice-President
under McKinley and
became President in
1901 when McKinley
was assassinated.
• Elected in 1904.
•
•
•
•
• As a child: sickly, had
asthma, had poor eyesight
• Determined to succeed in
outdoor activities
• Taught himself to ride,
shoot and box
• As an adult, continued to
love the outdoors—
hunted, ranched, and
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt rode horses.
As President: greater American involvement in world affairs
“Speak softly, and carry a big stick”: avoid conflict, but be prepared for combat
United States: international policeman in Latin America
1900’s: the U.S. intervened in Dominican Republic, Panama, Cuba, Nicaragua,
and Honduras.
• 1500’s: Europeans began to think about making
a canal across the Isthmus of Panama to create
an all water route to Asia
• First real attempt Colombia hired a French
engineer to dig a canal across Panama (part of
Colombia during that time)
• Removed millions of tons of dirt but lost over
20,000 workers to malaria and yellow fever so
the French engineer gave up
• Interest didn’t die
• Roosevelt negotiated with Great Britain for the
right to sole American ownership of a canal
across Central America. (Monroe Doctrine)
• Roosevelt tried to negotiate with Columbia, but
they refused to sell the land.
• U.S. helped a group of Panamanians to rebel
against Columbia.
• Panama won its independence and gave the U.S. the right
to build.
• Terrain caused
difficulties:
construction
took 10 years
and 43,000
laborers.
• Construction
began in 1904.
• What to do
about disease?
• Clear brush and
drain swamps
to destroy
habitats of rats
carrying
bubonic plague
and mosquitoes
breeding yellow
fever and
malaria.
• 1915: President
Wilson formally
announced the
opening of the
Panama Canal.
Construction of the Panama Canal.
The U.S. now had a greater ability to
expand its influence around the world.
• United States
Navy has easy
route between
the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans.
• Easy access to
Asia.
• Spanish-American War result:
United States won control of
the Philippines
• Filipino revolutionaries hoped
for independence
• American troops ordered to
occupy all the islands---led to 3
year battle until US crushed
revolt in 1901.
• Philippines under American
colonial control until 1946.
• Became a convenient stepping
stone to trade markets in China
and other areas of Asia.
• China: limitless market for manufactured goods during the 1800’s.
• Weak nation, unable to defend itself from increasing presence of foreign powers.
• Result: China carved up into “spheres of influence”—political and economic
control by others
• United States Open Door Policy
American, British, and Japanese troops
• Call for equal commercial
storming Peking during the Boxer Rebellion.
opportunity for all nations
trading with China.
• Preserve China’s independence
• Chinese rebels called the Boxers
tried to drive all foreigners out
of China in 1900.
• U.S. sent marines to rescue
Americans trapped
• Japanese, Russian, British,
American, and French troops
took seven weeks to drive off
the Boxers.
Results: Hay sent letters to
countries involved in the Boxer
Rebellion urging them to
respect China’s independence
• U.S. gained access to trade with
China
• Theodore Roosevelt maintained
the Open Door by negotiating the
Treaty of Portsmouth, which
settled the Japanese-Russo War
in 1905 (Nobel Peace Prize!)
“The New Diplomacy”
• Roosevelt believed the U.S.
had an international policy
duty
• Began construction of the
Panama Canal, negotiated
treaties in Asia, and dominated
the affairs of several Latin
American countries
• T.R. believed that as a world
power, the U.S. had the right
to impose its values on weaker
countries and to protect
American interests.