Transcript United States Imperialism

United States Imperialism
At the Turn of the Century (1867-1917)
American Expansionism



Americans had
always wanted to
extend the size of
the United States
(Manifest Destiny
was the belief that
Americans should
extend their control
at all costs to the
Pacific Ocean)
By the 1880s, many
Americans believed
that this idea should
apply overseas.
Many thought that in
order to compete
with other European
nations, the United
States would have to
have its own
colonies.
American Expansionism
Imperialism-the
policy in which
stronger nations
extend their
economic, political,
or military control
over weaker
territories
 Policy was already a
trend around the
world when the
United States began
to expand

Factors of new U.S. Imperialism
◦ A desire for
military strength
◦ A desire for new
markets
◦ A belief in cultural
superiority
U.S. Imperialism/Military Strength


Admiral Alfred T. Mahan
published a book in 1890
entitled The Influence of Sea
Power upon History (1660-1783).
He argued that the U.S. should
build its military strength in
three ways:
◦ Develop a modern naval fleet
capable of protecting American
business and shipping interests
around the world
◦ Establish naval bases in the
Caribbean Sea
◦ Construct a canal across the
isthmus of Panama
◦ Acquire Hawaii and other Pacific
Islands
U.S. Imperialism/Markets



Because of advances in
technology in the late 19th
century, Americans could
not consume the
abundance of goods.
Americans now needed
new raw materials for its
factories and new markets
for its manufactured
goods
Imperialists viewed foreign
trade as a solution to over
production,
unemployment and
economic depression
U.S. Senator Albert Beveridge Imper
U.S. Imperialism/
Cultural Superiority


Some Imperialists
combined the
philosophy of Social
Darwinism with a
belief in the racial
superiority of AngloSaxons
These imperialists
argued that the U.S.
had a responsibility to
spread Christianity and
“civilize” the world’s
“inferior peoples”
Rudyard Kipling,
“The White Man’s Burden”
Anti-Imperialists



Anti-Imperialist League formed
in 1898 as the U.S. debated
taking the Philippines
Opposed expansion, believing
that imperialism violated the
fundamental principle that just
republican government must
derive from "consent of the
governed.“
Included a variety of
members—industrialist Andrew
Carnegie, former president
Grover Cleveland, reformer Jane
Addams, novelist Mark Twain,
labor leader Samuel Gompers
and civil rights activist Booker T.
Washington
Alaska





William Seward, Secretary of
State under Presidents Abraham
Lincoln and Andrew Johnson was
an early supporter of expansion.
In 1867 he arranged for the U.S.
to buy Alaska from Russian for
$7.2 million.
Had trouble securing funding
from the House of
Representatives. Alaska referred
to as “Seward’s Icebox” or
“Seward’s Folly”
For 2 cents an acre, U.S. had
acquired a land rich in timber,
minerals and oil
Alaska became 49th state in 1959.
Hawaii
In 1867 U.S. took Midway
Islands in the Pacific and
turned its attention to Hawaii
 Since 1790s American
merchant ships had stopped in
Hawaii on their way to China
and East India
 In 1820s American missionaries
had founded Christian schools
and churches on the Hawaiian
Islands
 Their children and
grandchildren became sugar
planters who sold most of
their crop to the U.S.

Queen Liliuokalani
Hawaii
In 1875, the U.S. agreed to import
Hawaiian sugar duty free.
 In 1890 the McKinley Tariff
eliminated this duty free status
and as a result Hawaiian sugar
growers faced competition in the
American market.
 American planters began to call
for the U.S. to annex Hawaii so
they wouldn’t have to pay the
duty
 American imperialists had already
pressured the Hawaiians to allow
the U.S. to build a naval base at
Pearl Harbor to act as a refueling
station

Queen Liliuokalani
Hawaii






In 1887, King Kalakaua had been
forced by American business owners
to amend Hawaii’s constitution so
that only land owners could vote
When he died in 1891, his sister,
Liliuokalani proposed removing this
property qualification for voting
To prevent this, business groups
encouraged by U.S. ambassador John
L. Stevens, organized a revolution.
With the help of U.S. Marines, they
overthrew the queen and set up a
government headed by Sanford
Dole.
On August 12, 1898, Congress
proclaimed Hawaii an American
territory
Hawaii became the 50th state in
1959
Queen Liliuokalani
Queen Liliuokalani's abdication
speech:

"I, Lili‘uokalani, by the grace of God and
under the constitution of the Hawaiian
Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly
protest against any and all acts done
against myself and the constitutional
government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by
certain persons claiming to have
established a Provisional Government of
and for this Kingdom…Now, to avoid any
collision of armed forces and perhaps
loss of life, I do, under this protest, and
impelled by said forces, yield my authority
until such time as the Government of the
United States shall…undo the action of
its representative and reinstate me in the
authority which I claim as the
constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian
Islands."
Queen Liliuokalani
Analyze the Political Cartoon
What is the main idea of this cartoon?
 How does the cartoon utilize symbols to
support the main idea?
 What is the creator’s point of view?
 How does the creator utilize the past to
support his point of view?
 What does the cartoon suggest about the
future of U.S. imperialism?

Spanish American War
By the end of the 19th Century,
Spain had lost most of its
colonies. It retained only the
Philippines, Guam, Cuba and
Puerto Rico
 U.S. had long been interested in
Cuba. In 1854, the U.S. offered
to buy Cuba from Spain and was
rejected.
 When Cubans rebelled against
Spanish rule between 1868 and
1878, American sympathies were
with the Cubans
 Though Cuban revolts were not
successful, American businessmen
began investing millions of dollars
in Cuban sugar cane plantations

Jose Marti
Cuban poet and journalist
Spanish American War





Jose Marti, a Cuban poet, journalist
and exile living in the United States
launched a revolution against
Spanish rule in 1895
He organized resistance through
guerilla campaigns in which
American businesses were
destroyed in Cuba.
Marti was hoping that the U.S.
would enter into the revolution on
behalf of a “Free Cuba”
In 1896, Spain responded by
sending a ruthless general,
Valeriano Weyler to Cuba in order
to restore order.
He had over 300,000 Cubans sent
to concentration camps where
thousands died from hunger and
disease.
Jose Marti
Cuban poet and journalist
Spanish American War



Weyler’s actions helped fuel a
circulation war between
William Randolph Hearst’s
New York Journal and Joseph
Pulitzer’s New York World.
Both newspapers introduced
sensational, exaggerated stories
to sell newspapers. This
became known as “yellow
journalism”.
Artist Frederick Remington
was sent to Cuba by Hearst to
draw pictures. Remington
informed Hearst that a war
seemed unlikely. Hearst
responded: “you furnish the
pictures and I’ll furnish the
war”.
William Randolph Hearst
Spanish American War
American sympathy for a
free Cuba grew.
 When William McKinley
became president, he
convinced Spain to recall
General Weyler, end
concentration camps, and
offer Cuba limited selfgovernment
 In February 1898, the New
York Journal published a
letter written by Enrique de
Lome, the Spanish foreign
minister to the U.S.
 The letter referred to
McKinley as being “weak”.

U.S. President William McKinley
Spanish American War
Early in 1898, McKinley had
ordered the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba
in order to bring American
businessmen home who were in
danger of the fighting and to
protect American property
 On February 15, 1898 the ship
blew up in Havana harbor and 260
men were killed.
 American newspapers blamed the
Spanish who had planted mines in
the harbor. “Remember the
Maine” began to be the battle cry
for imperialists who wanted war.
 Despite the Spanish agreeing to
American terms for peace,
President McKinley asked for a
declaration of war against Spain.
On April 20, 1898 war was
declared.

Spanish American War
First battle of the war took
place in the Philippines.
 On May 1, the American fleet
led by Admiral George Dewey
opened fire on the Spanish fleet
at Manila
 Within hours, every ship of the
Spanish fleet had been
destroyed
 This cleared the way for
American troops to enter the
Philippines and join forces with
Filipino freedom fighters led by
Emilio Aguinaldo

Spanish American War






The U.S. army was not equipped
to fight a war
About 125,000 Americans
volunteered to fight
New soldiers were sent to train
in Florida; they lacked supplies
and effective leaders; they were
forced to wear heavy woolen
uniforms that were not suited
for Cuba’s climate
American forces landed in Cuba
in June 1898
The army of 17000 included the
Rough Riders, a voluntary
cavalry under the leadership of
Theodore Roosevelt who had
resigned his position as
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
to fight
The most famous land battle
took place near Santiago on July
1 near Kettle Hill; the Rough
Riders led a dramatic uphill
charge
Spanish American War






The victory by the Rough Riders
cleared the way for an infantry
attack on San Juan Hill
U.S. newspapers would declare
Roosevelt the hero of San Juan Hill
Two days later the Spanish fleet
was defeated off the coast of Cuba;
the U.S. invaded Puerto Rico
On August 12, an armistice was
signed between Spain and the U.S.
ending what Secretary of State
John Hay called “a splendid little
war”
The Treaty of Paris was agreed to
on December 10, 1898; in the
treaty, Spain freed Cuba and turned
over the islands of Guam and
Puerto Rico to the U.S.; Spain also
sold the Philippines to the U.S. for
$20 million
America had an empire
Document Analysis Class ActivityA. March of the Flag
B. Will it Pay
C. Case against the U.S.

Jigsaw 1 (15 minutes).
◦
Partner with classmates who had the same document as
you (A, B or C). Make sure that you have a copy of each
of the documents for this activity.
◦
Have a group discussion about the document by reviewing
your answers to the questions that you answered for
homework.
◦
Everyone in the group should have an answer to each of
the questions.
Document Analysis Class ActivityA. March of the Flag
B. Will it Pay
C. Case against the U.S.

Jigsaw II- 15 minutes
◦ Partner with two other students that had a different document
than you. Teach each other the document that you analyzed by
reviewing the main idea of the document and specific passages
that support the main idea.
◦ Review the remainder of the questions from your document
with your team.
◦ Your team should answer the following question using your
documents and your answers to the homework questions on a
separate sheet of paper: Should the U.S. have colonized the
Philippines? Why or why not?
◦ Staple each of your homework assignments to your group
answer to this question to pass in for a quiz grade.