Transcript Causes of American Imperialism

Causes of American Imperialism
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Search for new markets
Nationalism and European competition
Naval ports
Missionaries
A belief in cultural superiority
Manifest Destiny/closing of the frontier
Jingoists
Justifications for Imperialism
• Economic Benefits - opened new markets
for U.S. goods
• Expansive Military - national “greatness”
demanded expansion
– Mahan advocated strong Navy
• National Superiority - duty to “uplift” those
“lesser” peoples, Social Darwinism
– Ethnocentric
Yellow Journalism
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Sensationalizing NYC Newspapers
Randolph Heart’s Journal
Joseph Pulitzer’s World
Based on a comic strip “The Yellow Kid”
Faced circulation battle
Exploited the Cuban crisis:
– detailed Spanish atrocities such as “Butcher” Weyler
– The explosion of the Maine
– The exploits of the Rough Riders
TR’s Resume
“Or was it Assistant TO the Secretary of the Navy?”
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Harvard Student
Author The Naval War of 1812
NY State Assembly
Deputy sheriff, hunter in Dakotas
Civil Service Commissioner
NYC Police commissioner board president
Assistant Secretary of the Navy - 1897-1898
Col. Of “Rough Riders”
Governor of NY
US Vice President
US President
Bull Moose Candidate 1912
Expeditionary leader
San Juan Hill, 1898
TR and San Juan Hill
• For his actions, Roosevelt was nominated for the Medal of Honor,
which was later disapproved. As historian wrote, "In later years
Roosevelt would describe the Battle of San Juan Hill on July 1,
1898, as 'the great day of my life' and 'my crowded hour.'.... (but)
Malaria and other diseases now killed more troops than had died in
battle. In August, Roosevelt and other officers demanded that the
soldiers be returned home.“
After return to civilian life, Roosevelt preferred to be known as
"Colonel Roosevelt" or "The Colonel." As a moniker, "Teddy"
remained much more popular with the public, despite the fact
he found it vulgar and called it "an outrageous impertinence."
Political friends and others working closely with Roosevelt
customarily addressed him by his rank
• Medal of Honor
• In 2001, Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
for his actions. He was the first and, to date, is the only President of
the United States to be awarded America's highest military honor,
and the only person in history to receive both his nation's highest
honor for military valor and the world's foremost prize for peace
Results/Legacy of Spanish
American War
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US military
Great White Fleet
“world stage”
Territories—PR, Guam, Philippines
TR’s rise
Expectations of future wars
Yellow Journalism—role of media in war
Roosevelt Corollary
Great White Fleet
USS Olympia- Dewey’s flagship
Panama Canal
and the Roosevelt Corollary
Roosevelt Corollary
(To the Monroe Doctrine)
•US has a right to intervene in the affairs
of Latin America
•US serves as an international police
force to maintain stability in the Western
hemisphere
•AKA the “Big Stick” policy: the US
navy was TR’s “stick.”
Panama Canal (1914)
•TR negotiates the Hay - Bunau-Varilla Treaty
with Panama giving the US a perpetual lease to
the canal zone. (Returned to Panama in 1999)
1914
Dredges at
the Culebra
Cut
Dollar Diplomacy (Taft)
•Investments, instead of the
US military, are used to
influence affairs in Latin
America and the Far East.
Hawaii
• American Interest: Competition, Sugar,
Protestant missionary work, whaling
station
• McKinley tariff raises price of sugar
• Queen Liliuokalani tried to prevent
• 1893 Revolt led by planters (Sanford B.
Dole)
• Status: Territory by 1898
• Statehood- 1959
Philippines
• Spanish driven out by Admiral Dewey
during Spanish-American War
• Philippines as springboard to China and
Naval base
• US also received Puerto Rico and Guam
as result of peace treaty
Boxer Rebellion in China (1900)
- Chinese secret society destroys American property
- China forced to pay the US an indemnity
June 9, 1900
China never wanted foreigners any
more than foreigners wanted
Chinamen, and on this question I am
with the Boxers every time. The
Boxer is a patriot. He loves his
country better than he does the
countries of other people. I wish
him success. The Boxer believes in
driving us out of his country. I am a
Boxer too….
- Mark Twain; Berkeley Lyceum, New
York, November 23, 1900
Open Door Policy: China
•Negotiated by John Hay
•Free and open trade in China for all
nations; “spheres of influence”
•China will not be divided up by
imperialist powers
US Open
Door policy
towards
China
Uncle Sam:
"I'm Out For
Commerce
Not
Conquest!”
November 18, 1899
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Wilson and Latin America
•Wilson was an idealist, as opposed to
the realism of TR
•No more US territory by conquest: the
moral high ground
•But Wilson orders the marines into
Haiti and the Dominican Republic!
Wilson and Mexico
•Wilson’s major foreign policy preoccupation before WWI
•Rebellion and civil war in Mexico
•Wilson tried to:
•Promote good government in Mexico City: idealism
•Protect the large US investments in Mexico
•Safeguard US citizens in Mexico or living on its
border
•US military occupied Vera Cruz (1914) to back General
Carranza, whom Wilson supported.
•“I am going to teach the South American republics to
elect good men.”
Turmoil in Mexico; US
invaded!
•Civil war in Mexico; bandit chieftain
Pancho Villa invades New Mexico,
burning the town of Columbus.
•Wilson sends Gen. Pershing and 12,000
soldiers into Mexico to punish Pancho
Villa
•Villa evades capture and stages a raid
into Texas!
Villa
Wanted
Poster
Offering
$5,000
for his
capture.
Pancho Villa
U.S. Cavalry preparing to chase Villa. Photo by W.H.
Horne, El Paso, TX
Problems of Imperialism
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Competition for markets and power
Exploitation of countries
Growing Nationalism
Military Build Up
Possibility of War
Platt and Teller Amendments
• The Teller Amendment was an amendment to a
joint resolution of the United States Congress,
enacted on April 20, 1898, in reply to President
William McKinley's War Message.
• It placed a condition of the United States military
in Cuba.
• According to the clause, the U.S. could not
annex Cuba but only leave "control of the island
to its people
Platt amendment
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc2muG
lQIlk
Platt Amendment
• The Platt Amendment of 1901 was an amendment to a
joint resolution of the United States Congress, replacing
the earlier Teller Amendment.
• It stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United
States troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the
Spanish-American War and defined the terms of CubanU.S. relations until the 1934 Treaty of Relations.
• The Amendment ensured U.S. involvement in Cuban
affairs and gave legal standing (in U.S. law) to U.S.
claims to certain territories on the island including
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Puerto Rico
• Foraker Act established civilian (albeit limited popular)
government on the island of Puerto Rico, which had
recently become a possession of the United States as a
result of the Spanish–American War.
• Jones-Shafroth Act - was an Act of the United States
Congress, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on
March 2, 1917. The act granted U.S. Citizenship to the
people of Puerto Rico. It also created the Senate of
Puerto Rico, established a bill of rights, and authorized
the election of a Resident Commissioner (previously
appointed by the President) to a four-year term.
Insular Cases
• The Insular Cases are several U.S. Supreme Court
cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the
U.S. in the Spanish-American War (1898).
• The cases were in essence the court's response to a
major issue of the 1900 presidential election and the
American Anti-Imperialist League, summarized by the
phrase "Does the Constitution follow the flag?"
Essentially, the Supreme Court said that full
constitutional rights did not automatically extend to all
areas under American control.
• The "deepest ramification" of the Insular Cases is that
inhabitants of unincorporated territories such as Puerto
Rico, "even if they are U.S. citizens", may have no
constitutional rights, such as to remain part of the United
States if the United States chooses to engage in deannexation
New State?
• The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship
with the U.S. is the subject of ongoing debate in
Puerto Rico, the United States Congress, and
the United Nations. Specifically, the basic
question is whether Puerto Rico should remain a
U.S. territory, become a U.S. state, or become
an independent country.
• After several failed tries dating back to 1967,
Puerto Ricans voted for the first time to become
a state in 2012.
Discussion Questions
• Was US foreign Policy justified at this time?
(Pros and Cons)
• What were some possible problems of Imperialism? What
were the benefits?
• Do you think it's possible for a strong country to trade with a
weaker country without controlling it?
• What responsibilities does the press have in terms of how it
reports news stories? What are the short-term benefits of
exaggerating or fabricating stories to make exciting
headlines? What might be some long-term benefits of
adhering to the truth?
• Do you think there is any such thing as a "splendid little
war"? What other wars might some people remember as
"splendid little" ones ?