Transcript An Emerging World Power 1890-1917

An Emerging World Power
1890-1917
CHAPTER 11
The Roots of Imperialism
 Imperialism is when nations seeks to extend their
political, military, and economic control over weaker
nations

Is the United States imperialistic today?
 In the late 1800s America decided to follow Europe’s
imperialistic behavior into Japan
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Europe used these countries to extract resources like oil, iron,
and tea
America already had lots of resources, so instead of stripping
the country of resources, they wanted to be able to sell their
excess manufactured goods in these countries
The Roots of Imperialism
 New countries to trade with meant prices could
stabilize since they would have new places to sell the
goods
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Albert Beveridge said “Today we are raising more [crops] 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.”
Why would finding new markets help?
The Roots of Imperialism
 Imperialists knew that if we were going to expand it
would require going into the oceans to do so
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Alfred T. Mahan wrote The Influence of Sea Power Upon
History to explain that America’s need to build a large navy
He also said we needed foreign bases to have places to stop for
refueling, etc.
 By 1900 the U.S. had the 3rd largest navy in the world
The Roots of Imperialism
 Imperialists supported the idea that America was
superior and therefore they should exert their
influence on the “lesser” nations
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Social Darwinism, survival of the fittest, was widely
accepted
Manifest Destiny, or the idea that God wanted America to
expand, was also widely accepted—especially because many
felt God wanted Christianity to expand to these nations
The Roots of Imperialism
 Since America already had “sea to shining sea” they
had to look to the Pacific Ocean if they wanted to
keep with their westward movement
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Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan, who had denied
everyone access to their ports
Perry was allowed there by showering the emperor with gifts
Perry showed them that they had fallen behind in the world of
technology and that they should open trade with America
 They said yes, and haven’t looked back…
The Roots of Imperialism
 In 1867 Sec. of State William Seward purchased
Alaska for $7.2 million
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This was called “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox”
It double the size of the United States
Turns out, it was a smart purchase…there is an amazing
amount of the world’s oil supply under Alaska AND it was
handy to have that area in fighting the Cold War against Russia
in the 1900s
 Why did people criticize him for the purchase?
Alaska
The Roots of Imperialism
 America had been trading with Hawai’i since the
1790s
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Christians had set up missionaries, churches, and schools
Americans had also set up sugar plantations there
They convinced King Kalakuaua to amend Hawai’i’s
constitution to limit voting rights to wealthy, white planters
The Roots of Imperialism
 The American’s grew concerned about their power
 America had a tariff on imported sugar which meant Hawaiian
sugar was more expensive than American sugar
 King Kalakuaua died and his sister Queen Liliuokalani took
over who was Anti-white

She abolished the constitution
The Roots of Imperialism
 The American planters called for the U.S. minister of
Hawai’i, John Stevens, to bring in the Marines

They successfully seized power and established a new
government
 Sanford Dole asked Pres. Benjamin Harrison to
annex Hawai’i
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Senate didn’t approve before Pres. Cleveland was inaugurated
 He ordered an investigation and refused to sign the
annexation because of the “reprehensible conduct of
the American minister”

Pres. McKinley supported annexation of Hawai’i so he signed
and Hawai’i became a territory in 1898
Hawai’i
The Spanish-American War
 Spain had been an impressive imperialistic nation in
the 1600-1700s
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By the end of the 1800s it was left with the Philippines, Puerto
Rico, and Cuba
 The Cubans regularly rebelled against Spain for
independence
 José Martí led a war for independence
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Spanish Gen. Weyler put the Cubans into reconcentration
camps which killed many of them
The Spanish-American War
 Many Americans felt sympathy for the Cubans
 Since Spain was being so brutal and because America
remembered breaking away from their mother-country
 America also saw Cuba as an excellent source for new trade if
they were stabilized
 The press supported Cuba with sensational stories
 Yellow journalism were exaggerated stories used to gain
support for the rebels
 William Randolph Hearst was the leader in publishing
these stories
The Spanish-American War
 McKinley sent the U.S.S. Maine down to Havana to
protect the Americans who lived there
 A Spanish Ambassador wrote a letter stating that
McKinley was weak and stupid, Hearst published the
letter
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“Worst Insult to the United States in Its History” read the
headline
 Jingoism, or aggressive nationalism, was fueled by
this article
The Spanish-American War
 The intensity grew when
the Maine blew up in
Havana killing 266
 An investigation was
done by the Navy and
they declared that it was
a mine that had blown up
the ship
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Years later it was
reinvestigated and it
appears that it was
actually an accident
The Spanish-American War
 Spain agreed to make concessions and end
concentration camps but it was too late
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On April 11, 1898 America declared war on Spain to force it to
end hostilities with Cuba
It included the Teller Amendment which said the U.S.
would NOT annex Cuba
 Many Americans joined the military
 Most would be shipped out to the Pacific Ocean
The Spanish-American War
 Commodore George Dewey led the Americans in
battle against the Spaniards in the Philippines
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400 Spanish died, 0 Americans
 Emilio Aguinaldo, a Filipino nationalist, was
successfully beating the Spanish army on land
 U.S. Marines captured Guantanamo Bay in Cuba
The Spanish-American War
 T. Roosevelt stepped down as Sec. of the Navy and
led the Rough Riders into battle
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They charged San Juan hill and won impressive victories
 The Spanish tried to escape but the Americans had
created a blockade to prevent them
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Frantic but unable to move, they surrendered
The Spanish-American War
 Many of the soldiers waiting to be sent to Cuba
gathered in Tampa, FL
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They were given obsolete weapons and spoiled food due to
inefficient and corrupt officials
In the end 3000 Americans died in the Spanish American war,
but only 380 died in battle
 The war was nicknamed “a splendid little war”
because it proved America’s ability to easily beat a
European power
The Spanish-American War
 However a new dilemma was created…what to do
with Spain’s former territories?
 The Treaty of Paris forced Spain to give Cuba,
Puerto Rico, and Guam up as well as sell the
Philippines to the US for $20 million
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Americans disagreed as to whether the US should control these
areas (could control Cuba because of the Teller Amendment)
 Anti-imperialists said it violated American principles
to retain the Philippines, imperialists said it was only
right to protect and educate the Filipinos
The Spanish-American War
 Keep the Philippines came down to one vote
 We kept the Philippines until the mid-1900s
 The anti-imperialists were not happy
 They put up William Jennings Bryan to run against McKinley
 McKinley chose T.R. to be his V.P. candidate since he was a
hero
 McKinley easily won reelection, reaffirming that people
supported imperialism
 1900 opened with America as a new empire and
strongly involved in world affairs