American History II: Note Set #14: New Imperialism & The Spanish-American War
Reasons for American Imperialism
American businesses needed to develop new markets for excess agricultural & manufactured goods
Americans needed new opportunities for capital investment
Mercantilism: belief that nations need to export more than they import to grow wealth
No more frontier: The US had expanded as much as it could in North America
Frederick Jackson Turner (1861 – 1932): Historian who proposed his “Frontier Thesis” in 1893, arguing that American society had evolved as a result of always having a frontier; now that the frontier was closed, the US was at risk of stagnation
Continuation of Manifest Destiny: Americans still believed that God favored their way of life and wanted them to spread their influence
Social Darwinism: belief that political, economic, and military competition between nations leads to the “survival of the fittest” nations and the overthrow of weaker nations
Anglo-Saxonism: the belief that English speaking nations were destined to rule due to superior character, ideas, and systems of government
Josiah Strong (1847 – 1916): Protestant minister who argued that Americans should support imperialism because it spreads Christianity
Capt. Alfred T. Mahan (1840 – 1914): author of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History(1890)
Argued that powerful nations have large navies and require naval bases throughout the world
His ideas won widespread political support in both Congress and the White House
The Great White Fleet: Fleet of 16 US battleships sent out on a world tour to demonstrate American naval might between 1907 and 1909 on the orders of President Theodore Roosevelt
Building an American Empire
Alaska
Purchased from Russia by Sec. of State William Seward for $7.2 million in 1867
The US wanted Russian competition out of North America
Hawaii
First Americans arrived in 1819 (Christian missionaries)
Thousands of Americans soon flooded the islands to build sugar plantations, which came to dominate the islands’ economy and present a threat to the native monarchy
Americans forced the “Bayonet Constitution” on Hawaiian king in 1887 which gave whites the vote & limited the monarch’s power
Queen Liliuokalani (1838 – 1917): Queen of Hawaii from 1891 – 1893
Ignored the Bayonet Constitution and extended suffrage to native Hawaiians and Asians
This angered Americans in Hawaii, and they began to plot an overthrow of the queen
American sugar planters in Hawaii were already upset that the US had placed a high tariff on Hawaiian sugar; if they could convince the US to take over Hawaii, then no more tariff
In 1893, the American planters staged a coup and overthrew the Queen
The Annexation of Hawaii
American sugar planters established a temporary government, believing that the US would annex Hawaii immediately
US President Cleveland disapproved of the coup and blocked attempts to annex Hawaii
The independent Republic of Hawaii existed from 1893 - 1898 until the US finally annexed Hawaii under US President McKinley
Trouble in Cuba
Cuba was a Spanish colony, but wanted to become independent and rebelled from throughout the late 1800s
The Spanish put down these rebellions cruelly and with little regard to human rights
Spanish governor General Valeriano “El Carnicero” Weyler began to relocate rebellious Cuban natives to “reconcentration camps” where they could be monitored by the military; thousands of these prisoners died of disease or starvation
Yellow Journalism Enflames the Conflict
US newspapers began to carry sensationalized stories about the actions of the Spanish in Cuba, causing many Americans to sympathize with the Cuban desire for independence
The term “yellow journalism” describes the use of eye-catching headlines (but usually with little factual support, and sometimes simply made-up stories) to sell newspapers
Joseph Pulitzer (1847 – 1911): Publisher of New York World newspaper
Sold his newspapers cheap: $0.02/issue
Filled his papers with crime stories, sensationalized news, but also some serious news
Later established the Pulitzer Prizes for journalism
William Randolph Hearst (1863 – 1951): Publisher of New York Journal newspaper
Sold his paper even cheaper – just $0.01/issue; offset his costs by being one of the first publishers to sell large amounts of advertising to department stores
Hearst and Pulitzer became bitter rivals, each trying to best the other
US President McKinley Tries Negotiations
US business interests in Cuba were threatened by the unrest
McKinley threatened to recognize Cuba as an independent nation if Spain did not establish some stability there; Spain agreed to give Cuba autonomy (but not independence)
This led Spanish loyalists to riot in Havana, forcing McKinley to dispatch the USS Maine to protect US interests in Cuba and to prepare to evacuate Americans if things got too violent
The Enrique Dupuyde Lôme Letter (February, 1898)
A private letter written by the Spanish Ambassador to the US, Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, was stolen and published in Pulitzer’s papers
The letter described McKinley as “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd” and as someone unwilling to go to war over Cuba
The USS Maine Explosion (Feb. 15, 1898)
The USS Mainemysteriously exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 266 sailors
A US investigation concluded that the ship had been deliberately blown up by the Spanish
Angry US citizens began calling for war with Spain
Jingoism: the desire to use force against other nations to protect the best interests of the US
McKinley was reluctant to go to war and hoped for peace
Many Republicans (including Theodore Roosevelt) grew angry with McKinley’s reluctance
McKinley caved to the pressure in April 1898 and asked Congress to declare war against Spain
The Teller Amendment: stated that the US would not attempt to annex Cuba; instead, the US vowed to support Cuban independence
The Spanish-American War (April - August, 1898)
The Pacific Phase of the War: The Philippines & Guam
The US attacked the Spanish colony of the Philippines, crushing Spain’s navy in a matter of hours
US soldiers also seized the Spanish colony of Guam in the Central Pacific
The Caribbean Phase of the War: Cuba & Puerto Rico
US Navy blockaded Cuban ports and destroyed the Spanish fleet sent to protect Cuba
17,000 US ground forces fought in Cuba between June 14 and August 12, winning several major battles, such as the Battle of San Juan Hill, before the Spanish agreed to a cease-fire
American forces included The “Rough Riders," a volunteer regiment of which Theodore Roosevelt was 2nd in command, and several thousand Buffalo Soldiers
Only 345 Americans died in the war (mostly from disease) although hundreds more died from disease epidemics in training camps in the US
Puerto Rico also saw fighting between US and Spanish forces during the war
Treaty of Paris (Dec. 10, 1898): Ended the war
The US kept control of Guam and Puerto Rico (and both are still part of US today)
The US agreed to purchase the Philippines from Spain for $20 million
Cuba became an independent nation, but ....
The US military occupied Cuba until a new, US-approved constitution could be written
US forced Cuba to accept the Platt Amendment:
Cuba could not enter into alliances or foreign debts that might threaten its independence
Cuba could not allow foreign powers to control territory in Cuba
US would have the right to intervene at any time to protect Cuban independence or to maintain order