Seward, Alaska, and the French in Mexico

Foreign Policy

Ever since the 1790s, U.S. foreign policy had been centered on expanding westward, protecting U.S. interests abroad, and limiting foreign influence in the Americas
The period after the Civil War saw the development of a booming industrial economy, which created the basis for a major shift in U.S. relations with the rest of the world

1)Instead of a nation that – at least since the War of 1812 – had been relatively isolated from European politics, the United States became a world power with territories extending across the Pacific to the Philippines

Seward, Alaska, and the French in Mexico

A leading Republican of the 1850s and 1860s, William Seward of New York served both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson as their secretary of state (1861-1869)
Seward achieved more as secretary of state than anyone since the time of John Quincy Adams (who had helped formulate the Monroe Doctrine in 1823)
During the Civil War, Seward helped Lincoln prevent Great Britain and France from entering the war on the side of the South
A strong expansionist, he was unsuccessful in his efforts to convince Congress to annex Hawaii and purchase the Danish West Indies, but he achieved the annexation of MidwayIsland in the Pacific and gained rights to build a canal in Nicaragua
Napoleon III (nephew of the first Napoleon) had taken advantage of U.S. involvement in the Civil War by sending French troops to occupy Mexico

1)With the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865, Seward immediately invoked the Monroe Doctrine and threatened U.S. military action unless the French withdrew

2)Napoleon III backed down, and the French troops left Mexico

For decades, the vast territory of Alaska had been the subject of dispute between two European powers that claimed it: Russia and Great Britain

1)Russia assumed control and established a small colony for seal hunting, but the territory soon became an economic burden always subject to the thereat of a British takeover

2)Seeking buyers, Russian found Seward to be an enthusiastic champion of the idea of the United States acquiring Alaska by purchase

Due to Seward’s lobbying, and also in appreciation of Russian support during the Civil War, Congress in 1867 agreed to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million

1)It would take many years for Americans to see the value in Alaska and stop referring to it derisively as “Seward’s Folly” and “Seward’s Icebox”

The “New Imperialism”

As the United States industrialized in the late 19th century, it also intensified its foreign involvement partly because it needed:

1)worldwide markets for its growing industrial and agricultural surpluses

2)sources of raw materials for manufacturing

Many conservatives hoped that overseas territories and adventures might offer an outlet and safety valve for unhappiness at home

1)The were concerned about the growing violence of labor-management disputes and the unrest of farmers

Advocates of an expansionist policy hoped to achieve their ends by economic and diplomatic means, not by military action

International Darwinism

Darwin’s concept of the survival of the fittest was applied not only to competition in the business world but to competition among nations
According to this theory, only the strongest survived, and, depending on the interests of various groups, this meant that the U.S. had to be strong religiously, militarily, and politically
In the international arena, the United States had to demonstrate its strength by acquiring territories overseas
Expansionists of the late 19th century extended the idea of manifest destiny so that the potential for U.S. territorial expansion applied not just to North America but to all parts of the world

Imperialism

Americans were not alone in pursuing a policy of imperialism, which meant either acquiring territory or gaining control over the political or economic life of other countries
Many nations in Europe, led by Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, as well as Japan, were involved in gaining possessions and influence in weaker countries, especially Africa and the Pacific Ocean
Some in the United States believed that the nation had to compete with the imperialistic nations for new territory or it would grow weak and fail to survive

Missionaries

In his book Our Country: Its Possible Future and Present Crisis (1885), the Reverend Josiah Strong wrote that people of Anglo-Saxon stock were “the fittest to survive” and that Protestant Americans had a Christian duty to colonize other lands for the purpose of spreading Christianity and Western civilization
Strong’s book expressed the thinking of many Protestant congregations, which believed that westerners of the Christian faith had ad duty to bring the benefits of the “superior” civilization (medicine, science, and technology) to less fortunate peoples of the world
Many of the missionaries who traveled to Africa, Asia, and the Pacific islands also believed in the racial superiority of whites
Mission activities of their churches encouraged many Americans to support active U.S. government involvement in foreign affairs

Politicians

Many in the Republican party were closely allied with business leaders
Republican politicians generally endorsed the use of foreign affairs to search for new markets
Congressional leaders such as Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts and the Republican governor of New York, Theodore Roosevelt, were eager to build U.S. power through global expansion

Naval Power

U.S. Navy Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan wrote an important book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890), in which he argued that a strong navy was crucial to a country’s ambitions of securing foreign markets and becoming a world power
Mahan’s book was widely read by prominent American citizens – and also by political leaders in Europe and Japan
Using arguments in Mahan’s book, U.S. naval strategists persuaded Congress to finance the construction of modern steel ships and encouraged the acquisition of overseas islands, such as Samoa, to be used as coaling and supply stations so that the new fleet would be a world power
By 1900, the United States had the third largest navy in the world

Popular Press

Newspaper and magazine editors found they could increase circulation by printing adventure stories about distant and exotic places
Stories in the popular press increased public interest and stimulated demands for a larger U.S. role in world affairs

Latin America

Beginning with Monroe Doctrine in the 1820s, the United States had taken a special interest in problems of the Western Hemisphere and had assumed the role of protector of Latin America from European ambitions
Benjamin Harrison’s Secretary of State James G. Blaine played a principal role in extending this tradition
Blaine’s repeated efforts to establish closer ties between the United States and its southern neighbors bore fruit in 1889 with the meeting of the first Pan-American Conference in Washington

1)Representatives from various nations of the Western Hemisphere decided to create a permanent organization for international cooperation on trade and other issues

2)Blaine had hoped to bring about reductions in tariff rates

3)Although this goal was not achieved, the foundation was established for the larger goal of hemispheric cooperation on both economic and political issues

The Pan-American Union continues today as part of the Organization of American States, which was established in 1948

Cleveland, Olney, and the Monroe Doctrine

One of the most important uses of the Monroe Doctrine in the 19th century concerned a boundary dispute between Venezuela and a neighboring territory – the British colony of Guiana
In 1895 and 1896, President Cleveland and Secretary of State Richard Olney insisted that Great Britain agree to arbitrate the dispute

1)At first, the British said the matter was not the business of the United States

2)Cleveland and Olney argued that the Monroe Doctrine applied to the situation, and if the British did not arbitrate, the United States stood ready to back up its argument with military force

Deciding that U.S. friendship was more important to its long-term interests than winning a boundary dispute in South America, the British finally agreed to U.S. demands

1)The arbitrators ruled mainly in favor of Britain, not Venezuela

Latin American nations appreciated U.S. efforts to protect them from European domination
Most important, the Venezuela boundary dispute marked a turning point in U.S.-British relations

1)From 1895 on Britain would cultivate U.S. friendship rather than continuing its former hostility

2)The friendship would prove vital for both nations throughout the coming century

Spurning the Hawaiian Peer

From the 1820s, when the first U.S. missionaries came, the United States had always liked the Hawaiian Islands.

1)Treaties signed in 1875 and 1887 guaranteed commercial trade and U.S. rights to priceless Pearl Harbor, while Hawaiian sugar was very profitable, but in 1890, the McKinley Tariff raised the prices on this sugar, raisin its price.

Americans felt that the best way to offset this was to annex Hawaii—a move opposed by its Queen Liliuokalani—but in 1893, desperate Americans revolted.
They succeeded, and Hawaii seemed ready for annexation, but Grover Cleveland became president again, investigated the coup, found it to be wrong, and delayed the annexation of Hawaii until he basically left office.

1)Cleveland was bombarded for stopping “Manifest Destiny,” but his actions proved to be honorable for him and America.

The outbreak of war and fight for the Philippines gave Congress and President McKinley the pretext to complete annexation in July 1898
The Hawaiian islands became a territory of the United States in 1900

1)Hawaii became the fiftieth state in the Union in August 1859

In 1993, President Clinton signed a resolution acknowledging, and apologizing for, the U.S. role in the Hawaiian overthrow

Cubans Rise in Revolt

Expansionists from the South had coveted Cuba as early as the 1850s
In the 1890s, American public opinion was being swept by a growing wave of jingoism – an intense form or nationalism calling for an aggressive foreign policy
In 1895, Cuba revolted againstSpain, citing years of misrule

1)The Cubans torched their sugar cane fields in hopes that such destruction would either make Spain leave or America interfere

2)Sure enough, America supported Cuba

The situation worsened when Spanish General Weyler came to Cuba to crush the revolt and ended up putting many civilians into concentration camps that were terrible and killed many.

1)The American public clamored for action, but Cleveland would do nothing.

The Mystery of the MaineExplosion

The yellow presses competed against each other to come up with more sensational stories filled with bold and lurid headlines of crime, disaster, and scandal
Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and William Randolph Hearst’s New YorkJournal printed exaggerated and false accounts of Spanish atrocities in Cuba

1)Hearst even sent artist Frederick Remington to draw pictures of often-fictional atrocities

2)He drew Spanish officials brutally stripping and searching an American woman, when in reality, Spanish women, not men, did such acts.

Then, suddenly, on February 9, 1898, a letter written by Spanish minister to Washington, Dupuy de Lôme, which totally ridiculed president McKinley was published by Hearst.
On February 15th of that year, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously exploded in HavanaHarbor, killing 260 officers and men.

1)America was war-mad, and Spain was about to be crushed.

2)Actually, what really happened was that an accidental explosion had basically blown up the ship—a similar conclusion to what Spanish investigators suggested—but America ignored them.

McKinley Unleashes the Dogs of War

The American public wanted war, but McKinley privately didn’t like war or the violence, since he had been a Civil War major; in addition, Mark Hanna and Wall Street didn’t want war because it would upset business.
However, on April 11, 1898, the President sent his war message to Congress:

1)“Put an end to the barbarities, bloodshed, starvation, and horrible miseries” in Cuba

2)Protect the lives and property of U.S. citizens living in Cuba

3)End “the very serious injury to the commerce, trade, and business of our people”

4)End “the constant menace to our peace” arising from the disorders in Cuba

Congress also adopted the Teller Amendment, which proclaimed that when the U.S. had overthrown Spanish misrule, it would give the Cubans their freedom.

Fighting the War

The first shots of the Spanish-American War were fired in ManilaBay in the Philippines, thousands of miles from Cuba
The last shots were fired only a few months later in August

1)So swift was the U.S. victory that Secretary of State John Hay called it “a splendid little war”

Navy Secretary John D. Long and his assistant secretary, Theodore Roosevelt had modernized the U.S. navy, making it sleek and sharp.

1)On February 25, 1898, Roosevelt cabled Commodore George Dewey, commanding the American Asiatic Squadron at Hong Kong, and told him to take over the Philippines.

2)Dewey did so brilliantly, completely taking over the islands from the Spanish (May 1)

Dewey had naval control, but he could not storm the islands and its fortresses, so he had to wait for reinforcements, but meanwhile, other nations were moving their ships into ManilaHarbor to protect their men.

Finally, on August 13, 1898, American troops arrived and captured Manila, collaborating with Filipino insurgents, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, to overthrow the Spanish rulers.

The Confused Invasion of Cuba

An ill-prepared, largely volunteer force landed in Cuba by the end of June

1)The most lethal enemy proved to be not Spanish bullets but tropical diseases

2)More than 5,000 American soldiers died of malaria, typhoid, and dysentery, while less than 500 died in battle

3)U.S. soldiers had woolen long underwear – did not help

Attacks by both American and Cuban forces succeeded in defeating the much larger but poorly led Spanish army
The “Rough Riders,” a regiment of volunteers led by Theodore Roosevelt rushed to Cuba and battled at El Caney San Juan Hill.

1)TR was aided to victory by veteran regiments of African Americans

2)Most celebrated event of the war next to Dewey’s victory in ManilaBay

Curtains for Spain in America

U.S. Navy succeeded in destroying the Spanish fleet at SantiagoBay on July 3
On land, the American army, commanded by General Nelson A. Miles, met little resistance as they took over Puerto Rico.
Soon afterwards, on August 12, 1898, Spain signed an armistice.

Controversy Over the Treaty of Paris

Far more controversial than the war itself were the terms of the treaty of peace signed in Paris on December 10, 1898
It provided for:

1)recognition of Cuban independence

2)U.S. acquisition of two Spanish islands – Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and Guan in the Pacific

3)U.S. acquisition of the Philippines in return for payment to Spain of $20 million

C. Since the avowed purpose of the U.S. war effort was to liberate Cuba, Americans accepted this treaty

they were not prepared for the idea of taking over a large Pacific island nation, the Philippines

America’s Course (Curse) of Empire

Upon the U.S. taking of the Philippines, uproar broke out, since until now, the United States had mostly acquired territory from the American continent, and even with Alaska, Hawaii, and the other scattered islands, there weren’t many people living there.
The Anti-Imperialist League sprang into being, firmly opposed to this new imperialism of America, and its members included Mark Twain, William James, Samuel Gompers, Grover Cleveland, and Andrew Carnegie.

1)Even the Filipinos wanted freedom, and denying that to them was un-American.

However, expansionists cried that the Philippines could become another Hong Kong.

1)British writer Rudyard Kipling wrote about “The White Man’s Burden,” urging America to keep the Philippines and “civilize them.”

In the Senate, the treaty almost was not passed, but finally, William Jennings Bryan argued for its passage, saying that the sooner the treaty was passed, the sooner the U.S. could get rid of the Philippines

1)On February 6, 1899, the Treaty of Paris 1898 was ratified by an extremely close vote of 57 to 27

2)The anti-imperialists fell just two votes short of defeating the treaty

“Little Brown Brothers” in the Philippines

The Filipinos had assumed that they would receive freedom after the Spanish-American War, but when they didn’t they revolted against the U.S.
The insurrection began on February 4, 1899, and was led by Emilio Aguinaldo, who took his troops into guerrilla warfare after open combat proved to be useless.
Stories of atrocities abounded, but finally, the rebellion was broken in 1901 when U.S. soldier invaded Aguinaldo’s headquarters and captured him.
PresidentMcKinley formed a Philippine Commission in 1899 to deal with the Filipinos, and in its second year, the organization was headed by amiable William H. Taft, who developed a strong attachment for the Filipinos, calling them his “little brown brothers.”
The Americans tried to assimilate the Filipinos, but the islanders resisted; they finally got their independence on July 4, 1946.

Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba

The Foraker Act of 1900 gave Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government, and in 1917, Congress granted Puerto Ricans full American citizenship.

1) U.S. help also transformed Puerto Rico and worked wonders in sanitation, transportation, beauty, and education.

In the Insular Cases, the Supreme Court barely ruled that the Constitution did not have full authority on how to deal with the islands (Cuba and Puerto Rico), essentially letting Congress do whatever it wanted with them.
America could not improve Cuba that much, other than getting rid of yellow fever with the help of General Leonard Wood and Dr. Walter Reed.
In 1902, the U.S. did indeed walk away from Cuba, but it also encouraged Cuba to write and pass the Platt Amendment, which required Cuba to agree:

1)Never to sign a treaty with a foreign power that impaired its independence