“The Empire and the People” Part 1 Homework Questions

READ CHAPTER 12 (“THE EMPIRE AND THE PEOPLE) OF A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES(PAGES 297-310) AND ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN COMPLETE SENTENCES (2 SENTENCES PER QUESTION) ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER.

1. What were the two main reasons behind the drive to make the U.S. an imperial power? Explain each in a sentence.

2. Why does Zinn believe the U.S. intervened in the Cuban War of Independence? What evidence does he provide to support this argument?

3. Why were the Cuban rebels suspicious of U.S. intentions in entering the Cuban War of Independence? Why did the rebels ultimately support the U.S. in the Spanish-American War?

4. What did American businesses do as soon as the war was over? How did Cuban workers react? What was the U.S. government’s response to the workers’ actions?

“The Empire and the People” Part 2 Homework Questions

READ CHAPTER 12 (“THE EMPIRE AND THE PEOPLE) OF A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES(PAGES 311-320) AND ANSWER EACH OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN COMPLETE SENTENCES (2 SENTENCES PER QUESTION) ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER.

1. Why were Cubans opposed to the Platt Amendment? Why did they ultimately accept it?

2. What was the U.S. government’s justification behind making the Philippines into its colony? How did most Filipinos feel about this decision?

3. How did white U.S. soldiers treat the Filipino people during their suppression of the Filipino insurrection? How could white soldiers justify these actions?

4. What evidence supports the fact that Filipinos overwhelmingly opposed U.S. rule? How did black soldiers feel about their role in the war?

“The Empire and the People” Outline

  1. The Economic Reasons for Imperialism
  2. Why was there an economic depression in 1893? (297)
  1. Why did an economic depression lead to imperialism? (297)
  1. How did foreign wars serve the interests of the rich and powerful? (297)
  1. When did an American leader first suggest that the U.S. should become an imperial power? (297)
  1. Why did President Monroe make this statement? (297)
  1. Why did the U.S. government send American troops to foreign countries 103 times between 1798 and 1895? (298)
  1. What did Captain A.T. Mahan believe that the U.S. needed to do to become an imperial super-power? (298-299)
  1. Why did people like John Burgess believe the U.S. needed to expand? (299)
  1. What did the U.S. State Department say about the U.S. need to expand in 1898? (299-300)
  1. What did Theodore Roosevelt believe about American imperialism? (300)
  1. How did he feel about the overthrow of the Hawaiian government in 1893? (300)
  1. What did he think about lynching? (300)
  1. Why did American business people want to sell to foreign countries? (301)
  1. Did American businesses want the U.S. government to take over foreign countries at first? (301)
  1. When and why did they change their minds about this? (301)
  1. The American Interest in Cuba
  2. Why were American businesses and the U.S. government concerned about developments in Cuba? (302-303)
  1. Why did ordinary Americans identify with Cuban revolutionaries? (303)
  1. Why were some Americans opposed to an independent Cuba? (303)
  1. The Spanish-American War
  2. Why does historian Philip Foner believe the U.S. got involved in the Cuban War of Independence? (304)
  1. What did the U.S. send to Cuba to “monitor” the Cuban War of Independence? (304)
  1. What happened because of this in February 1898? (304)
  1. Why did this lead to war? (304)
  1. What did Congress do before the Spanish-American War to satisfy anti-imperialist critics of the war? (304)
  1. What did this amendment guarantee? (304)
  1. Who stood to benefit from the Spanish-American War? (305)
  2. How did these people advise President William McKinley? (305)
  1. What did McKinley do because of this? (305)
  1. How did Cuban rebels react to this announcement? (305)
  1. How did they react when the U.S. sent the first American troops to Cuba? (306)
  1. How did most American unions respond to the declaration of war against Spain? (306-307)
  1. How did Socialists react? (307-308)
  1. Why did most union members change position on the war once it got under way? (308)
  1. Why did 5000 soldiers die during the war? (308-309)
  1. The Consequences of the Spanish-American War
  2. How long did it take U.S. forces to defeat the Spanish? (309)
  1. How did the U.S. army treat the Cuban rebels after the Spanish surrendered? (309)
  1. Who did the Americans place in charge of the Cuban government at first? (309)
  1. What did American businesses do as soon as the war was over? (310)
  1. How much did businesses pay for Cuban land? (310)
  1. How did Cuban workers respond to their American bosses in September, 1899? (310)
  1. What did the U.S. military do about this? (310)
  1. How come the U.S. did not annex Cuba? (311)
  1. What did the U.S. government demand the Cuban Constitutional Convention do? (311)
  1. How did ordinary Cubans respond? (311)
  1. How did the Cuban Constitutional Convention first respond to American demands? (312)
  1. How did the U.S. force Cubans to accept the Platt Amendment? (312)
  1. What countries did the U.S. take as colonies after the Spanish-American War? (312)
  1. What did the U.S. agree to do in the peace treaty with Spain? (312)
  1. How did President McKinley justify taking the Philippines? (312-313)
  1. How did the Filipinos react to this? (313)
  1. Who led this movement? (313)
  1. How long did it take the U.S. to defeat the Filipino independence movement? (313)
  1. Which side fired the first shot? (314)
  1. How did U.S. soldiers defeat the Filipino rebels? (315)
  1. How did most soldiers view Filipinos? (315)
  1. How many Filipinos were killed in the war? (316)
  1. How were the Filipino rebels able to hold out against superior American forces for three years? (316-317)
  1. How were black soldiers treated during the Spanish-American War? (318)
  1. How did most of them feel about the war? (319)