.

“Naval Power Shapes History”

In 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan of the U.S.N., published a book called, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History.

Mahan studied the great world empires and concluded that all had great navies. Mahan suggested that naval power led to greatness.

(Greeks, Persians, Romans, Phoenicians, French, British ect.)

Mahan concluded that the United States would need to develop a powerful navy to become a powerful leader in the world.

3 main ideas of Influence of Sea Power Upon History

  • USA should build a large modern navy of warships
  • USA should acquire islands around the world to serve as coaling stations
  • USA should build a large fleet of merchant ships to transport coal

United States becomes a World Power

  • 1867: Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million or 02 cents per acre

(Pacific)

  • 1867: Midway Island(Pacific)

1898: Puerto Rico(Atlantic)

  • 1898: Philippine Islands (The U.S. paid Spain $20 million for the islands as a bribe to prevent future wars)

(Pacific)

  • 1898: Guam

(Pacific)

  • 1898: Hawaii

(Pacific)

  • 1898: Wake Island

(Pacific)

  • 1899: SamoaIslands

(Pacific)

  • 1914: Panama Canal Zone

(PacificAtlantic)

1917: Virgin Islands(Atlantic)

Trouble in Cuba

Spain controlled Cuba. - Fighting erupted as Spain tried to retain control of Cuba. Spain’s military governor was named General Valeriano Weyler. He was nicknamed, The Butcher.

(play scary music or evil laugh.)

General Weyler earned the nickname by torturing Cuban rebels. He amputated “sensitive” body appendages one piece at a time.

  1. [PDF]

William Randolph Hearst, an American newspaper publisher, began to print bloody pictures of the carnage in Cuba.

Hearst owned a newspaper in nearly every major urban region. Hearst developed a style of newspaper reporting called, yellow journalism.

YELLOW JOURNALISM : More shocking = More $$$$

YELLOW JOURNALISM : More shocking = More $$$$

Hearst sent his reporters & photographers into Cuba telling them, “You provide the pictures, and I’ll provide the war.”

President McKinleywas under pressure to do something about the trouble in Cuba. He responded by sending the largest, newest, most powerful warship in the U.S. Fleet off the coast of Havana, Cuba.

This ship was the U.S.S. Maine. The ship blew up in a massive explosion on

15 February 1898. The cause of the explosion was not known. There were four possible explanations.

Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine

  1. Cuban rebels blew up the ship thinking it was part of Spain’s navy.
  1. Spain attacked the ship
  1. An accidental coal dust explosion.
  1. Hearst was responsible for the explosion in hopes a war would break out and he could sell more newspapers.

Congress and the American people were outraged at the attack of the U.S.S. Maine. Spain was blamed and a war began, the Spanish-American War.

Quick Facts on the

Spanish-American War

  • began on 25 April 1898
  • Rough Riders were led by Colonel Leonard Wood. The 2nd in command was Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Roosevelt (TR)
  • ended on 12 August 1898
  • US received huge chunks of land from Spain

(Puerto Rico, Guam, Wake Island, Cuba, & Philippine Islands)

Teddy Roosevelt’s cool glasses

Morpheus from the Matrix

Power to the People

The Square Deal by T.R.

T.R. called his policies the Square Deal. Each was designed to return power to the people.

T.R. feared that too many corrupt leaders had taken power away from the average citizen.

Power to the people

  1. Recall: If the state legislature does not impeach, voters may remove corrupt officials from office in a special election.

(California recalled Governor Gray Davis on

07 October 2003. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California.)

Power to the people

  1. Referendum: Voters decide on an issue through an election

(Voters of Frankfort voted in a referendum to build a $41 million dollar school called

Hickory Creek.)

Power to the people

  1. Initiative: voters may place an issue on the legislature’s agenda and require a vote

(following a school bus tragedy voters placed an initiative requiring school buses to stop at railroad crossings)

Power to the people

  1. Direct Primary: Voters choose their candidates through a primary process rather than allowing corrupt bosses to make the choice
  1. The Meat Inspection Act of 1906: legislation to provide for safe food
  1. Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906: government standards for safe medical and food products
  1. Trustbuster: monopolies were broken up so consumers were not unfairly charged high prices
  1. T.R. had a cool Saint Bernard named, Rollo!