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Chapter 5
Chapter 5 – Becoming a World Power (1890-1917)
I. The Pressure to Expand
A. Growth of Imperialism
o The late 1800s marked the peak of European imperialism, with much of Africa and Asia under foreign domination
o DEFNE imperialism –
o DEFINE protectorates
1. Why Imperialism Grew? (several factors)
EconomicNationalistic
Military Factors
Humanitarian Factors
2. Europe leads the Way
o Improved transportation and communication made it easier for England, France and Russia to extend their grip over lands.
o What was the famous quote about the British Empire?
o Tariffs had reduced trade among industrialized nations.
o By 1890, the US was eager to join the competition for new territories and the cry for annexing foreign lands began. To add or join land
B. Expanding US Interests
Ø In Washington’s Farewell address, he warned against making alliances with foreign countries and European affairs.
Ø What were the reasons why Americans followed this advice for over 100 years?
Ø The Monroe Doctrine was the main principle of foreign policy in the United States.
Ø After the Civil War, American secretaries of state continued to apply the principles of the Monroe Doctrine
1. What 2 actions did William Seward take?
2. What did Matthew Perry accomplish?
3. Midway Islands were annexed in 1867 and trade agreements were made with Hawaiian Islands.
C. Arguments for US Expansion
1. Promoting Economic Growth
o Americans could not consume all the goods being produced by US industries and this led to financial panics and depressions.
o Many business leaders agreed that by expanding markets, economic problems could be fixed. DEFINE banana republics
2. Protecting American Security
o Many felt that strong navy was vital to the push for expansion.
o Who was Alfred T. Mahan?
o The government began expanding the Navy and by 1900 the United States had one of the most powerful navies in the world.
o What did this mean?
3. Preserving American Spirit
o A 3rd force for expansion consisted of people who feared that the US was losing its vitality.
o Some of these people included Frederick Jackson Turner, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Teddy Roosevelt.
o Explain the idea of “Social Darwinism”?
4. Americans Lean Toward Expansion
o Gradually public opinion warmed to the idea of expansionism and they liked the idea of new markets and favorable trade relations.
II. The Spanish-American War
A. Setting the Stage for War
Ø American expansionists paid close attention to the political and economic actions of countries in the Western Hemisphere
Ø Secretary of State James G. Blaine – Pan Americanism –
1. Displays of United States Power
q After 2 US sailors were killed in Chile, the US demanded the Chilean government to pay the families $75,000.
q The US used its navy to protect its shipping interests in Brazil, which broke the back of a rebellion in that country.
q What was the outcome and importance of the standoff with Great Britain over Venezuela?
q DEFINE arbitration
2. The Cuban Rebellion
q In 1895, after the island’s economy had collapsed, the Cubans rebelled.
q How did Spain react to this?
q Cuban exiles in the states urged the US to intervene, but both Presidents Cleveland and McKinley refused to help – so what did the rebels do?
3. Yellow Journalism
q Demands for US intervention in Cuba also came in large part from American newspapers – New York World + New York Morning Journal
q Yellow Journalism –
q Both newspapers reported exaggerated and sometimes false stories about the events in Cuba – Why did they do this?
Ø Both Hearst and Pulitzer took advantage of the horrifying stories about ‘Butcher” Wyler and his barbed wire concentration camps.
Ø What was the impact on Americans and define Jingoism? –
B. The Spanish-American War
Ø With the stories in the papers, the demand for US intervention began to build.
1. Steps to War
q Early in 1898, riots erupted in Havana, the capital of Cuba.
q Spain offers Cubans autonomy
q Autonomy –
q Cuba must remain part of the Spanish Empire
q Rebels refused to negotiate
q In response, President McKinley moved the battleship USS Maine into the city’s harbor to protect American citizens and property.
q Several events followed that pushed the US to war:
a. The de Lome letter
- Dupuy se Lome (Spanish ambassador to the US) wrote a letter that criticized McKinley “as weak” and newspapers published this letter.
- The letter caused an outcry in the US and furthered anti-Spanish feelings amongst Americans.
b. The explosion of the Maine - EXPLAIN what happened
c. Preparing in the Philippines
- Teddy Roosevelt (assistant Sec of Navy) ordered the fleet in the Philippines to prepare for military action against Spain.
- Who was ordered to attack the Spanish fleet?
d. McKinley’s War Message
- McKinley sent a list of demands to Spain (including Cuban independence) but Spain would not allow Cuba to go
- Jingoism within the Republican Party
- Jingoism –
- On April 11, McKinley sent his war message to Congress
- What was the rallying cry of the war?
-
2. “A Splendid Little War”
q The war’s first action took place in the Philippines where Admiral Dewey destroyed the entire Spanish fleet in Manila Bay.
q McKinley Surprised by quick victory
q 20,000 troops sail to Philippines
q Americans seize Guam on their way
q The Army was not prepared for war
q Army recruited volunteers
q Volunteers – a person who joined the military by choice
q American troops prepared in Tampa for the invasion of Cuba.
q Who were the ‘Rough Riders”?
q Spanish fleet made an attempt to escape Santiago Harbor, but the US navy sunk every ship
q 2500 Americans died in the war (400 in battle) most from disease.
3. The Treaty of Paris – December 1898
q Cuba independent, US paid $20 million for Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam – became “unincorporated territories” - EXPLAIN not states
q The United States had become an imperial power
C. New Challenges After the War
Ø How could the US become a colonial power without violating the nation’s most basic principle - that all people have the right to liberty?
1. Dilemma in the Philippines
q McKinley felt that if the US did not act first, European powers might try to seize the islands and new conflicts could result.
q Filipino rebels who fought side by side with expected their independence from the US – who was their leader?
q This led to a bitter 3-year war between the rebels and the Americans.
q William Howard Taft became the first US civilian governor
q Tried to win people over by improving education, transportation, and health care
q When did the Philippines get their independence?
2. The Fate of Cuba
q Cubans also wanted their independence, but McKinley established a military government led by General Leonard Wood.
q What did Walter Reed do in Cuba?
q In 1900 the Cubans were allowed to begin writing their own constitution.
q What was the Platt Amendment to this constitution?
3. The United States in Puerto Rico
q Puerto Rico never got its independence, but the US helped develop its infrastructure and education system.
q Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship in 1917 (Jones Act), not full citizenship because the US Constitution did not apply to territories.
q 1947 elect their own governor
q Debate began should Puerto Rico become a state or independent or continue as a self-governing commonwealth.
D. Other Gains in the Pacific
Ø The US government intervened in other parts of the Pacific and this intervention brought about changes in the relationships with Hawaii, Samoa and China.
1. Annexation of Hawaii
q The US had good trade relations with the Hawaiian King Kalakaua, but when he died his sister Liliuokalani resisted American wishes.
q Sugar plantations and Hawaiin sugar exempt from sugar tariffs
q With the help of the Marines, who removed the queen in 1893?
q Hawaii would provide a good naval station (Pearl Harbor) in the Pacific.
q United States annexed Hawaii in 1898
2. Samoa
q The Polynesian islands of Samoa represented another possible stepping-stone to the growing trade with Asia.
q Refueling and resupply stop in Pacific
q One of the finest harbors in the South Pacific
q 1878 U.S. negotiates permission to open a base
3. An Open Door in China
q China’s huge population and its vast markets became increasingly important to American trade by the late 1800s.
q DEFINE spheres of influence
q What was the Open Door Policy – U.S. gets access to trade in China
q DEFINE Open Door Policy?
4. The Boxer Rebellion
q Access – freedom or ability to obtain or make use of
q Chinese societies fought foreign control or influence
q Boxers- The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists
q 1900 group decided to destroy both the “foreign devils” and Chinese Christian converts
q Chinese troops along with Boxers attacked foreign embassies killed 200 foreigners and the German ambassodor
q Germany, Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Italy, Russia, and the United States intervened by rescuing foreigners and ended the rebellion
q European powers decided not to partition China
q China paid for damages
q United States retained access to China’s trade (tea, spices, silk)
q Gained larger markets for its goods
III. A New Foreign Policy
A. The Panama Canal
Ø Vital to U.S. power in the world
Ø The Spanish-American War brought home the need for a shorter route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. What were the 2 main reasons?
i.
ii.
1. Building the Canal
q The Isthmus of Panama was an ideal location, but it was a province of Colombia.
q A French company bought a 25-year concession (DEFINE) to build a canal across Panama; but what happened?
q The US picked up where the French left off, but had a difficult time working out a deal with Columbia for a lease on the land.
q How did the US eventually get the land for the canal?
q Surgeon General William Crawford Gorgas helped maintain a Canal Zone in which mosquitoes could not live
q Minimized the disease
q Construction began in 1904 and was finished ahead of schedule in 1914.
2. Reaction to the Canal
q Roosevelt’s opponents did not appreciate the methods he had used to secure the Canal Zone.
q Most Americans approved because they were convinced that the canal was vital to American national security and interests.
q What was the legacy of this acquisition?
B. Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy
Ø Roosevelt’s famous quote “Speak softly and carry a big stick; and you will go far” set the tone for US policy. The “big stick” referred to?
1. The Roosevelt Corollary: 1904-05
q Roosevelt Corollary –
q Roosevelt denied that the US wanted any more territory.
q Latin America owed large debts to European banks.
q 1902 Venezuela defaults on its debts
q 1902 Britain, Germany and Italy blockaded Venezuelan ports
q The US wanted only “to see neighboring countries stable, orderly, and prosperous” – what would happen if this was not the case?
q The first successful test of this was with Santo Domingo when an economic crisis forced the US to take over the country’s finances.
2. Roosevelt as Peacemaker
q Keeping an “Open Door” in China was key.
q What war threatened trade in Asia?
q Roosevelt negotiated a peace between the warring countries and he won the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts.
C. Foreign Policy After Roosevelt
Ø Roosevelt’s successors where thrown into a complex mix of political alliances and world events that would require careful and creative policymaking.
1. Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
q William H. Taft succeeded Roosevelt, but was not aggressive in foreign policy aims as his predecessor.
q 1911 American bankers began making loans to Nicaragua
q Taft wanted to substitute “dollars for bullets”; which later became known as Dollar Diplomacy
q Dollar Diplomacy –
q U.S. Marines enter Nicaragua to help with civil unrest
2. Woodrow Wilson’s Diplomacy in Mexico
Ø The Mexican Revolution
q Porfirio Diaz (dictator) ruled Mexico for 30 years
q Most Mexicans poor and landless
q Francisco Madero led a revolution
q 1913 General Victoriano Huerta seized power and murdered Madero
q Wilson wanted to overthrow Huerta
q Wilson refuse to recognize the government
q Would have to establish a government based on law and not force
q Wilson orders navy to intercept arm shipments to Huerta
Ø Wilson sends troops to Mexico
q April 1914 American sailors arrested in Mexican city
q Learned German ship was unloading weapons
q U.S. Marines seize Vera Cruz
q Mexican forces conducted raids into the U.S.
q Pancho Villa burned Columbus, New Mexico killing 17 Americans
q General John J. Pershing tried but could not capture Pancho Villa
q 1914 negotiated naval bases in Nicaragua
q 1915 put down Haiti rebellion
q Marines remained there until 1934
q 1916 sent troops to the Dominican Republic to set up a government
IV. Debating America’s New Role
A. The Anti-Imperialists
Ø In November 1898 opponents of US policy in the Philippines established the Anti-imperialist League.
1. Moral and Political Arguments
q They argued that expansionist behavior was a rejection of the nation’s foundation of “liberty for all”.
q What was the ‘Constitution must follow the flag..’ argument?
2. Racial Arguments
q Racism = is a belief that differences in character or intelligence are due to one’s race.
q Many Americans of this period believed that people of Anglo-Saxon heritage were superior to other races.
q Why did southern Democrats oppose imperialism?
3. Economic Arguments
q Expansion cost too much, especially militarily, and might even led to compulsory (required) military service.