U.S. Imperialism

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U.S. Imperialism
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I. Imperialism

• The policy of conquering other nations to create
  an empire. The United States began to adopt
  imperialist ideas in the late 1800's.
• A. Seward's Folly-Secretary of State
  William H. Seward purchased Alaska for
  7.2 million from Russia in 1867.

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I. Imperialism

• B. Alfred Thayer Mahan-His book The Influence
  of Sea Power on History 1660-1783 convinced
  leaders that naval power was very important.

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I. Imperialism

• C. Reasons for Expansion
• 1. New foreign markets for trade
• 2. Anglo-Saxon "superiority" or the "white
  man's burden"
• 3. Sea Power

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II. The Spanish-American War 1898

• A. Cuban Independence-Cubans are led by Jose
  Marti in 1895. Yellow journalists like Hearst
  and Pulitzer exaggerated stories of Spanish
  actions in Cuba. These stories caused many
  Americans to want to go to war with Spain.

Yellow Journalists Pulitzer and Hearst
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II. The Spanish-American War 1898

• B. The Road to War
• President William McKinley did not want to go to
  war.
• Two events led America into War
• 1. de Lome Letter-The Spanish minister to the
  U.S. wrote a letter calling McKinley "weak."
  This letter was stolen and published in the
  papers.
• 2. U.S.S. Maine-warship was anchored in Havana
  harbor. It exploded Feb. 15, 1898 killing 260
  American men.
• The U.S. declared war on April 20, 1898.

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II. The Spanish-American War 1898

• C. The Phillipines-Admiral George Dewey led the
  Pacific Fleet into Manila Bay and destroyed the
  Spanish forces there.
• D. Cuban Invasion-Theodore Roosevelt resigns as
  assistant secretary of the Navy, then organizes
  a group of former soldiers called the Rough
  Riders to fight in Cuba. U.S. forces win the
  Battle of San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898.
• E. Treaty of Paris of 1898-ended war between
  Spain U.S..

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• A. New Possessions
• Puerto Rico Guam become territories.
• U.S. paid Spain 20 million and took over the
  Philippines.
• Cuba became a protectorate (a country who
  makes its own laws but is controlled by
  another country.)

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism
Uncle Sam swelling from all the additions
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III. The Fruits of Imperialism
Uncle Sam swelling from all the additions
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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• B. Platt Amendment-1901
• Set rules for Cuba to follow.
• 1. Cuba would make no treaties to limit its own
  independence.
• 2. Cuba could not allow any foreign power to
  control any part of its territory.
• 3. U.S. could intervene in Cuban affairs

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• B. Platt Amendment-1901
• Set rules for Cuba to follow.
• 4. Cuba could not go into debt.
• 5. U.S. could buy or lease Cuban land.
• U.S. also established a naval base at Guantanamo
  Bay in 1903.
• U.S. also gave loans to the Cuban government
  and U.S. corporations invested money in Cuban
  industry and business.

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• C. Puerto Rico-became a commonwealth (A country
  that makes its own laws and handles its own
  finances while the U.S. takes care of defense
  and tariffs.)

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• D. Hawaii-was full of American sugar planters.
  A new monarch, Queen Liliuokalani, wanted to
  kick them out. She wanted "Hawaii for
  Hawaiians."
• - A revolution was organized by John
  Stevens, the U.S. minister to Hawaii, and
  supported by Marines.
• -Hawaii became a U.S. territory on August 12,
  1898.

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• E. Philippine Conflict
• William Howard Taft was the civilian governor
  from 1901-1904
• Emilio Aguinaldo led a group of Filipino rebels
  in a guerrilla war against their American
  rulers to gain their true independence.
• Conflict continued periodically until the
  Philippines became an independent republic in
  1946.

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• F. Panama Canal-U.S. wanted to build a canal
  but the Columbian government would not allow
  it. The U.S. supported a revolution in the
  province of Panama and helped the country become
  independent. We then negotiated a deal with the
  new Panamanian government in 1903.
• -The Panama Canal was an incredible feat of
  engineering and it gave the U.S. some very
  valuable property in Latin America.

Illustration of the Locks
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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• G. Policies on Latin America
• 1. Roosevelt Corollary-1904-Theodore Roosevelt
  extended the Monroe Doctrine with his speech
  about American power. He said that the United
  States should be the "policemen" of the
  Western Hemisphere. Meant that we would
  intervene in all problems in North and South
  America.
• Speak softly and carry a big stick His
  approach became known as Big Stick Diplomacy

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III. The Fruits of Imperialism

• G. Policies on Latin America
• 2. Dollar Diplomacy-Taft-policy of using the
  United States government to guarantee loans
  made to foreign governments. Gave The United
  States financial interest power in Latin
  America

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IV. Problems with Mexico

• A. 1911-1913-Mexican government had been
  overthrown 2 times and the new leader, General
  Victoriano Huerta, favored the wealthy and
  foreign investors while many citizens were
  living in poverty and were being treated
  unfairly.
• B. Moral Diplomacy-Woodrow Wilson tried to aid
  morality to foreign affairs and refused to back
  Huerta. He sent the military to support
  Carranza, and forced Huerta to resign.

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IV. Problems with Mexico

• C. Pancho Villa-Revolutionary who led an
  uprising against the new government and also
  came across the border to raid the town of
  Columbus, New Mexico. President Wilson sent
  John J. Pershing to capture Pancho Villa. After
  a year of pursuing him, his forces came back to
  the U.S. without him. He is viewed as a folk
  hero in Mexican history

Pancho Villa
John J. Pershing
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V. Problems with China

• Chinese markets were the prize for controlling
  Pacific trade.
• A. Spheres of Influence-These were areas in
  China where foreign nations had special rights
  and powers. The U.S. had none. Sec. of State
  John Hay promoted the Open Door Policy which
  meant that foreign nations could trade anywhere
  in China. It was adopted in 1899.
• B. Boxer Rebellion-1899-1901-Native Chinese led
  a revolt against foreign businessmen, killing
  hundreds. This led to new treaties respecting
  Chinese independence.

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VI. Problems with Japan
Teddy Roosevelts Great White Fleet

• A. Russo-Japanese War, 1905-This war between
  Russia and Japan ended as Theodore Roosevelt
  helped the Japanese. Their victory led to the
  emergence of Japan as the strongest nation in
  the Pacific and their relations with the US
  suddenly went downhill.
• B. The Great White Fleet-To show American
  naval power, President Roosevelt sent 16
  battleships on a cruise around the world. This
  display was intended to impress the Japanese and
  other nations.