American Imperialism

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American Imperialism

• the policy of extending the rule or authority
  of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or
  of acquiring and holding colonies and
  dependencies.
• Source dictionary.com

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Alfred Thayer Mahan
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Why did the United States Expand?
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Manifest Destiny and the Closing of the Frontier
Frederick Jackson Turner
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The Turner Theses
Thesis Synopsis Turner Quote
The Frontier The frontier thesis is the assertion that the American character, including such traits as democracy and materialism, derived from the frontier experience. "The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement, explain American development."
The Safety Valve The safety valve thesis is the assertion that the frontier, as a place of opportunity and escape, defused social discontent in America. "So long as free land exists, the opportunity for a competency exists, and economic power secures political power."
Successive Frontiers Turner said that in the development of any frontier area, one phase of economic and social development followed another in distinct stages. This is the concept of successive frontiers. "Stand at Cumberland Gap and watch the procession of civilization, marching single file--the buffalo following the trail to the salt springs, the Indian, the fur-trader and hunter, the cattle-raiser, the pioneer farmer--and the frontier has passed by. Stand at South Pass in the Rockies a century later and see the same procession with wider intervals between."
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Social Darwinism
www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk
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Other Reasons for Expansion

• Missionary Spirit
• Economic Factors/Free Trade
• New Technology

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Basis Causes of the Spanish-American War

• Economics
• Humanitarian Needs
• Expansionist Beliefs

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Immediate Causes of the War

• Jingoism
• Yellow Journalism
• DeLome Letter
• Sinking of the Maine

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The War and its Results

• 10 weeks of fighting
• April 1898 armistice signed
• Teller Amendment promised U.S. would not annex
  Cuba
• Treaty of Paris (1898)
• Granted Cuba its independence
• U.S. purchased the Philippines for 20 million
• Ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the U.S.

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Governing the Territories

• Hawaii was made a territory in 1903
• 1934 promise made to Philippines for
  independence honored in 1946
• Foraker Act (1900)
• Provided for a Puerto Rican legislature
• U.S. citizenship in 1917
• Named a commonwealth in 1948

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U.S. as World Power

• Panama Canal
• Expansion of the Monroe Doctrine
• Venezuelan Border Dispute (1895)
• Roosevelt Corollary (1904)

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U.S. Interventionism

• Platt Amendment (1901)
• Required U.S. approval of Cubas treaties
• Lease naval base (Guantanamo)
• Intervention for peace preservation

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U.S. Interventionism

• Dollar Diplomacy (Taft)
• Moral Diplomacy (Wilson)
• Good Neighbor Policy (Hoover and FDR)

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U.S. and Asia

• China
• Open Door Policy
• Boxer Rebellion (1900)

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• Step 1 Document Analysis
• Each group member should examine ONE of the
  following documents. You will debate annexation
  of the Philippines from the perspective of the
  writer of your document. Make sure your group
  includes at least one pro-annexation, one
  anti-annexation, and one Filipino perspective.
  After reading your assigned document, skim the
  other ones.
• 1. U.S. President William McKinley interview
  excerpt published in 1903.
• 2. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate William
  Jennings Bryan.
• 3. Senator Alfred Beveridge (Republican-Indiana)
• 4. Colored Citizens of Boston (The Boston Post,
  July 18, 1899)
• 5. Emilio Aguinaldo (President of the Independent
  Philippine Republic)
• 6. Clemencia Lopez (An Activist in the Philippine
  Struggle for Independence)

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• Step 2 Prepare to Debate
• Prepare to debate, from the perspective of your
  character, by answering the following questions
• 1. What is the name of your character (i.e.,
  author of your document)?
• 2. What position is your character taking on the
  question of annexation (making the Philippines
  part of the United States)? What are his / her
  reasons?
• 3. What more would you like to know about your
  character?
• 4. Why do you think your character thinks the way
  he / she does? What would it take to change his /
  her thinking somewhat?
• 5. What are some of the reasons on the other side
  of the argument?
• 6. If your character had to try to reach a
  consensus or compromise with others who disagree,
  what kind of compromise would your character be
  willing to accept? What would he /she not be
  willing to compromise on?

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• Step 3 Choosing a recorder
• Make a chart with space for reasons for and
  against U.S. annexation of the Philippines.
  Choose someone to record these reasons during the
  debate.

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• Step 4 Presenting the views from the documents
• Each group member, pretending they are the person
  who wrote their assigned document, should present
  that persons view on annexation to the rest of
  the group.

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• Step 5 Debate
• When everyone has presented their view, continue
  discussing and debating the question of U.S.
  annexation. Use the documents and their authors
  as the basis for your debate. In other words, try
  to STAY IN CHARACTER!

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• Step 6 Reaching a consensus
• By the end of the debate, group members should
  try to reach a consensus-a compromise on which
  everyone can agree-about what position the U.S.
  should take on the question of annexation.
  Participants should refer to their answers from
  Step 2.

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• Step 7 Report to the class

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• Assignment Newspaper Editorial or Illustration
• Editorial Response Do you believe imperialism
  is the right course of action for the United
  States in 1905? Cite a minimum of 3 specific
  pieces of evidence to support your argument.
  Minimum 250 words
• Illustration Your illustration may be in black
  and white or in color. It should convey your
  opinion on the issue of imperialism. You will be
  graded on both your artistry and idea.