American Imperialism

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American Imperialism

• From Isolationism to Internationalism

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American Emergence as a World Power

• End of 19th Century
• American Businessmen believed there were two
  things to be gained from international trade
• Huge Profits for corporations
• Economic Prosperity for the US

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Isolationism

• A policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs
• Based on George Washingtons farewell address
  (1796)
• It is our true policy to steer clear of
  permanent alliances with any portion of the
  foreign world
• This set a precedent for isolationist policy

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And then.The Monroe Doctrine

• 1820s modified its commitment to isolationism
  Monroe Doctrine
• Warned against new European colonization in the
  Americas
• Declared the US the protector of the entire
  Western hemisphere

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But

• Even though we expanded our foreign policy with
  the Monroe Doctrine, Isolationism remained the
  basis of foreign policy until the end of the 19th
  century
• As the nation industrialized, American
  businessmen and politicians looked more and more
  at foreign markets as a source of profits.

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Age of American Imperialism

• Imperialism - The act of one nation gaining
  political or economic control over another
• Age of Imperialism end of the late 19th century
  and early 20th century
• During this period, the United States gained
  control over Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico
  and the Virgin Islands

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Why Imperialism
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Economic ImperialismOpen Door Policy

• 1899 - President William McKinley and Secretary
  of State John Hay
• All nations should have equal trading rights in
  China and no single nation would dominate
• Other countries already had settlements and
  spheres of influence which US feared would shut
  out trade

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Foreign Influence in China
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Economic ImperialismOpen Door Policy Why?

1. Americans believed health of US economy depended
   on exports
2. US had the right to intervene to keep foreign
   markets open
3. Feared that closing an area to American trade
   threatened US products, citizens and ideas
   which threatened American survival

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Economic ImperialismDollar Diplomacy

• Developed by William H. Taft
• Encouraged American banks and corporations to
  invest in Latin America (includes both Central
  and South America)
• Promised the US would intervene if local unrest
  threatened business investments.

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Political Imperialism

• Three major examples of political imperialism
  during the end of the 19th and beginning of the
  20th century
• Annexation of Hawaii
• Acquisition of the Philippines Puerto Rico
• American Involvement in the Panama Canal

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Political Imperialism Annexation of Hawaii

• Since 1790s merchants had stopped their on their
  way to China and East India
• 1820s Yankee missionaries founded Christian
  schools and churches on the islands
• Their children grandchildren established sugar
  plantations sold their crop to the U.S. and
  would control 75 of the wealth of the islands
• 1867 U.S. took over Midway Islands (1300 miles
  north of Hawaii)

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Hawaii
1887 pressured Hawaii to allow the U.S. to
build a naval base at Pearl Harbor
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End of a Monarchy
1887 King Kalakaua was forced to amend Hawaiis
constitution, limiting voting rights to only
wealthy landowners
1891 King Kalakaua died and Liliuokalani, his
sister became queen
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End of a Monarchy

• Queen Lil proposed removing the property-owning
  qualification for voting
• To stop what she was trying to do, a revolution
  was organized upon the insistence of Ambassador
  John L. Stevens
• Marines help to overthrow the Queen and
  government set up a government led by Sanford
  Dole
• Hawaii Declared a territory in 1898 50th state
  in 1959

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About Alaska

• William H. Seward, Secretary of State under
  Lincoln and Johnson acquired Alaska for 7.2
  million from Russia (about 2 cents an acre)
• Often called Sewards Folly because people
  thought it was silly to buy the territory
• In 1959, Alaska became a state and America
  acquired a land rich in timber, minerals (gold),
  oil

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Sewards Folly
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Sewards Folly
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Spanish American War

• 1898 U.S. went to war to help Cuba win its
  independence from Spain
• U.S. involvement in Latin American and Asia
  increased greatly as a result of the war and
  continues today

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Cuba Rebels Against Spain

• Spain losing most of its colonies by the end of
  the 19th century
• Spains colonies
• Philippines
• Guam
• Some outposts in Africa
• Cuba
• Puerto Rico

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The U.S.S. Maine Explodes

• 1898 McKinley ordered the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba
  to bring home American citizens in danger from
  the fighting and to protect Americans property
• February 15, 1898 the ship exploded in Havana
  harbor killing more than 260 men
• Not really known why the ship exploded
• 1898 American newspapers claimed the Spanish
  had blown up the ship
• 50,000 dollars offered for the capture of the
  Spaniards who blew up the ship

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The U.S.S. Maine Explodes
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The U.S.S. Maine Explodes
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War with Spain Erupts

• Remember the Maine became the rallying cry for
  U.S. intervention in Cuba
• April 11, 1898 McKinley asked Congress for the
  authority to use force against Spain
• April 20, 1898 Congress agreed and the U.S.
  declared war on Spain

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The War in the Philippines

• Spanish believed the U.S. would invade Cuba -
  but U.S. chose to fight in the Philippines first
• April 30th Commodore George Dewey steamed into
  the harbor - May 1st gave command to open fire
  on the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay
• Quick victory for the US

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The War in the Philippines

• Dewey had the support of the Filipinos who also
  wanted freedom from Spain
• Over next 2 months 11,000 Americans joined
  forces with Filipino rebels led by Emilio
  Aguinaldo
• August 1898 Spanish troops surrendered to U.S.
  forces

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The Caribbean Rough Riders

• June 1898 American forces land in Cuba heading
  towards Santiago (de Cuba)
• Army 17,000 men including 4 African-American
  regiments
• Rough Riders volunteer cavalry under the
  command of Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt
• July 1st Rough Riders and 2 African-American
  regiments charge up Kettle Hill
• Victory cleared the way for infantry to attack
  San Juan Hill

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Rough Riders

• July 3rd Spanish fleet tries to escape
• Naval battle occurs and ends in the destruction
  of the Spanish fleet
• July 25th America invades Puerto Rico

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Rough Riders
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Treaty of Paris

• August 12th U.S. and Spain sign an armistice
• December 10th U.S. and Spain met in Paris to
  agree on a treaty
• Spain turned over Cuba, Guam and Puerto Rico to
  the U.S.
• U.S. bought the Philippines for 20 million

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Platt Amendment

• 1900 Cuba wrote a constitution for an
  independent government
• Constitution did not specify the relationship
  between the U.S. and Cuba
• 1901 U.S. insisted on the Platt Amendment
• Cuba could not make treaties that would limit its
  independence or permit a foreign power to take
  control of any part of its territory
• U.S. reserved the right to intervene in Cuba
• Cuba was not to go into debt
• U.S. could buy or lease land on the island for
  naval stations and refueling stations

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Platt Amendment

• U.S. refused to withdraw its troops without the
  passage of the Platt Amendment
• Cubans were outraged by the amendment and
  protested but the U.S. stood firm
• 1903 Platt Amendment was ratified and remained
  in effect for 31 years
• Cuba became a U.S. protectorate

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Panama Canal

• November 18, 1903 U.S. and Panama signed a
  treaty negotiated by Theodore Roosevelt
• U.S. would pay Panama 10 million plus an annual
  rent of 250,000 for an area across Panama the
  Canal Zone
• Payment began in 1913
• Canal ranks as one of the worlds greatest
  engineering feats
• Builders fought diseases, and soft volcanic soil

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Panama Canal
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Panama Canal
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Panama Canal

• 1913 height of construction
• 43,400 workers
• ¾ were blacks from the British West Indies
• 5,600 workers died from accidents or disease
• Total cost to U.S. 380 million
• August 15, 1914 canal open for business
• 1,000 merchant ships passed through the 1st year

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The Roosevelt Corollary

• Late 19th century Latin American nations
  borrowing huge sums of money from European banks
• U.S. feared if they defaulted that Europeans
  would intervene
• Roosevelt wanted U.S. to be the dominant power in
  the Caribbean and Central America

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The Roosevelt Corollary
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The Roosevelt Corollary

• December 1904 Roosevelt Corollary was added to
  the Monroe Doctrine
• Warned that disorder in Latin American might
  force the United States to the exercise of an
  international police power
• U.S. would not use force to protects its economic
  interest in Latin America
• This was consistent with Theodore Roosevelt's
  foreign policy Speak softly and carry a big
  stick African proverb