Introduction to American Imperialism and the Spanish American War

So…what is imperialism?

  • Imperialism: the policy in which stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories.
  • BUT WHY?   * Desire for military strength   * Thirst for new markets   * Belief in cultural superiority

Desire for Military Strength

  • Admiral Alfred T. Mahan of the U.S. Navy urged government officials to build up American naval power in order to compete with other powerful nations   * United States built nine steel-hulled cruisers between 1883 and 1890.
  • Early 1900s → the US “Great White Fleet” sails around the world to show off the third largest naval fleet in the world.

Thirst for New Markets

  • The United States needed raw materials for its factories and new markets for its agricultural and manufactured goods.
  • Imperialists felt that a worldwide trade network anchored by U.S. colonies and trading posts could provide the country with the economic growth it needed.

Belief in Cultural Superiority

  • Some Americans combined the philosophy of Social Darwinism- a belief that free-market competition would lead to the survival of the fittest- with a belief in the racial superiority of Anglo-Saxons.
  • They argued that the U.S. had a responsibility to spread Christianity and democracy to “civilize” the world’s “inferior peoples”.

Seward’s Folly- Acquiring Alaska

  • In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward arranged for the U.S. to buy Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million.   * Some people thought it was silly to buy what they called “Seward’s Icebox” or “Seward’s folly”.
  • In 1956 → Alaska becomes the 49th state in the Union.   * For the two cents an acre, the U.S> had acquired a land rich of timber, minerals, and, as it turned out, oil.

The Importance of Hawaii

  • The Hawaiian Islands had been economically important to the U.S. for nearly a century.   * Halfway point to Asia- important for fueling   * Pearl Harbor- American Naval Headquarters in the Pacific   * Tropical Climate- American planters move to grow sugar cane and make money!
  • Then the McKinley Tariff of 1890 provoked a crisis by eliminating the duty-free status of Hawaiian sugar.   * American planters in Hawaii called for the U.S. to annex the islands so they wouldn’t have to pay the duty.

Overthrowing a Monarch

  • In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani came to power with a “Hawaii for Hawaiians” agenda.   * She proposed removing the property-owning qualifications for voting.
  • To prevent this from happening, business groups- with the help of the Marines- overthrew the Queen and set up a government headed by Sanford B. Dole.
  • On Aug. 12, 1898, Congress proclaimed Hawaii an American territory.   * Hawaii becomes a state in 1959.

Anti-Imperialism Emerges

  • Anti-Imperialist League → included some of the most prominent people in America, such as former president Grover Cleveland, industrial leader Andrew Carnegie, labor leader Samuel Gompers, and social worker Jane Addams.
  • Concerns included the impact of imperialism on American Labor, foreign relationships with European Powers, and the concern of the U.S. to rule other people without their consent.

Spanish American War

April 21, 1898 - December 10, 1989

Spanish American War Overview

  • Was a 1898 conflict between the U.S. and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas.
  • Resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.
  • The first U.S. and European conflict since the War of 1812.

Causes of the War

  • Cuba and the Philippine Islands revolted against Spain
  • Yellow Journalism
  • De Lôme Letter
  • Protection of American business interests in Cuba
  • Explosion of the Maine

Cuba Revolts

  • For 10 years leading to the war, Cubans began to revolt   * Lack of representation   * High taxes
  • General Weyler is put in charge by Spain to stop the rebellion

Re-concentration Policy

General Valeriano Weyler understood very quickly that the key to a Spanish victory over the insurgents was to strip the guerrillas of their abilities to live off the land and camouflage themselves in groups of civilians. To this end, he began a policy of moving Cuban civilians to central locations where they would be under the control of the Spanish Army. In addition, he put the entire island under martial law.

The policy had disastrous consequences. Unlike many concentration camps in the twentieth century, the idea was to keep the Cuban civilians alive and protected until the Spanish were victorious. Unfortunately at least 30% perished from lack of proper food, sanitary conditions, and medicines. The policy generated severe anti-Spanish feeling in the U.S. which helped propel it into war in 1898. Finally, it did not benefit the Spanish in the war.

Cuba and the Philippine Islands

  • Between 1895 and 1898 Cuba and the Philippine Islands revolted against Spain.
  • On April 9, an armistice was announced by Spain   * It was supposed to grant Cuba limited powers of self-government.
  • Soon afterward the U.S. Congress issued the Teller Amendment.   * Declared Cuba’s right to independence   * Demanded the withdrawal of Spain’s armed forces from the island.   * Authorized the use of force by President William McKinley to secure that withdrawal while stating it would not annex Cuba and that Cuban people would have independence.
Teller Amendment (Apr. 19, 1898)
  • Congress passed the Teller Amendment which states that no matter the outcome of the war, the country could not annex Cuba.
  • Signed at the start of the war.
  • American withdrew…BUT
  • This amendment will soon be replaced by the Platt Amendment.

Yellow Journalism

  • The term was created due to a rivalry between two of the biggest newspapers at the time:   * Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World   * William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal
  • Journalism that relies on eye-catching headlines, exaggerations, and sensationalism to increase sales.
  • Promoted Jingoism- aggressive and proactive foreign policy (pro-imperialism)

De Lôme Letter

  • Written by the Spanish Ambassador to the U.S., Enrique Dupuy de Lôme (published February 1898)   * The letter included criticism of the American President William McKinley by calling him weak and concerned only with gaining the favor of the crowd.   * When the letter was published it helped generate public support for a war with Spain over the issue of independence for the Spanish colony of Cuba.

Explosion of the Maine

  • Unexplained sinking of the American battleship USS Maine in the Havana harbor   * The USS Maine had been sent to protect U.S. citizens and property after there was anti-Spanish rioting in Havana.

The War

  • The war was one-sided   * Spain was not prepared with an army or navy for a distant war with a world power like the U.S.
  • Battle Manilla Bay   * May 1, 1898 → U.S. naval squadron in the Philippines   * Led by Commodore George Dewey
  • Invasion of Cuba   * July 3rd   * Army of regular troops and volunteers under Gen. William Shafter, Navy under Theodore Roosevelt and his 1st Volunteer Cavalry, the “Rough Riders”.   * Santiago, all of the Spanish ships came under heavy fire from U.S. guns and either burned or sunk.   * The Spanish surrendered on July 17, 1898.

Black Soldiers in the Spanish American War

  • Large percentage of invading American force was African American, also known as Buffalo Soldiers.
  • Segregation and discrimination occurred during training for the war especially in the South.
  • African Americans fought bravely during the 4 months of fighting.   * 26 Buffalo soldiers died during the attack on San Juan Hill
  • Cuban integrated army units made many US soldiers question the injustice in America.

Treaty of Paris, 1898

  • Ended the Spanish-American War   * Was signed on Dec. 10, 1898   * Details:     * Spain renounced all claim to Cuba.     * U.S. acquired four Spanish Islands: Puerto Rico, Guam, and Wake Island     * Transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million.

The Platt Amendment (Mar. 2, 1901)

  • Allowed U.S. intervention in Cuba whenever the U.S. believed it was necessary.
  • Gave the U.S. the right to lease land in Cuba suitable for a naval station at Guantanamo Bay indefinitely.
  • No foreign countries can intervene on Cuban territory.

Impact of the Spanish-American War

  • “A splendid little war”   * So swift was the U.S. victory only 3 months that Secretary of State John Hay named it.
  • The U.S. emerged as a World Power.
  • Due to the U.S. Occupation of the Philippines:   * The Philippine-American War began in February of 1899 and lasted until 1901 (4,000 Americans lives were lost in the war).   * This island nation fought the U.S. for its independence (led by Emilio Aguinaldo) at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War and lost.   * William Howard Taft became governor of the Philippines.   * U.S. controlled the Philippines until 1946.

Japan (1853-1854)

  • How did Matthew Perry’s trip to Japan impact Japan?   * Japan began to trade with the US which they had previously been closed off to the west.
  • China (1900)   * John Hay proposed the Open Door Policy, which gave countries with spheres of influence in China trading rights.

China (1900)

  • Secretary of State John Hay (McKinley Administration) proposed the Open Door Policy, which gave countries with spheres of influence in China trading rights.
  • Boxer Rebellion (1901) sought to end Western Influence within China as well as targeted Chinese Christians   * Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists

Goals of the Open Door Policy:

  1. The growth of the U.S. economy depended on exports.
  2. The U.S. had a right to intervene abroad to keep foreign markets open.
  3. The closing of an area to American Products, citizens or ideas threatened US survival.
What did the US do that resulted in it building and controlling the Panama Canal?
  • The US provoked a revolution against Columbia and supported the rebelling Panamanians, which in return, gave us the right to build and control the Panama Canal Zone.

Presidential Diplomacies

Theodore Roosevelt

  • What was the Roosevelt Corollary?   * This was an amendment to the Monroe Doctrine. It stated that the US would intervene in Latin American affairs when necessary to maintain peace and stability in the Western Hemisphere.
  • What was Big Stick Diplomacy?   * Assertion of US dominance via the Military (Navy) and Great White Fleet   * “Speak softly and carry a big stick”

William Howard Taft

  • What was Dollar Diplomacy?   * The effort of the US to further its goals of Latin America through use of its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries.

Woodrow Wilson

  • What was Moral Diplomacy?   * The system in which support is given only to countries whose moral beliefs are similar to that of the democratic US.

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