Imperialism and Progressivism Comprehensive Study Notes

Imperialism and American Empire Building

• Definition of Imperialism: Imperialism is defined as stronger nations attempting to create empires by dominating weaker nations. This domination manifests across four primary dimensions:

  • Economic: Controlling trade, foreign markets, and natural resources.

  • Political: Influencing or directly overriding local political structures, sovereign governance, and leadership.

  • Cultural: Imposing religious, linguistic, or social norms upon native populations.

  • Militaristic: Establishing strategic naval ports, coaling stations, and foreign military bases.

• Post-Civil War Isolationism: Following the American Civil War, the United States maintained an isolationist foreign policy. The nation's focus was directed inward toward Reconstruction and rebuilding domestic infrastructure rather than engaging in foreign entanglements.

• Global Context and Motives:

  • During the late $1800\text{s}$, European powers engaged in a "mad scramble for Africa," dividing the continent through aggressive imperialist competition.

  • Primary Rationale: Imperializing nations sought to gain vital resources, build global power, generate wealth, and secure general economic and strategic benefits for their own country.

  • Social Darwinism: Applied the doctrine of "survival of the fittest" to international relations, arguing that powerful nations were naturally superior and destined to dominate weaker ones.

  • Ideological Justifications: Media glorification, romanticized accounts by historian authors, and religious missionary goals were frequently cited as excuses by countries to justify imperial dominance.

  • Naval Supremacy: Building a powerful navy was essential for projecting empire globally. This strategy was exemplified by Great Britain, giving rise to the phrase: "The sun never sets on the British Empire."

• Early American Expansionist Policy: Secretary of State (SOS) James Blaine established the Big Sister Policy, which aimed to rally Latin American nations under United States leadership and open Latin American consumer markets to American economic exports.

American Territorial Expansion and Acquisitions

• The Purchase of Alaska ($1867$):

  • Rationale: Served as an early exception to traditional American isolationism. Alaska was rich in land and natural resources, including gold, timber, oil, and wildlife such as grizzly bears.

  • Acquisition Terms: In $1867$, Secretary of State William Seward arranged the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire for $\$7.2\text{ million}$ (equivalent to approximately $2\text{ cents per acre}$).

  • Statehood: Alaska was eventually admitted to the Union as the $49\text{th}$ state in $1959$.

• American Imperialism in Hawaii:

  • Strategic and Economic Value: Hawaii offered valuable agricultural resources—specifically sugar and pineapples—as well as a crucial military and commercial naval port at Pearl Harbor.

  • Overthrow of Monarchy: In $1893$, Hawaii was ruled by Queen Liliuokalani. She was deposed in $1893$ by American sugar planters with the assistance of United States Marines.

  • Key Historical Details:

    • Following her removal, the royal palace was seized by the United States and renamed the Executive Building.

    • Queen Liliuokalani embroidered a quilt depicting the story of her life and political struggle.

    • She eventually signed a formal document acknowledging the termination of the Hawaiian monarchy.

  • Annexation and Statehood: On August $12$, $1898$, Hawaii was officially annexed as a United States territory. It subsequently became the $50\text{th}$ state of the Union in $1959$.

The Spanish-American War

• Background and Cuban Crisis:

  • Since the voyages of Columbus, Cuba was controlled as a colony of the Spanish Empire.

  • Sugar production was the foundation of Cuba's economic prosperity. However, a newly enacted American tariff severely damaged the island's sugar economy.

  • Cuban rebels retaliated by burning sugarcane fields to protest Spanish control and force American economic intervention.

  • In response to the uprising, Spanish authorities rounded up hundreds of thousands of Cubans into brutal reconcentration camps, where over $200,000$ Cubans died from disease and starvation.

  • President Grover Cleveland maintained an anti-war stance and refused to intervene militarily.

• Yellow Journalism:

  • American newspaper publishers utilized "yellow journalism"—sensationalizing, exaggerating, and embellishing news stories about Spanish atrocities to inflame public outrage, raise social awareness, and boost newspaper sales.

  • Prominent Yellow Journalists:

    • William Randolph Hearst: Owner of the New York Journal.

    • Joseph Pulitzer: Publisher of the New York World Telegram.

• Outbreak of War:

  • In $1896$, William McKinley was elected President of the United States.

  • Explosion of the USS Maine: On February $15$, $1898$ ($2/15/1898$), the American battleship USS Maine, anchored on patrol in Havana Harbor, suffered a catastrophic explosion that killed $266$ crew members.

  • Yellow journalists immediately blamed Spain despite Spanish denials, rallying the American public with the slogan: "Remember The Maine!"

  • President McKinley attempted to avoid open conflict by demanding an immediate end to reconcentration camps, financial compensation for the USS Maine, and Cuban independence.

  • Faced with relentless yellow journalism, direct appeals from Cuban rebels, and overwhelming domestic public pressure, McKinley requested a declaration of war, and the Spanish-American War was officially declared on April $21$, $1898$ ($4/21/1898$).

• Key Events and Treaty of Paris ($1898$):

  • Teller Amendment: Passed at the start of the war, this resolution pledged that once the United States defeated Spain, Cuba would be given full independence.

  • Theodore Roosevelt gained national fame by resigning his government post to form and lead the "Rough Riders," a volunteer cavalry unit.

  • The war was short and resulted in relatively few combat deaths for the United States; the vast majority of American casualties were caused by infectious diseases.

  • Treaty of Paris ($12/10/1898$): Signed on December $10$, $1898$, officially ending the war. Under the treaty, Spain recognized Cuban independence, while the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Post-War Relations, Doctrines, and Foreign Governance

• Cuban-American Relations & The Platt Amendment ($1903$):

  • Despite the Teller Amendment, the United States maintained influence over Cuba by forcing the insertion of the Platt Amendment into the new Cuban constitution in $1903$.

  • Key Provisions of the Platt Amendment:

    1. Cuba could not enter into foreign treaties that compromised its independence or allowed foreign control.

    2. The United States retained the legal right to intervene in Cuban internal affairs "when necessary" to preserve order.

    3. Cuba was forced to lease land to the United States for a permanent naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

  • Protectorate Status: As a result, Cuba became a protectorate—a sovereign country whose foreign and domestic affairs are partially controlled by a stronger foreign power.

• Foreign Policy Doctrines and Diplomacy:

  • Panama Canal: Under Theodore Roosevelt, the United States secured land in Central America to build the Panama Canal, dramatically reducing maritime travel time between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for naval and commercial shipping.

  • Roosevelt Corollary: Roosevelt added an expansion to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting that the United States had the authority to act as an "international police power" in Latin America to prevent European intervention.

  • Dollar Diplomacy: Introduced during William Howard Taft's presidency, this policy focused on substituting "dollars for bullets" by using American financial investments and economic influence to secure strategic geopolitical goals abroad.

The Progressive Era: Principles and Goals ($1880-1920$)

• Definition and Scope:

  • Spanning from $1880$ to $1920$, the Progressive Era was a multi-faceted reform movement aimed at correcting the political, social, moral, and economic abuses stemming from rapid industrialization and urban expansion.

  • Progressivism was not a single, unified political movement; participants held diverse, sometimes contradictory views.

• Common Progressive Beliefs:

  • The government must be directly accountable to ordinary citizens.

  • Government policies should be more considerate of the working-class and unwealthy rather than elite corporate interests.

  • Government operating structures should be reformed to be efficient, transparent, and free from corruption.

  • Government authority should be expanded so it has sufficient power to actively improve citizens' everyday lives.

• Four Major Categories of Progressive Reform:

  1. Protect Social Welfare: Addressing hazardous urban conditions, including unsanitary water, inadequate sewage systems, overcrowded tenement housing, poor ventilation, fire risks, and epidemic disease outbreaks. Expanding civil rights through Women's Suffrage.

  2. Promote Moral Improvement: Advocating moral reform through the Temperance movement to eliminate alcohol consumption in society.

  3. Economic Reform: Passing antitrust laws to dismantle harmful monopolies, implementing progressive income taxes, utilizing emergency industrial safety technologies following industrial disasters (such as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire), and granting local cities authority over public utilities to eliminate municipal corruption.

  4. Foster Efficiency: Applying scientific management principles to streamline government operations and industrial production.

Muckrakers and Social Reform

• Role of Muckrakers: Muckrakers were investigative journalists, writers, and photographers who exposed widespread corruption, labor exploitation, and illegal business practices in corporate America and municipal governments.

• The Jungle by Upton Sinclair:

  • Sinclair's landmark investigative novel targeted the severe problems within the American meatpacking industry.

  • The book documented revolting, unsanitary factory conditions, including pervasive rat infestations where processing plants took no action to eradicate pests, a complete absence of health codes, and filthy handling procedures.

  • Sinclair's exposures generated public disgust, directly prompting federal legislation to ensure national food safety and consumer protection.

Progressive Presidents and Legislative Accomplishments

• Theodore Roosevelt:

  • Background: Served as a politician, Republican, military leader (Rough Riders), Vice President, President, and avid conservationist.

  • The "Square Deal": Roosevelt's domestic agenda was structured around the "3 C's":

    1. Conservation of natural resources.

    2. Control of corporations.

    3. Consumer protection.

  • Trustbuster Role: Earned fame as a "Trustbuster" by utilizing the Sherman Antitrust Act to prosecute and dismantle predatory business trusts and monopolies.

• William Howard Taft:

  • Presidency Struggles: Taft's true ambition was to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court rather than President.

  • Though Taft actually busted more total trusts during his tenure than Roosevelt, his political missteps alienated Progressive reformers and created a deep rift in the Republican Party.

  • Major Controversies:

    • Payne-Aldrich Tariff: Signed a high tariff bill that angered Progressive Republicans who wanted lower rates.

    • Ballinger-Pinchot Affair: Taft appointed Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger, who angered conservationists by opening protected Alaskan coalfields to private corporate development.

  • Taft's political decisions split the Republican party, ended his personal friendship with Roosevelt, and demonstrated the difficulty of trying to appease opposing political factions.

• The Election of $1912$:

  • Assassination Attempt: On October $14$, $1912$ ($10/14/1912$), Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest during an assassination attempt while campaigning. Roosevelt insisted on delivering his scheduled $90\text{-minute}$ speech before seeking medical treatment.

  • Election Outcome: The Republican vote was split between the incumbent William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt (running under the Progressive "Bull Moose" Party). This division enabled Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency.

  • Following his presidency, Taft realized his personal goal in $1921$ when he was appointed Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

• Woodrow Wilson's Accomplishments:

  • Wilson was a dedicated Progressive reformer who enacted significant economic and administrative legislation.

  • Federal Reserve System: Created the national central banking system to regulate national currency, oversee banking institutions, and adjust interest rates.

  • Clayton Antitrust Act: Strengthened existing federal antitrust laws, explicitly protected labor unions and farm organizations, and legalized peaceful strikes and picketing.

  • Federal Trade Commission (FTC): Established a regulatory agency authorized to investigate corporations and prevent unfair, deceptive, or monopolistic business practices.

Philosophical Considerations and Life Lessons

• Interpersonal vs. Governmental Exploitation:

  • Exploiting others for personal gain is morally unacceptable in most circumstances.

  • It is psychologically easier for an individual to take advantage of a stranger than a close acquaintance, as exploiting someone close creates far greater personal guilt.

  • While governments often justify foreign intervention under the premise of benefiting their own citizens, aggressive imperial actions reflect government greed and an insatiable desire for power and resources.

• Ethical Takeaways:

  • Power does not equal happiness or moral authority ($\text{Power} \neq \text{Happiness}$).

  • Dominating or taking advantage of weaker individuals or smaller nations is fundamentally unjust.

  • Sensationalized media reports and mass press coverage ("yellow journalism") frequently distort the truth for financial gain or political influence.