Lecture Notes on US Imperialism and Social Darwinism May 23

Canvas Groups and Project

Canvas groups can be used to collaborate with classmates.
Students can add their names to their respective groups to communicate and work on assignments.
Weeks 9 and 10 will be dedicated to the final project, with class time used for working on it.

US Imperialism: Cuba as a Case Study

The US used the explosion on a boat as an excuse to invade Cuba.
Seventy-eight years later, it was discovered that a diesel leak caused the explosion.
This event led to the US taking over Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, marking the beginning of US imperialism.
The US established a hegemonic presence in the Americas, similar to British and French colonialism in Africa, and English colonialism in New Zealand, Australia, United States and Canada.
The political culture of the time reflected this hegemonic presence, symbolizing the US as the centerpiece of the world.

The Rough Riders and Buffalo Soldiers

Theodore Roosevelt (Teddy) and his Euro-American troops received most of the credit for military victories, while black Americans (Buffalo Soldiers) were on the front lines.
Buffalo Soldiers faced controversy: they fought for the US but were treated as second-class citizens upon returning home.
Throughout US history, black Americans have fought in every war, despite facing discrimination.
Crispus Attucks, a free slave, was the first victim of the American Revolutionary War.

Yellow Journalism and Instigating War

Yellow journalism, characterized by sensationalism and exaggeration, played a significant role in instigating war.
The primary motive was selling newspapers, not the accuracy or legitimacy of the information.
William Hearst exemplified this by reporting on events from his yacht while enjoying luxurious food and champagne, prioritizing speed of news delivery over factual accuracy.
The US needed a war to unite the country, which was still recovering from the Civil War and deeply polarized.
War became an important tool for the US to assert its superpower status and create nationalism among its citizens.

US Investment in Cuba

A quarter of all US investments was in Cuba alone, amounting to approximately 200 million (equivalent to several billions today).
The US installed puppet governments to protect American interests, exemplified by a US-chosen leader who had not lived in Cuba for 25 years.

Social Darwinism and Justification of Western Superiority

Social Darwinism, a pseudoscience, replaced religion as a means to justify Western dominance.
European nations, which colonized about 90% of the world, used Social Darwinism to assert their racial and cultural supremacy after the industrial revolution in the mid 1800s.
Francis Galton used peas to compare them with humans, arguing that some peas (and, by extension, some humans) were smaller/inferior to others (which was dismissed as "bullshit").
A pro-imperialistic poet advocated for the US to civilize people in the Americas, perpetuating the trope that these people were not fully human, referring to them as "half devil, half child".
Western nations saw themselves as adult figures guiding childlike populations who were incapable of self-governance.

Civilizing Mission and its Flaws

The concept of a civilizing mission was a made-up responsibility by Western nations, who believed they were bringing light to the "darkest corners of the earth".
This idea implied that non-Western populations were ungovernable and needed external control.
Evangelical Christianity influenced attitudes towards race, with an initial hope that non-white people could assimilate into British culture through civilization and Christianity.
This universalist thinking suggested that everyone could become like the colonizers.
After emancipation, when it became evident that freed Africans would not assimilate easily, disappointment arose, leading to new justifications for racial differences based on civilization rather than slavery.
Arguments emerged that emancipation had failed, attributing differences to barbarism associated with physical characteristics, such as skin, bones, and hair.

Impact of Colonial Events on Racial Perceptions

Events like the Indian Mutiny of 1857 and the Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica in 1865 challenged the belief in Britain's ability to transform non-white subjects.
Non-white subjects were increasingly seen as children needing forceful guidance.
The Anthropological Society of London in 1866 declared that Black people were designed by God to be unequal to white people.
Differences between races were attributed to culture and climate, but belief in the potential for all to reach European levels of civilization persisted.
Conflicting views arose, focusing on permanent physical differences and inherited characteristics to explain racial disparities.
Both cultural and biological arguments were used to uphold racial hierarchies, with white Anglo-Saxons at the top.

Social Darwinism and its Impact on Society in the 19th Century

Scientific developments in the 19th century fed into arguments about race, with evolutionary claims used to support conflicting political visions.
Social Darwinists believed in racial conflict and survival of the strongest, justifying unethical capitalism and social practices.
Anarchists like Peter Kropotkin argued that evolution promoted human harmony and cooperation.
Ideas of racial hierarchy existed before the 19th century, supported by philosophical or religious beliefs rather than scientific evidence.
The growth of pseudoscientific racial theories gave a new form to existing racial thinking, with science seen as legitimizing racial beliefs.
Belief in racial hierarchy shaped relationships between colonizers and colonized, leading to the conviction that the treatment of indigenous populations didn't matter because they were doomed.
By the late 19th century, negative representations of non-white races as inferior became widespread, portraying them as incapable of improvement and fit only for menial jobs.
School textbooks perpetuated these ideas, impacting young people's perceptions.

The Gilded Age and American Civilization in Cuba

The Gilded Age was heavily influenced by Social Darwinism.
Westerners believed that the people they took over were meant to be mastered.
American civilization in Cuba involved:
- American education and ethics, taught in English.
- The elimination of bullfighting, deemed barbaric, and its substitution with baseball.
- Eradication of Afro-Cuban culture.
Charles Edward Magoon, a judge from Minnesota, was appointed to preside over the US provisional government in Cuba.
- His solution to factional violence was to divide patronage more equally among Cuban groups.
He reformed the Cuban army.
He reincorporated racist immigration policies to whiten the population by prohibiting the entry of people of color while encouraging Spanish immigrants with travel subsidies and public employment.
The 1907 census showed a reduced proportion of Afro-Cubans in the population.
Magoon also attacked Santeria, the cultural centers of Afro-Cuban resistance.

Afro-Cuban Culture and Resistance

Suppression of black Cuban culture was influenced by the legacy of slavery.
Afro-Cubans, like Afro-Dominicans, -Haitians, and -Jamaicans, continued to practice their religions.
During the Social Darwinism era, these practices were seen as backward and uncivilized.
The syncretism of Catholicism and African religion existed, with white Catholic saints and black African saints.

Sugar Plantations and Santeria

Cuba’s economy grew in the late 18th and early 19th centuries due to a sugar shortage caused by the Haitian Revolution.
A massive number of slaves were imported to meet the demand for sugar.
Tyre exemplifies an old slave plantation where Santeria religious ceremonies take place.
By 1840, Cuba was the largest sugar producer in the world, fueled by the importation of African slaves.

American Involvement in Cuba after Assassination of President McKinley

After McKinley's assassination, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became president and served two and a half terms.
Hershey, Cuba, exemplified companies lobbying the US government to maintain control of the sugar industry.
Universities like Harvard were paid to spread false research saying sugar was good for you, just like the tobacco lobby.

Roosevelt's Imperialistic Policies

Roosevelt became the most imperialistic president in US history, implementing policies to exert dominance in the Caribbean and Latin America.
A 1905 cartoon showed Roosevelt using his "speak softly and carry a big stick" policy.
He orchestrated a revolution in Colombia to gain rights to the Panama Canal after Colombia (which included Panama) lost Panama, but the US decided to start/create a war. Panama won their independence, and the US took over the rights of the Panama Canal.
The concept is a continuation of the Monroe Doctrine (Monroe Doctrine 2.0). Current presidents expressing desire to take Iceland, the Panama Canal, and Canada exemplifies this mentality.
The Roosevelt Corollary was part of the Monroe Doctrine, asserting the US’s right to stabilize nations in the Americas and emphasize dominance in the region.
This corollary declared that the US would collect debts and pass them on to European nations.
The US acted as a "repo man" in the Americas, intervening in countries without invitation.

Roosevelt Policies and Racist Depictions of Cuba

The US created a situation where Latin American countries distrusted the US because of its interventions over 80-90 years.
Roosevelt was a hunter who killed animals for recreational purposes. He created the national park system but excluded Native Americans and initially hunted animals there.
He was presented with a bear, inspiring the teddy bear.
A cartoon from 1899 depicts Uncle Sam with a bag of dollar bill medicine for Cubans, portrayed as animalistic and subhuman.
The caption reads, "This style of plaster will slow all over the" with raggedy, shoeless Cubans, portraying a Social Darwinistic view.

Racial Segregation and Efforts to "Whiten" Cuba

A 1908 video discusses the demand for rights and equality by black people in Cuba.
The independent party of color fought for a racially mixed republic.
The white establishment reacted negatively, equating black people with monkeys and rats.
The government massacred 3,000 followers of Pedro Ivonnet, a leader who fought in the war for independence.
Racist caricatures of black Cubans were common in the American press.
Cuba was represented as a black child.
There were no segregation laws, but there was actual discrimination as illustrated in the video.
In 1906, a law was passed to bring over 600,000 Europeans to Cuba, most from Spain, to whiten the island.
A 1905 illustration depicts Puerto Rico as a favorite child of the US, while Cuba is portrayed as a black bandit.
An image shows Lady Liberty admiring herself with gunboat diplomacy and with American civilization coming out of her hat.
Some political cartoons show that the United States has fought for the rights of oppressed people, but the US actually was not invited. The US chose to go with the White Man's Approach.
A cartoon contrasts The Philippines before and after US intervention, portraying the US as saving the day.

Social Darwinism: US Philosophy and Actions

Presidential quotes reflect Social Darwinistic views.
Focused on culture, nationalism, and economics.
The term "Vanilla" is used to represent good assimilation, but it undermines the diversity of affected countries.
US involvement in the Cuban and Filipino wars was poorly executed due to lack of knowledge and preparation.
In the Philippines, the US took credit for liberating the Filipinos from Spain, despite the Filipinos already defeating them/US paid Spain to get the Philippines.
The US established rules and behaviors that still affect the world today.
The US framed its actions not as conquest, but as the duty to civilize and "brighten the dark corners of the earth."

War with the Philippines and Puerto Rico, and Guam

The US claimed sovereignty over The Philippines, leading to massacres and civilian deaths.
The US eventually established a government in The Philippines.
The question arose: is all of this land America? Are these people American?
The Supreme Court created a category called "unincorporated territories," where people lack representation but Congress can create laws, especially revenue laws.
The Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam remain unincorporated territories.
- The precedent of "we own you, but you're not really Americans" still applies to 4,000,000 people.
Puerto Rico is not treated well as a territory.