u.s. history

Chapter 18 – Becoming a World Power

Section 1: The Pressure to Expand

For much of its early history, the United States is said to have practiced a relatively isolationist foreign policy.

With large amounts of obtainable land on the North American continent, there was little need for the U.S. to involve

itself in the affairs of Europe or other parts of the world.

The decade of the 1890’s saw the United States become much more aggressive in world affairs and ultimately acquire

a number of overseas colonies

Imperialism was practiced for a number of reasons: economic gain, military strategy, increasing nationalism and

rivalry with other nations, and racist social theories.

1. Economic-American businesses wanted the government to help them gain greater access to overseas markets and

economic resources.

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2. Military - U.S. military leaders argued they needed naval bases overseas to defend our nation and compete with

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other world powers.

3. Nationalism – European nations had colonized vast portions of Africa and Asia. Some argued that America was

missing out on the spoils of imperialism and risked falling behind European nations in terms of economic, political,

and military power.

4. Social Darwinism- led imperialist nations to believe they had not only a right, but an obligation, to “civilize” and

Christianize less developed parts of the world. (the “White Man’s Burden”)

Support for Imperialism in Literature/Media

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The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890), by Alfred Thayer Mahan prompted the U.S. to enlarge and

modernize its navy. It also led to increased calls for a US controlled canal across Central America.

Fredrick Jackson Turner wrote The Significance of the Frontier in American History (1893) which brought

attention to the fact that the census of 1890 showed no clear frontier line in the American west. This created a sense

of alarm that the U.S. no longer had room for growth on its own continent.

These writings, along with “Yellow Journalism” popularized the idea that the U.S. should seek to become a world

power.

I. Early Steps in American Imperialism- during the 19th century the U.S. looked to expand opportunities for trade.

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In 1844 the U.S. signed the Treaty of Wanghia defining an official trade relationship with China.

In 1853, the U.S. sent an American naval fleet led by Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay and

pressured Japan into opening itself to trade. This tactic of military pressure was referred to as “gunboat diplomacy.

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In 1867, the US Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia. Many ridiculed this move as

“Seward’s folly” but possession of Alaska was geographically strategic to develop trade and influence in Asia , and

proved to be an important source of natural resources.

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The U.S. also annexed the uninhabited Midway Islands to use as a naval base in the Pacific.

II. An Increasing in Latin America

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In 1893, the U.S. sent troops to Brazil to protect American interests. This action ended a rebellion that had been

taking place against the Brazilian government.

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In 1895, the U.S. supported Venezuela in a border dispute with Britain (British Guiana). The U.S. demanded that

Britain respect the Monroe Doctrine and submit to arbitration to settle the border dispute

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Britain resisted, but when faced with the possibility of war with the U.S., Britain decided to accept arbitration. This

incident legitimized the Monroe Doctrine.

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The U.S. would continue to expand its influence in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next several decades.

III. Hawaii – Americans had been settling in Hawaii since the early 1800s. Eventually the American population

gainedgained a large degree of control over the economy and politics.

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In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani came to power in Hawaii. She wanted to give more political power to the native

Hawaiian population and to reduce the amount of control that Americans held on the islands.

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In 1893, the American population staged a revolution against the Queen. The rebels appealed to the US minister to

Hawaii and were given support by U.S. Marines to overthrow the Queen’s government.

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They set up a provisional government and requested annexation by the U.S.2

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Incoming President Grover Cleveland (Democrat) pulled the treaty out of Congress.

Hawaii was annexed 5 years later during the McKinley Administration (Republican) in 1898 when support for

overseas expansion had reached a high point in The United States.

IV . Expanding Trade with China- by the 1890’s European nations had divided China into “spheres of influence” where

they had exclusive trading rights.

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This policy threatened to limit the access of U.S. businesses to China’s lucrative markets.

Secretary of State, John Hay used the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 as an excuse to send U.S. troops to China. He then

pushed for an Open Door Policy of trade in China.

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The European powers reluctantly agreed in order to avoid a confrontation with the United States.

Section 2: The Spanish-American War

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Cuban Rebellion – Due to poor living conditions and harsh Spanish rule, Cubans began rebelling against Spain in

1868, however, they were unsuccessful.

In 1895, in the face of economic depression and increased Spanish taxes, Cubans again rebelled against Spain.

Spain sent 150,000 troops to Cuba. In order to gain control of the island the Spanish placed much of the civilian

population in concentration camps where thousands died of disease and malnutrition.

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In the United States, Cuban-Americans led by Jose Marti began calling for intervention on behalf of the rebels.

Two New York newspapers, the New York Morning Journal (William Randolph Hearst) and the New York World

(Joseph Pulitzer) were competing for readers. These papers printed sensationalized stories of Spanish cruelty in Cuba.

(yellow journalism)

B. Spanish-American War – As a result of yellow journalism and the efforts of Cuban-Americans, the U.S. public began

to sympathize greatly with the Cuban rebels.

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Two incidents in February of 1898 would lead to U.S. involvement in the conflict between Spain and Cuba.

1. The “de Lome letter”

– was a letter stolen from the Spanish minister in Washington that insulted President McKinley.

It described him as a weak man who craved the admiration of the public. This letter further turned American public

opinion against Spain.

2. The Sinking of the Maine – President McKinley had sent the USS Maine to the harbor of Havana to ensure the

safety of American citizens and property. On February 15, an explosion caused the Maine to sink and 260 American

sailors died.

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Many in the U.S. quickly blamed Spanish sabotage for the sinking of the Maine. This angle was played up by the

newspapers of Hearst and Pulitzer.

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The U.S. public was now clamoring for war against Spain, as were politicians such as Theodore Roosevelt and

Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts.

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President McKinley had hoped to resolve U.S. conflict with Spain diplomatically, however on April 11 he gave into

pressure and asked Congress to declare war on Spain.

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2. The war ended and the U.S. and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris . It contained the following provisions:

1. Spain recognized Cuba’s Independence.

Spain Spain gave the U.S. its colonies of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, and Guam, and the Philippines in the Pacific

in exchange for $20 million

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Congress had passed a resolution that forbade the U.S. from taking possession of Cuba. However, the U.S. controlled

the new Cuban government and supervised the writing of the Cuban constitution.

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This constitution included the Platt Amendment, which limited Cuba’s ability to enter into foreign agreements, and

gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs when necessary.

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Cuba was also forced to allow the U.S. to build a naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

C. Conflict in the Philippines- (The Philippine-American War 1899-1902) the people of the Philippines had hoped to

achieve independence from Spain. Many were disappointed when the U.S. took possession of the colony from Spain after

the war.

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On January 1, 1899 following the meetings of a constitutional convention, Emilio Aguinaldo was proclaimed

president of the Philippine Republic. Not surprisingly, the United States refused to recognize Aguinaldo's authority.

In response, he declared war on the U.S. forces in the islands.

Filipino rebels fought the U.S. for three years, but were ultimately defeated.

During this conflict U.S. troops used brutal tactics that resulted in many civilian casualties, including placing3

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Filipinos in concentration camps (reconcentrados).

After his capture on March 23, 1901, Aguinaldo agreed to swear allegiance to the United States, and then left public

life.

Some Americans argued that it violated our ideals to deny independence to the Philippines.

President McKinley justified the U.S. take over by arguing that Filipinos were not fit for self-rule and needed

American guidance.

Section 3; Expansion Under Roosevelt & Taft

I. Theodore Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy.

After Roosevelt returned from the Spanish-American War, he was elected Governor of New York. In 1900, he was chosen

as William McKinley’s vice-president. When McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt became president.

Roosevelt saw foreign affairs as an area where he could operate as he wished with little interference from Congress.

A. The Panama Canal

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Roosevelt believed that a Central American canal was vital to America’s national interests. It would be important for

commerce as well as the movement of the U.S. navy from Atlantic to Pacific.

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In 1902, Congress passed the Spooner Act which authorized the payment of 10 million dollars for land rights to a

canal zone across the Isthmus of Panama, which was a Columbian province.

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When Columbia demanded additional money from the U.S., Roosevelt sent U.S. forces to support a Panamanian

rebellion for independence from Columbia.

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Panamanian independence was quickly achieved, and a deal for the rights to the Canal Zone was worked out. with the

new government.

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Some members of Congress objected to the methods Roosevelt used to acquire the Canal Zone. Most Americans

however, applauded Roosevelt’s actions.

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The canal opened in 1914 and was the greatest engineering feat of its time.

B. The Roosevelt Corollary – was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine.

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Roosevelt believed that the United States was justified in involving itself anywhere in the world where its national

interests were at stake.

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The Roosevelt Corollary of 1904 stated:

1. The United States was not seeking any further territorial expansion; it wanted to live at peace with the other

nations of the Western hemisphere.

2. 3. The United States would intervene in any situation where its national interests were at stake.

The U.S. would step in under any situation where European powers might try to intervene.

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In 1905, the Roosevelt Corollary was first used because the Dominican Republic was unable to pay its foreign debts.

European nations threatened to intervene in order to collect their money.

Roosevelt sent troops to the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. took over its tariff collections. U.S. banks then set up

a payment schedule to take care of the European debts.

Over the the next several decades, the US intervened in the affairs of numerous Latin American countries, often

occupying them with U.S. troops. Many people in Latin America came to resent the United States for its interference

in their affairs.

C. The Russo-Japanese War – In 1904 Russia and Japan went to war over control of the Chinese province of Manchuria.

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Roosevelt saw this war as a threat to the balance of power in Asia and to protect American trading rights in China

(open door policy).

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n 1905 Roosevelt invited representatives of both nations to Portsmouth, New Hampshire where he helped mediate

an end to the war. The settlement checked any further expansion by Russia or Japan and protected U.S. trading

rights in Asia.

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For helping to end the Russo-Japanese War, Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

D. Taft and Dollar Diplomacy – Roosevelt decided not to run for re-election in 1908. He chose his former Secretary of

War, William Howard Taft, to be the Republican candidate.4

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Taft favored a policy of using economic investment in order to gain influence over foreign nations. This was

referred to by some as “substituting dollars for bullets.

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Taft encouraged American businesses to increase their investments in Latin American and Asian countries. He was

willing to use military intervention if these investments were in peril.

By making countries financially dependent on the U.S., a great amount of influence was gained not only over their

economies, but their politics as well.

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Section 4: Debating America’s New Role

While there was widespread support for the expansionist policies of the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, not everyone in

America was in favor of the country’s increased involvement in world affairs.

Some people opposed to territorial expansion, especially expansion beyond the North American continent. (Hawaii,

Puerto Rico, Phillipines).

The Anti-Imperialist League argued against expansion and included many prominent Americans (Mark Twain,

Andrew Carnegie, Grover Cleveland, Jane Addams, Samuel Gompers

They tried to persuade the Senate to reject the annexation of Hawaii and the Treaty of Paris which gave the U.S.

possession of Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Reasons for Anti-Imperialism

A. Moral and Political Arguments

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Many believed that the U.S. was betraying its own fundamental ideals of liberty and consent of the governed by

taking control of foreign lands and denying their inhabitants self -government.

Some argued that America should remain focused on solving domestic issues, and improving conditions within the

United States. Involvement in world affairs would only lead to more problems and require expending more

resources.

There was concern that the build up of larger armed forces to maintain control over colonies could pose a threat to

liberty in the United States.

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B. Economic Arguments

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Some argued that the cost of ruling and administering an empire would be expensive and lead to an increase in

taxes on people in the United States.

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Many industrial workers and labor unions feared an increase in immigrants from acquired territories would drive

down wages.

C. Racial Arguments

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Many argued that imperialism was wrong because it was based on the racist belief in superiority of American

culture and the white race, over other cultures and races.

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Some African Americans wanted to be patriotic and support U.S. expansion, but found it difficult to support the

racism they saw in Imperialism.

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Many people, including southern Democrats, were against imperialism because they did not want to absorb any

more non-white people into the United State