America Becomes an Imperial
Power
Mr. Phipps
I. The Turning Point
The Spanish American War (18981899)
Background
Spanish Oppression of
Natives
• Years of poverty, cruelty,
brutality, deprivation
• Had taken native land
• Cubans revolted (1895) and
torched sugar plantations,
resulting in further brutality
by Gen Weyler
• Americans intervened only to
get better price on sugar
America’s Foreign Policy
A Shift in Policy for the U.S.
• Needed to enforce the Monroe Doctrine--to
protect the Western Hemisphere from foreign
aggression
• Needed to compete with the European
imperialism
• Needed new ports to facilitate trade with new
markets
The Great White Fleet
Theodore Roosevelt, Asst.
Sec. of Navy
• Initiated first peace-time
mobilization
• Refaced navy to include
battleships, speedboats,
gunships, and support carriers
• All naval vessels under
mechanical power--fuel, coal,
electricity
• All vessels made of steel
• All vessels continuously
fueled and ready
II. The U.S.S. Maine
The War Starts
U.S.S. Maine
• Sent to Cuba to monitor
Cuban militarism (spy on
the Spanish)
• Feb. 15, 1898, the U.S.S.
Maine explodes in
Havana Bay
• Cause unknown, but
Spanish are suspected of
planting a bomb
• 260 American sailors died
• Resulted in public outcry
and demand for war
Modern evidence suggests that faulty wiring,
combined with rust and proximity to ammunition
caused the explosion
Yellow Journalism
William Randolph Hearst and
Joseph Pulitzer
• Competed in selling newspapers
• Focused on sensationalist
reporting
– Often untrue, exaggerated stories
– National Enquirer style headlines
– Flashy, violent pictures
• Published private De Lome
(Spanish ambassador) that
criticized the President
• Argued for war, as it would sell
more papers
A Splendid Little War
The War in the
Philippines
• Spain’s empire included the
Philippines, Cuba, and a
series of islands in the
Pacific
• Roosevelt sent Great White
Fleet to the Philippines to
prevent Spanish naval
mobilization and destroy its
fleet
• Admiral Dewey, head of the
naval fleet, destroyed Spain’s
navy within days of its arrival
The War in Cuba
• American military unprepared and untrained
– Army was given woolen underwear
– No military leadership with experience
– Food rations were tainted, canned meat gave
soldiers food poisoning
– Dysentary, malaria, and yellow fever were
common
– Gen. Shafter, the ranking general, had gout, was
grossly obese, and had to be carried to battle
• Major Battles: Battle of Guarisimas and Battle
of San Juan Hill
The Results of the Spanish
American War
• The U.S. “won” islands from Spain
– Cuba, The Philippines, Puerto Rico
• The U.S. gained control of Pacific sea
trade lanes
• The U.S. improved reputation for
helping people become democratic
• The U.S. became an internationally
recognized military and political power
III: American Involvement in
the World
Alaska (1867)
• “Seward’s Folly”
• Wanted as a buffer from
Russia
• Considered idiotic
because of its apparent
uselessness
• Bought for $7.2 million
• Would yield petroleum,
oil, timber, and silver
Hawaii (1893)
• Queen Liliuokalani forced
to abdicate her throne to
husband, a puppet
• American sugar
plantations forced the
revolution in order to
dictate price of sugar
• American gov’t supported
it because it wanted Pearl
Harbor as strategic port
• Considered an egregious
abuse of power
• Started a huge Hawaiian
fashion in mainland
Japan (1908)
• TR’s Nobel Peace Prize
– Result of mediating the RussoJapanese War
– America chosen to arbitrate
international dispute
– Neither side happy with result,
forcing migration wave in 1906
• Gentleman’s Agreement
– American government could
dictate Japanese immigration
• Root-Takahira Agreement
– U.S. forced integration in San
Francisco schools, because of
racial discrimination following
immigration
• Background
China
– Needed a balance to
industrializing power of
Japan and Russian
expansion
– China remained
decentralized,
agricultural, and
“primitive”
– Chinese had immigrated
to the U.S. to help build
railroad
– Chinese Exclusion Act
(1882)--banned Chinese
immigration
The Open Door Policy (1899)
• Issued by John Hay
(U.S. Sec. of State)
• Urged European
powers to carve up
China into “spheres of
influence”
• Allow free trade and
open exploitation by all
European powers
• Maintain peace and
balance power around
the world
The Boxer Rebellion (1900)
• “The Peaceful
Harmonious Fists”
• Student organization
protested the incursion
of missionaries and
European businessmen
• Called them “foreign
devils
• Killed over 200
missionaries and
diplomats in Beijing
(Peking)
Panama (1904)
• Spanish-American War
highlighted need for isthmian
canal
– Deploy navy from east to west
– Move cargo/product from east
to west
– Speed movement
• Possible canal sites:
– Panama: shorter, easier to dig,
wanted independence from
Colombia, but occupied by
France
– Nicaragua: longer, in volcanic
area, had Congressional and
contractor support
“Gunboat Diplomacy”
• U.S. supported
Panamanian
Revolution
• Broadened Monroe
Doctrine to facilitate
democracy around
the world
• Gained control of
the Canal Zone in
the Hay-BunauVarilla Treaty
Building the Canal
• Construction started in
1904
• Required
– Eliminating malaria,
dysentery, and yellow
fever
– Moving machinery
through mud
– Provide living space for
workers
– Build a 50 mile long
series of locks, artificial
lakes, and
communication links
The Turning Point
• The Spanish-American War was the culmination
of a debate in the U.S. to pursue an imperialist
policy
• The U.S. became a leading international political,
diplomatic, and military leader in the world
• The U.S. forced to take care of colonial
possessions: The Philippines, Puerto Rico,
Cuba, and Panama
–
–
–
–
Forced to decide if American laws govern them
Forced to take care of rebuilding infrastructure
Forced to stop internal rebellion
Earned criticism for treatment and cost of policy