Henry Seward – 1st to enforce the Monroe Doctrine in 1867 in Mexico’s problems with
Maximilian, engineered the purchase of Alaska and acquisition of Midway. Saw
technology making the world a smaller, more dangerous place – no longer could the US
depend on its oceans for security; America needed global markets. Abraham Lincoln
appointed Seward his Secretary of State in 1861. Seward played an integral role in
resolving the Trent Affair and in negotiating the ensuing Lyons-Seward Treaty of 1862,
which set forth strong measures by which the United States and Great Britain agreed to
enforce an end to the Atlantic slave trade.
Seward pursued his vision of American expansion. "Give me only this assurance, that there never be an
unlawful resistance by an armed force to the ... United States, and give me fifty, forty, thirty more years of life,
and I will engage to give you the possession of the American continent and the control of the world." Having
argued for taking American possession of vulnerable but useful places such as the Danish West Indies,
Samaná, Panama, and Hawaii, Seward oversaw the annexation of only one, that of the Brook Islands in 1867.
Despite minimal Congressional support, though, he developed American influence in the Hawaiian Islands, as
well as in Japan and China to some extent. His belief in expansion led him to pursue the purchase of British
Columbia, an attempt to connect Alaska with the rest of the United States.
Despite his endorsement of expansionist policies, Seward also strongly advocated non-interventionism. After
Tsar Alexander II put down the 1863 January Uprising in Poland, French Emperor Napoleon III asked the
United States to "join in a protest to the Tsar."[20] Seward declined, "defending 'our policy of nonintervention — straight, absolute, and peculiar as it may seem to other nations,'" and insisted that "[t]he
American people must be content to recommend the cause of human progress by the wisdom with which they
should exercise the powers of self-government, forbearing at all times, and in every way, from foreign
alliances, intervention, and interference."
Commodore Matthew Perry – the United States opened isolationist Japan to Western trade and influence when
Perry landed there with American gunships in 1853. By the 1890s, Japan had become the first Asian Industrial
Power, adopted Western ways and imperialist policies. Japan defeated China in 1894, and Russia in 1905, surprising
the West (the U.S. & Europe).
On March 31 1854 representatives of Japan and the United States signed a historic treaty. A United States naval
officer, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, negotiated tirelessly for several months with Japanese officials to achieve the
goal of opening the doors of trade with Japan.
For two centuries, Japanese ports were closed to all but a few Dutch and Chinese traders. The United States hoped
Japan would agree to open certain ports so American vessels could begin to trade with the mysterious island
kingdom. In addition to interest in the Japanese market, America needed Japanese ports to replenish coal and supplies for the commercial whaling
fleet.
On July 8,1853 four black ships led by USS Powhatan and commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry, anchored at Edo (Tokyo) Bay. Never before
had the Japanese seen ships steaming with smoke. They thought the ships were "giant dragons puffing smoke." They did not know that steamboats
existed and were shocked by the number and size of the guns on board the ships.
At age 60, Matthew Perry had a long and distinguished naval career. He knew that the mission to Japan would be his most significant
accomplishment. He brought a letter from the President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to the Emperor of Japan. He waited with his armed
ships and refused to see any of the lesser dignitaries sent by the Japanese, insisting on dealing only with the highest emissaries of the Emperor.
The Japanese government realized that their country was in no position to defend itself against a foreign power, and Japan could not retain its
isolation policy without risking war. On March 31, 1854, after weeks of long and tiresome talks, Perry received what he had so dearly worked for--a
treaty with Japan. The treaty provided for:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Peace and friendship between the United States and Japan.
Opening of two ports to American ships at Shimoda and Hakodate
Help for any American ships wrecked on the Japanese coast and protection for shipwrecked persons
Permission for American ships to buy supplies, coal, water, and other necessary provisions in Japanese ports.
After the signing of the treaty, the Japanese invited the Americans to a feast. The Americans admired the courtesy and politeness of their hosts,
and thought very highly of the rich Japanese culture. Commodore Perry broke down barriers that separated Japan from the rest of the world.
Today the Japanese celebrate his expedition with annual black ship festivals. Perry lived in Newport, Rhode Island, which also celebrates a Black
Ship festival in July. In Perry's honor, Newport has become Shimoda's sister city.
Frederick Jackson Turner – The Closing of the
American Frontier (1893) – produced concerns of
loss of opportunities and the impact on democracy
and the American character.
He was an American historian best known for his
book, The Significance of the Frontier in American History, in which he presented
his "Frontier Thesis." This central thesis was that the vitality of the American
spirit rested on westward expansion.
Turner, who was chosen to speak in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian
Exposition, told his audience that all the land in the American western frontier
had been explored and settled, and the great era of expansion appeared to be
over. He assured his audience, however, that expansion could continue as long
as the U.S. broadened its notion of "manifest destiny" and looked beyond its
continental borders toward the rest of the world. This message was of great
importance to a nation that was increasingly coming to value imperial
expansion.
Josiah Strong – wrote Our Country (1885); Anglo-Saxons
were to superior to all other races and Americans were
the most superior Anglo-Saxons – his book served as
justification for American actions.
A clergyman and writer who preached of the saving
power of Protestant religious values. He is best known for his book, Our
Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis, in which he urged
Anglo-Saxons to "civilize and Christianize" the American West.
In 1885, Josiah Strong wrote Our Country. In the book, Strong called for
Anglo-Saxons to spread their superior institutions and values to "inferior
races" in the American West. Civilizing "savages," he said, would be both
good for the uncivilized peoples and for the American economy. Many of
those in favor of global expansion in the late nineteenth century found
inspiration in this work.
Henry Cabot Lodge – believed in America’s superiority and
the right for America to engage in conquest and expand; key
figure in annexing the Philippines and a key player in the
defeat of US membership in the League of Nations; the
Lodge Corollary (1912) prevented Latin American countries
from selling any of their lands to non-European countries.
Friend of Theodore Roosevelt, strong supporter of
imperialism. Investigated the conduct of the U.S. Army in
suppressing rebels in the Philippines.
Alfred T. Mahan – The Influence of Sea Power on History
(1890) – nations must expand or die; the key to expansion was
naval power – promoter of the Great White Fleet; the US
needed colonies, coaling stations, a large navy, and an
isthmian canal. Hawaii, Philippines, and a canal in Panama
were keys to becoming a world power. President of the Naval
War College, and leading advocate for imperial expansion. He
argued that for a country to be a world power, it needed a
powerful navy. He believed we needed Pacific Trade routes, a
canal through Central America, and to dominate the
Caribbean.
Theodore Roosevelt – Before he became president, Teddy
led the "Rough Riders," a volunteer cavalry in the Battle of
San Juan Hill near Santiago, Cuba, making him an
American Hero. As president, Roosevelt negotiated a
peaceful end to the Russo-Japanese War with the Treaty
of Portsmouth (1905) winning him the Nobel Peace Prize.
Provided national leadership; saw the importance of the
Pacific to American interests in the 20th century; Saw
Germany and Japan as rivals of the US in the Pacific; With
the Roosevelt Corollary – the US became the “policeman
of the Western Hemisphere.”
Sanford Dole – led a reform movement that forced the king of
Hawaii, Kalakaua, to sign the "Bayonet Constitution" in 1887. It
stripped the king of his power, limited the voting rights of the
nobles and Native Hawaiians, and gave more power to the
European and American subjects of the kingdom. The king died in
1893, leaving his sister, Lili'uokalani, as queen. She was
overthrown by a group of businessmen calling themselves the
Committee of Safety. Dole led a provisional government while its
representatives sought annexation by the United States. Dole
become president of the Republic of Hawai'i on July 4, 1894. A
counter-revolution, led by the queen, failed to remove the new
government. The annexationists within the republic continued
their push, and after the election of U.S. President William
McKinley, Hawaii was annexed as a territory in 1898. First and
only President of the Republic of Hawaii; was a successful
diplomat achieved recognition of the Republic of Hawaii and
helped to secure the annexation of Hawaii in 1898
John Hay – author of the Open Door Policy (1900);
opened Chinese treaty ports to equal trading
opportunities for all nations while preserving Chinese
territorial integrity. U.S. Secretary of State - wanted to
protect American businessmen and investors in China.
He worried that European powers would shut out
American trade from China, which he saw as a vital
market for the U.S. In 1899, Hay announced the "Open
Door" Policy, giving equal trading rights to all foreign
nations in China. He sent notes to all the other major
powers and declared his policy to be in effect. The
Boxer Rebellion erupted, led by a group opposing
Western influence in China. The U.S. helped to crush
this rebellion and opposed attempts by other nations
to use it as an excuse to dismember China.
Missionaries - with a belief in racial superiority,
they argued that the United States had a
responsibility to spread Christianity and
"civilization" to the world's "inferior peoples."