American Imperialism
Introduction
 High Tariffs and globally
restricted trade led
America to try to sell
their goods to Africa and
Asia
 America began looking
elsewhere to expand
Imperialism
 A policy in which a stronger nation extends their
economic, political, and military control over a
weaker territory
Manifest Destiny Reloaded
 Josiah Strong- wrote
“Our Country: Its
Possible Future and its
Present Crisis,”
 Believed nations needed
to be more like America
 Strong believer in Social
Darwinism- strong
nations survive, weak fail
Frederick Jackson Turner
 Wrote the “Frontier
Thesis”
 Stated America was
shaped by westward
expansion
*America needs a new area
to explore
Alfred T. Mahan
 Mahan was a U.S. Naval officer and historian who
wrote The Influence of Sea Power upon History
 Controlling the seas help the decisive factor in
modern warfare
 1880’s- U.S. began working on creating a naval
fleet in the pacific and Atlantic
Territorial Expansion
 Tokyo, Japan (1853)-
Commodore Mathew
Perry sails into Tokyo
Bay forcing Japan out of
a 200 year isolation from
the world
 Opens Japan and Asia
for trade
Hawaii (1872)
 1872- Tariffs from
Hawaiian goods were
dropped to help support
American businesses in
Hawaii
-America planted
sugarcane in Hawaii
Hawaii (1891)
 Queen Liliuokalani
comes to the throne as
the Hawaiian Queen.
 Asks U.S. to annex
Hawaii
 President Cleveland
refuses because is
opposed to imperialism
Hawaii (1897)
 When McKinley becomes
president he accepts the
request for annexation
 This makes Hawaii a U.S.
territory
 McKinley wanted a
military base at Pearl
Harbor