The Policemen of the World
American Expansionism at the
Turn of the 20th Century
• From the end of the Civil War to the
1880s, the U.S. was an isolationist
country
• During the 1890s, the U.S. became an
imperialist country. Why?
1.Destiny
2.Defense
3.Dollars
4.Democracy
5.Deity and Social Darwinism
Destiny
• Manifest Destiny in early 1800s vs. late
1800s
o Where?
o
Why?
Belief:
Three domestic concerns led the U.S.
to expand global interests:
– Industrial Expansion
– Western Settlement
– Growth of Federal Government
How do these (and other factors) lead
to U.S. Imperialism?
Industrial Expansion
Aspects affecting imperialist tendencies:
– Business Cycles
Alternating cycles of prosperity and recession
caused overproduction
– International Investment Capital
Foreign concerns invested $3 billion in U.S.
Economy
– Desire to expand markets
– Favorable shift in balance of trade
Standard Oil Example
Few exports in 1880
1890: controlled 70% of world market
Western Settlement
West settled with promise of overseas
markets for surplus crops
– Euro demand for U.S. crops drops after 1880
– Farmers forced to seek new markets for their
products
Defense
Alfred Thayer
Mahan – The
Influence of
Sea Power on
History
What was his
argument in
this book?
Defense
• “Big Sister” Policy
• James Blaine’s idea
• Better relations with Latin American =
more ??
• 1889- 1st Pan-American Conference
o
What was the purpose of this meeting?
Revitalized Navy
By 1880s in shambles
– Recovery from depression of 1873
More money to build modern navy
– Realization that U.S. Navy was worst in world
Concern: unprepared if conflict erupted
– Alfred Thayer Mahan
Surplus production requires commercial colonies
Oceans should be highways, not barriers
A powerful navy is essential for commerce
Dollars
• Americans wanted
new markets to sell
their goods and new
sources of resources
• What made this
possible?
American Foreign Trade:
1870-1914
Democracy
• U.S. wanted to support the growth of
democracies around the world
Deity
• Desire to spread their religious beliefs to others
• Reverend Josiah Strong and Our Country: Its
Possible Future and Its Present Crisis
o What was this book about?
o
What was the mission for Americans?
Deity
• Social Darwinism – what was
this?
• What was the role of the U.S.
in the world? In society?
The Hierarchy
of Race
The White Man’s
Burden
“The Missionary Factor”
Premises:
– Soul saving and profit making go together
Industry learned about foreign markets from missionaries
Dole (Hawaii Pineapple Co.) and Hawaii
– Government protection/International Agreements
More American missionaries=need to protect them
– Faith in destiny of Christianity to conquer the world
THE US BECOMES AN IMPERIAL
POWER
What is happening in this cartoon?
THE US BECOMES AN IMPERIAL
POWER
Alaska: 1866/1896
HAWAII: 1898
MIDWAY ISLAND: 1867
WAKE ISLAND: 1898
GUAM: 1898
JOHNSTON ISLAND: 1898
PALMYRA ISLAND: 1898
SAMOA ISLAND: 1899
PHILIPPINES: 1898
PUERTO RICO: 1898
What is happening in this cartoon?
Imperialistic Ideas
The nation needed more markets for its goods
John Hay’s Open Door Policy
–
–
open access to China for American investment and
commercial interests
bolstered American commercial interests in China
Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
–
–
–
Direct cause - American fear that financial instability in
the Dominican Republic would lead to European
intervention
Expanded America’s role in Central America and the
Caribbean
Intervening in Latin America nations that could not pay
their debts to European creditors
OPEN DOOR POLICY
Spanish American War-1898
Yellow Journalism (William R.
Hearst)
–
–
–
–
Sensational news stories stirred the anger
of the American public
1898-Battleship Maine explodes in Cuban
harbor: 250+ Amer. soldiers die
Leads to Spanish-American War
U.S. wins gains territory
Territories gained
– Puerto Rico, Cuba, Philippines
Yellow journalists were quick to blame the
Spanish
Speak Softly,
But Carry a Big Stick!
• Latin American felt bullied
• “Bad Neighbor” policy
Debate
American Imperialism: Should the United
States become an imperialist power by
keeping the Philippine Islands?
– Manifest Destiny: Is overseas expansion, and
therefore control of the Philippines, part of the
inevitable manifest destiny of the United
States?
Democracy: Would ruling another nation be
compatible with basic American ideals of
democracy and self-government?
Economic Benefit: Is acquiring the Philippines
essential for America’s economic health and
future trade with Asia?
Race: Should the dark skinned Filipinos be
brought under the rule of the white skinned
race?