Chapter 21: An Emerging World Power
1875
by
1876
Expanded Timeline
Treaty brings Hawaii within U.S. orbit This agreement opened the U.S. market to
Hawaiian sugar and was the entering wedge for the later movement for annexation led
American planters on the islands.
United States achieves favorable balance of trade
Expanding export trade enabled the United States to realize profits surpassing the
outflow
of dollars to foreign investors.
1881
Secretary of State James G. Blaine inaugurates Pan-Americanism
Without any clear purpose in mind, Blaine called a Pan-American conference
involving
the nations of North and South America. Although the conference was never
held, the
Pan-American idea led others to try to develop some coordinated activity
among the
nations of the Western Hemisphere.
1889
Conflict with Germany in Samoa
Germany and the United States almost went to war over the rights to these islands.
After war was averted by a natural disaster, the United States secured its right to a coaling
station that had been established there some years earlier.
1890
Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of Seapower upon History
Captain Mahan's work laid the foundation for the expansionist foreign policy that
created
the American empire.
1893
Annexation of Hawaii fails
Initially anti-expansionist, President Cleveland rejected the annexation treaty as being
contradictory to the previous American policy of not seeking possessions far from its
shores. Frederick Jackson Turner's "The Significance of the Frontier in American
History" This influential essay suggested that with the closing of the frontier, the
United
States would have to look abroad to keep alive its expansionist energy.
Panic of 1893 ushers in economic depression (until 1897)
1894
Sino-Japanese War begins breakup of China into spheres of influence
The weakening of the central government in China made that nation vulnerable to
European and Japanese imperial ambitions. The United States followed with its "opendoor" letters.
1895
Venezuela crisis
After President Cleveland accepted the need for an aggressive foreign policy for
commercial reasons, the United States reasserted its claims to dominance in the
Western
Hemisphere by requiring Great Britain to give up its border dispute with
Venezuela.
Cuban civil war
The Cubans rebelled against Spanish rule again, as they had in 1868. This time the
insurgency was supported by U.S. public opinion, and the Spanish-American War that
followed led to Cuban independence.
1898
Outbreak of Spanish-American War
The United States went to war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence.
Hawaii annexed
Once the United States determined that it had strategic interests in the Philippines,
Hawaii was rapidly annexed because of its signficant location as a coaling station and
naval base.
Anti-imperialist movement launched: Organized in opposition to the annexation of the
Philippines, this movement coalesced into the formidable Anti-Imperialist League in
1899.
1899
Treaty of Paris
In settling the Spanish-American War, this treaty granted Cuban independence and
ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The United States also occupied Manila in
the Philippines pending the signing of the peace treaty.
had
Guerrilla war in the Philippines:Before the United States could annex these islands, it
to fight a costly war against the Philippine independence movement.
Open-door policy in China
Even though European commercial interests were dominant in China, the United
States sought to establish a free trade zone there in opposition to the restrictive trade
practices of the existing "spheres of influence." This plan succeeded after the United States
helped put
down the Boxer Rebellion.
1901
Theodore Roosevelt becomes president; diplomacy of the "big stick"
Roosevelt's elevation to the presidency led to a new emphasis on the use of naval
power to assert American ambitions abroad.
Hay-Pauncefote Agreement: Britain gave up its treaty rights to joint participation in
any
Central American canal project, leaving the United States free to build a canal that
would be exclusively under its control.
1902
U.S. withdraws from Cuba; Platt amendment gives United States right of intervention
Even though American troops were no longer stationed in Cuba, the American
government reserved the right to intervene in Cuban affairs if they deviated from
American national interests.
1903 U.S. recognizes Panama and receives grant of Canal Zone: After assisting the
province
of Panama to achieve its independence from Colombia, the United States
established its right to build an interoceanic canal across the isthmus.
1904
Roosevelt Corollary
In this extension of the Monroe Doctrine, President Roosevelt declared that the United
States had the right to act as "policeman" in the Caribbean, interfering in the internal
affairs of nations in cases of "wrong doing or impotence."
1906
U.S. mediates Franco-German crisis over Morocco at Algeciras
American diplomats negotiated a peaceful settlement of the Moroccan crisis but in
doing so violated the traditional American policy of isolation as far as European conflicts
were concerned.
1907
Gentlemen's Agreement with Japan
Japan agreed to limit immigration to the United States as a concession to Roosevelt's
accommodating stance toward Japanese expansionism.
1908
Root-Takahira Agreement
This agreement, backed up by U.S. naval power, confirmed the principle of free
oceanic
commerce in the Pacific and the open-door in China.
1909
Taft becomes president; dollar diplomacy
President Taft was not particularly interested in the use of military power in foreign
policy, but he supported the notion that the United States should protect American
economic interests abroad.
1913
Wilson asserts new principles for American diplomacy
Wilson favored American support for investment abroad but not at the expense of
other nations that were involved. He stated that foreign policy shoud be conducted in
conformity with democratic principles and with respect for human rights and territorial
integrity.
to
1914
Intervention in the Mexican Revolution: President Wilson sent U.S. troops, uninvited,
support the Constitutionalist forces in the Mexican Revolution. The triumphant
Constitutionalists nevertheless resented American interference, leading to a long-lived
anti-Americanism in Mexico.
Panama Canal opens
The result of a massive engineering and construction feat and some politics, the canal
called for in Mahan's theories was completed.
World War I begins
The United States declared its neutrality as armed conflict broke out between the
Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.