Trouble in Cuba
• One of only two remaining Spanish colonies
– Much American investment in sugar plantations amid
political instability
– Two previous rebellions for independence had failed
• Valeriano Weyler was sent to put down the rebellions
– Created prison camps (“reconcentration camps”)
– Thousands die in these overcrowded, unsanitary,
poorly equipped camps
• Realistically, the U.S. must protect investments and
property
• Idealistically, the U.S. must help the Cubans realize their
noble dream of independence and freedom
• President William McKinley hoped to remain neutral.
Imperialism, The Role of the Media
and a Call to War with Spain
• Newspapers
– Joseph Pulitzer and
the New York World
versus William
Hearst and the
New York Journal
• Yellow journalism =
sensational
exaggerated
news stories
Causes of the Spanish-America War
• The DeLome Letter
– Enrique Dupuy DeLome: Spanish ambassador
• Describes President McKinley as “weak and
catering to the rabble, and, besides, a low
politician.”
• Outrage and indignation in the United States
• “Remember The Maine!!”
– February 15, 1898 the American battleship
blows up
– Probably not a mine, probably not sabotage…
remember “yellow journalism”?
Causes of the Spanish-America War
Congress Declares War!
• McKinley hoped to avoid
war
• Demands that Spain…
– Close the camps
– Grant Cuba independence
– Spain agrees to close the
camps, will not grant
independence
• April 25, 1898
– Congress formally
declares war on Spain
A “Splendid Little War” with Spain
• Teller Amendment
– When Cuba is liberated and peace restored,
the United States will “leave the government
and control of the Island to its people.”
• First, the Philippines (another Spanish colony)
– Emilio Aguinaldo had been fighting against the
Spanish there
– Commodore Dewey storms Manila Bay
– Aguinaldo with American reinforcements takes
Manila
A “Splendid Little War” with Spain
• Then Cuba
– The First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry
• The Rough-Riders led by Teddy Roosevelt
• After taking San Juan Hill the war went quickly
• Peace on August 12 (war was declared in April)
– Armistice (cessation of hostilities)
• 5500 died mostly from disease (malaria and
yellow fever)
• Poorly equipped, poorly supplied troops (wool
uniforms in the tropical jungle!) win America’s
first overseas war
America on the World Stage
• Treaty of Paris 1898
– Independence to Cuba
– Puerto Rico and Guam ceded to the U.S.A.
– Philippines to the U.S. with a payment to Spain of
$20,000,000
• Platt Amendment states that the U.S. is
allowed to intervene in Cuban affairs and to
buy or lease naval bases there
– By 1913, 60% of Cuba’s land was owned and
controlled by U.S. business interests
The Foreign Policy of Teddy Roosevelt
• American national interests come first
• Roosevelt- “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you
will go far”
• Big Stick Policy- Roosevelt’s strong arm approach
in working quietly and patiently to achieve goals
overseas but using force if necessary.
• Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
– The United States would act as international
police power to preserve peace and order in
the western hemisphere and protect American
interests.
Panama
• The US helped Panama
overthrow Columbia in 1903
and recognized them as an
independent nation.
• The U.S. builds a 51 mile canal
in ten years which connected
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
• Panama Canal (opened 1914)
• The Canal was the engineering
feat of the time. In 1999 the
US returned ownership
of the canal back to Panama.
Puerto Rico
• After the Sp-Am War the U.S. set up a military
government, schools, and a postal service
• Jones Act (1917): Wilson made Puerto Rico a
U.S. territory but still no rights
• Puerto Rico remains a U.S. commonwealth
– Control over their
laws and finances
but decisions on
defense and tariffs
are America’s
Philippines
• After the Spanish-American
War, Filipino Emilio
Aguinaldo called for
independence
from the U.S.
• February 1899, fighting
broke out between U.S.
and Philippines
– Hundreds of thousands of soldiers put down the
revolt and defeated the Filipino army
• The U.S. set up a central government , built
schools and controlled the Philippines until 1946.
America on the
World Stage
• Does the Constitution
follow the flag?
– No: In the Insular
Cases the Supreme
Court rules that the
Filipinos and the
Puerto Ricans are
subject to American
rule but do NOT enjoy
American rights
Uncle Sam and People from His Colonies, Postcard, ca. 1900
China’s “Open Door”
• China was a huge nation rich in
resources
• Spheres of Influence
– areas in which a single
nation controlled trading
rights
• Open Door Policy
– issued by the U.S. in 1899
stating that foreign nations
must allow free trade in
China (issued by Secretary
of State John Hay)
The Boxer Rebellion in China
• This group led an
insurrection (rising
up to expel the
foreign devils)
• Thousands killed
including Christian
missionaries and
Chinese Christians
• Forces from the
U.S., Japan and
Europe crush the
uprising
A new “yellow peril”?
• Remember the Chinese Exclusion Act?
• Japanese immigrants begin to head to the U.S.
– They are met with hatred and suspicion eventhough
their numbers were small
• “Gentlemens’ Agreement”
– Japan agrees secretly to slow down the influx of
Japanese laborers in exchange for fairer treatment
• This leads to the Root-Takahira Agreement
– Each side will respect the Pacific holdings of the other
– Each will uphold the Open Door in China
TR on the World Stage
• Roosevelt wins the Nobel Prize
– TR negotiates a
settlement
between Russia
and Japan
(the Treaty of
Portsmouth)
• Japan was hoping
for an end to the
conflict and Russia
was not going
to hold on
forever