On the Verge of Empire:
American Motivations at the
Turn of the Century
Mr. Phipps
U.S. History
The Imperial grab-bag, a free-for-all for all world powers.
California State Standards
11.4 Students trace the rise of the United States to its role
as a world power in the twentieth century.
11.4.1. List the purpose and the effects of the Open Door
policy.
11.4.2. Describe the Spanish-American War and U.S.
expansion in the South Pacific
11.4.4. Explain Theodore Roosevelt's Big Stick diplomacy,
William Taft's Dollar Diplomacy, and Woodrow Wilson's
Moral Diplomacy, drawing on relevant speeches.
Arguments For Expansion:
Economic
Overproduction of Goods:
American industrialization created more raw
materials and manufactured goods than could
be sold (supply exceeded demand)
Mass consumption evident in chain stores, mail
order, and department stores
Required new markets to sell goods
Labor
 Rise of Organized
Labor:
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The International Workers of the World, the
Wobblies, was considered one of the most
radical labor unions at the turn of the century,
known for rioting.
AFL and Knights of Labor
forced higher wages and
better working conditions
Cost of business
increased
Labor unrest forced
businessmen to find other
labor sources
Other Economic Considerations
 Federal government
increased regulation of
business (anti-trust, most
notably)
 Overseas expansion was
sound economic policybegin pre-globalized
companies
 Recent recessions:
Panic of 1893 indicated
the need for economic
regulation
Picture of the Panic of 1893 as it would
have affected the New York Stock
Exchange.
Ideological Arguments
 Manifest Destiny:
“Westward Ho” The angel of “progress
leading Americans westward. The West,
considered the Promised Land, brought
millions in search of cheap land.
 Advocated by vocal
expansionists: F.J. Turner,
Theodore Roosevelt, and
Henry Cabot Lodge
 The frontier was quickly
vanishing (due, in part, to
population boom,
agricultural, and industrial
expansion)
 The frontier symbolized the
democratic ideal of freedom
and self reliance
 International expansion
must replace geographic
barriers in North America
The White Man’s Burden
 White Man’s Burden:
Advocated by
missionaries like Josiah
Strong
Derived from Rudyard
Kipling’s poem intended
to help the savages
U.S. must spread
democracy, Christianity,
and civilization
throughout the world
Brought a sense of
paternalism to
colonialism
“The Cares of a Growing Family.” Paternalism, a
condescending approach taken by imperialist
countries to the natives, implied that the civilized
country should treat other countries like children.
American Nationalism
The power of the American eagle is clearly
evident in its wingspan which covers the world.
Note, also, that the light from the sun
emanates from behind the bird. Incidentally,
the national bird was originally proscribed, by
Ben Franklin, to be the turkey.
 Advocated in national elections
 America was destined to be the
most powerful protector of all
things good: money to spend,
food to eat, human rights,
culture, etc
 America must compete with
rival imperial powers: AustriaHungary, Germany, Britain,
France, and Russia (all the
powers involved in WWI)
 America has the responsibility
to share the right of selfdetermination, democracy, selfgovernment and human rights
Social Darwinism
 Derived from science,
eugenic, and pseudoscienctific (racial) theory
 All countries, in order to
survive, must compete
 The fittest (militarily,
culturally, and
economically) country
and the one which can
adapt, will prevail
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Eugenics, the 19th century study of racial genetics
became the main justification for racial superiority.
This, and phrenology, the study of the bumps on a
human head, explained group and individual
psychology
Arguments For Expansion: Politics
 Congress:
 Advocated by highranking Senators
 Curry favor with lobbyists
 President:
Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy, a new approach in
American foreign policy, clearly defined the role of the U.S.
in the world. It indicates, not only the new power
(technological and militarily) of the U.S., but the declining
power of the European nations. This corresponding
decline resulted from constant warfare, competition, and
the cost of maintaining overseas colonies.
 Captured a new mood in
politics, shaped by
individual
 Advocated by popular
presidents: Theodore
Roosevelt, William
Howard Taft, and
Woodrow Wilson
A Different Approach
“Big Stick Policy”Theodore Roosevelt
Protect American
interests abroad
Be prepared to
protect/balance foreign
interests
Use diplomacy, but
exercise military
strength, or threaten
military
A Congressman, Asst. Sec. of Navy, Lt. Col., Vice
President, and President, TR was also a naturalist,
conservationist, rancher, explorer, prolific author,
and arbitrator. Roosevelt’s ego, zeal and charisma
imbued everything he did.
Taft
“Dollar Diplomacy”William Howard Taft
Use “dollars instead of
bullets”
Provide financial aid to
countries in order to
ensure social/global
harmony
Taft, considered to be the largest president in American history, is
also considered to be a better trustbuster and Justice of the
Supreme Court than a president. His foreign policy, of investing in
foreign governments, did not keep the peace, but rather drained the
American economy and forced dependence on American loans
Wilson
“Moral Diplomacy”Woodrow Wilson
Make the world “safe
for democracy”
Help countries who
want to become
“democratic”
Wilson’s unbending, unflinching, and uncompromising
belief in American democracy and Christianity failed to
make foreign allies. Criticized as a bigot and egoist,
Wilson failed to successfully mediate the Mexican
Revolution or ratify the Treaty of Versailles, ending
WWI.
Strategic Arguments for Expansion
 Based on Admiral Alfred
T. Mahan’s Book, The
Power of the Seas
Mahan’s treatise on naval control and supremacy
set off the first arms race of the twentieth century.
The race to mobilize a steel navy and develop new
naval technology was first accomplished by the
Germans, then the British in Europe. The Germans
were the first to develop the submarine
 Claimed a fully equipped
modern navy would
ensure domestic
tranquility, economic
control, and world peace
 Becoming a superpower
depended on a modern
navy
Strategic Militarism
 Arms Race
 Control of the seas depended
on rapid buildup and
construction of a steel navy
 Control of the seas depended
on the rapid deployment of
the navy across oceans
 German superiority in
submarine technology
resulted in their control of the
Atlantic prior to the Great War
 Control of foreign ports
American shipbuilding was a slow process, with
shipyards primarily in the East Coast. It would often
take over 240 days to construct and fit a naval ship.
By World War II, Henry Kaiser cut the time it took to
22 days
 Including the Hawaiian port of
Pearl Harbor, the control of
islands provided fuel, strategic
protection, and a rest stop
Arguments Against Expansion:
Economics
 Vocalized by the Anti-Imperialist League, which
included:
Authors Mark Twain and William James
Labor leader Samuel Gompers
Industrialists Andrew Carnegie
 Criticized that an imperialist foreign policy would be
very expensive
Building and maintaining a well developed army and navy
Protecting cargo transport ships
Subduing and convincing foreign governments
Suppressing revolts and re-building foreign infrastructure
(nation-building)
Economics
 Federal government
didn’t have the money
 Would require private
contracts which would
further corrupt
government
 Too much labor unrest,
urban poverty,
agricultural depression,
and unemployment
required focus on
domestic spending
Uncle Sam, ever the symbol of American
virtue (and vice) is here seen as a nonchalant
guardian of the world. His posture is
unworried and his expression, unconcerned.
Ideological Arguments
 Imperialism
fundamentally opposed
to American ideals of
self-government, selfdetermination, and
democracy
 “Manifest Destiny” was
an excuse for greed and
gaining profit
 “White Man’s Burden”
was inherently
patronizing and racist
Politics
 The government had
failed to ensure the
right of democracy to
African-Americans,
Mexican-Americans,
most immigrant
groups, the poor, and
all women
A Comparative Look: A Summary
Arguments For
Expansion
 Cheap resources and
new markets
 Manifest Destiny
 Social Darwinism
 Required ports
 Logical extension of
U.S.
Arguments Against
Expansion
 Expensive
 Difficult to maintain
 Anti-Democratic
 Racist
 Patronizing
In Short
 The imperialist agenda won out
 Character of agenda depended on presidency
and key leadership
 Arguments in favor of imperialism outweighed
arguments against imperialism
 All superpowers, throughout history, have
succeeded on a balanced imperialist policy
 All superpowers, throughout history, have failed
if their policy overextended their ability and
resources