Seeking Empire
Tara Fredenburg, Kevin Randle, Stuart Thompson, Samuel
Xiao
Early Stirrings
In post-Civil War times settlement slowed significantly
However, Industrial growth caused a want for expansion across the Pacific
The purchase of Alaska was proposed by William Seward in 1867
The Senate was more occupied with reconstruction of the Union and settlement of the West.
The purchase was postponed a year because of this
The ownership of the Samoan islands was almost a cause conflict between Germany, the United
States, and Britain
Also, there were conflicts about hunting rights around the Alaska
During the 1890s-1920s 4 million Italian immigrants came to the United States
Hawaiian Annexation
●
American relations with Hawaii acquired
foothold with sugar trade
○ however in 1890, the Mckinley Tariff
raised the price of foreign sugar
●
Most upper class Hawaiians were
businessmen from America
●
The annexation of Hawaii would cause the
tariff to disappear
●
The King was forced to sign a “Bayonet
Constitution” removing most of the power
from the monarchy before his death
●
Queen Liliuokalani was against foreign
culture in Hawaii
Liliuokalani
●
●
●
●
●
●
Born on September 2, 1898
○ She was a daughter of a high-ranking
chieftess
Educated at the Missionary-Run Royal School
○ She learned how to fluently speak english
there
○ She also learned musical skills there
■ She produced more than 160 songs
and poems in her life
Her older brother David Kalakaua was named king
in 1874
○ When her younger brother died, she was
named the heir to the monarchy
She served as regent during the king’s tour of the
world
In 1891 King Kalakaua died and Liliuokalani
became the first female monarch of Hawaii
She attempted to restore power to the monarchy,
however the Missionary party declared Hawaii a
republic two years later
.
The Cuban revolution
●
During the late 1800s, U.S. was eager to obtain new land.
○ They set their attention on Spain, who at that time, was weak.
●
The Cuban War for Independence began in 1895.
●
To stop the rebels, Spain sended General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau
to Cuba.
○ Weyler send more than 300,000 civilians to
concentration camps to isolate them from the rebels.
○ The condition was very poor, and more than 30% of the
civilians died from diseases and malnutrition.
The story of the crisis in Cuba reached U.S. and increased the public’s
“Remember the Maine”
During 1898, Spanish ambassador: Dupuy de Lôme sent a letter criticizing
the U.S. president: William McKinley to Foreign Minister of Spain: Don
José Canelejas.
The Cuban rebels seized the letter, and gave it to the Hearst press.
After publishing it on public newspaper, tension between Spain and
U.S. worsened.
On February 18, the USS Maine, located in the Havana Harbour, exploded at
9:40pm, killing over 260 men.
The Yellow Press, after receiving the information, used the statement:
”REMEMBER THE MAINE” to cause hostility towards Spain.
De Lôme Letter
The Spanish-American War
Both Spain and the US were severely underprepared for war, though America had an advantage in
warship technology.
The US Navy ranked 12th in the world by 1880 and 5th by 1890.
Before war was officially declared, Commodore George Dewey attacked Spain’s Pacific Fleet in the
Philippines. It was hugely successful.
In Cuba, the American army was largely outnumbered. The Rough Riders were a voluntary cavalry
organized by Theodore Roosevelt in 1896 and made up of cowboys, miners, law enforcement officials,
ex-convicts, college students, and Native Americans.
Spain admitted defeat in the Cuban conflict after the fall of Santiago on July 17th.
The Treaty of Paris granted the US ownership of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, allowed Cuba
to become independent of Spain, and gave Spain $20 million for its losses.
Commodore
George Dewey
●
born in Montpelier, Vermont.
●
studied at the U.S. Naval
Academy/served with Union naval
forces during the U.S. Civil War.
●
assigned to the U.S. Asiatic squadron
the year before the war begins.
●
(April 30, 1898) attack on the
Spanish Fleet in Philippines’ Manila
Bay with his squadron.
.
Image- legendaryauctions.com//Americana October 2001
Emilio
Aguinaldo
●
born into the local elite of Cavite on the
Island of Luzon in the Philippines
●
After his father’s death, he joined
Katipunan, a secret brotherhood interested
in overthrowing Spanish rule.
●
the U.S. hoped Aguinaldo would aid in the
effort against Spain, but when he began to
believe the US had no interest in liberating
the Philippines, his own forces stayed
separate from those of the US.
●
Following the constitutional convention,
Image- the Presidential Museum and Library (PH)
The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America
● Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican politician who served as the United
States of America President from 1901-1909
○ Reasserted Monroe’s old declaration
○ Roosevelt Corollary
○ Platt Amendment
● The United States established a protectorate over Cuba and annexed Hawaii.
For the first time in its history, the United States had acquired an overseas
empire.
○ Roosevelt was convinced that all of Latin America was vulnerable to European attacks
The Roosevelt Corollary and Latin America cont.
Teddy Roosevelt had a motto: "SPEAK
SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK."
Latin Americans did not look upon the
corollary favorably.
United States would send troops of invasion to
establish an undisputed sphere of influence.
The Platt Amendment
The United States occupied Cuba for five years
after 1898.
In following years, the United States used the
amendment several times to send troops to
maintain or place friendly governments in
power and to protect investments. The
The Panama Canal
A canal was inevitable. A trip by boat from New York
to San Francisco forced a luckless crew to sail
around the tip of South America — a journey
amounting to some 12,000 miles.
Construction on the canal was extremely
difficult.
Feared the United States or Great Britain
would use the canal for national advantage.
(The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty)
The 1903 Hay-Herran Treaty permitted the
United States to lease a six-mile wide strip
of land at an annual fee.
The United States became the first nation in
the world to recognize the new government
Panama Canal cont.
Bibliography
Ushistory.org. "Seeking Empire." <i>U.S. History Online Textbook</i>.
Ushistory.org, 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
Hunt, Nigel. "Independence War (1895-1898)." <i>Cubahistory.org</i>.
Cuba History .org, 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
Great Projects Film Company. "1895: Cuban War for Independence."
<i>PBS</i>. PBS, 1999. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
Milkis, Sidney. "Theodore Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs." <i>Theodore
Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs-</i>. Miller Center of Public Affairs,
University of Virginia, 2004. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
Schmaell, Wynell. "The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii."
<i>National Archives and Records Administration</i>.
National Archives and Records Administration, Nov.-Dec. 1999.
Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
"General Valeriano Weyler." <i>- The World of 1898: The
Spanish-American War (Hispanic Division, Library of
"Liluokalani Biography." <i>Bio.com</i>. A&amp; E Networks
Television, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
Dupuy De Lôme, Enrique. "De Lôme Letter." Letter to William McKinley.
1898. <i>Our Documents</i>. Ourdocuments.gov, 2001. Web.
04 Dec. 2015.
Halsall, Paul. "Modern History Sourcebook: The Platt Amendment, 1901."
<i>Internet History Sourcebooks</i>. Fordham University,
1998. Web. 04 Dec. 2015.
"The Major Immigration Years 1880s-1930." <i>University of California
Berkeley</i>. The Regents of the University of California, 2007.
Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
"BIOGRAPHIES OF THE SECRETARIES OF STATE: WILLIAM
HENRY SEWARD." <i>WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD</i>.
United States Department of State, 2005. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
McCullough, David G. The Path between the Seas: The Creation of the
Congress)</i>. Library of Congress, 22 June 2011. Web. 04
Panama Canal, 1870-1914. New York: Simon and Schuster,
Dec. 2015.
1977. Print.
"Topics in Chronicling America - The Sinking of the Maine." <i>The
Cavendish, Richard. "The Sinking of the Maine." <i>The Sinking of the
Sinking of the Maine</i>. Library of Congress, 3 May 2013. Web. 06 Dec.
Maine</i>. Historytoday, 2 Feb. 1998. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.
Questions
1.
2.
3.
What caused the delay of the purchase of Alaska from
Russia?
a. reconstruction of the Union
b. the compromise of 1877
c. settlement of the West.
d. both a and c
Who did not want possession of the Samoan Islands
a. Germany
b. Britain
c. France
d. United States of America
What was not an effect of the Mckinley Tarriff
a. The price of foreign sugar was raised
b. American-Hawaiians wanted annexation
c. Liliuokalani was named Queen in 1880
d. King Kalakaua was forced to sign a “bayonet
contract” removing the power from the
monarchy
4. Which statement best describes President Theodore
Roosevelt’s foreign policy position toward Latin America in
the early 1900’s?
a. The United States should reduce involvement
in Latin American affairs
b. The Monroe Doctrine permits the United States
to intervene actively in the affairs of Latin
American nations
c. Latin American nations should form an
organization to help them achieve political and
economic stability
d. The United States should give large amounts of
financial aid to help the poor of Latin America
5. What was the total cost of the Panama Canal cost?
a. $145 million
b. $450 million
c. $345 million
d. $200 million
Questions
6.
7.
How did the United States respond to Emilio
Aguinaldo’s presidency in the Philippines?
a. The US refused to recognize his authority.
b. The US recruited him for the next war effort
following the Spanish-American War.
c. The US promoted Aguinaldo, granting him the
title “Admiral of the Navy.”
d. The US admired his work with Katipunan and
requested his help in the construction of the
Panama Canal.
How did Spain and the US match up at the beginning
of the Spanish-American War?
a. Spain was well-prepared to take on battle and
the US was relatively vulnerable in the fight.
b. Spain was poorly prepared and the US was
perfectly adapted to take on a new war.
c. Both Spain and America were severely
unprepared, but the US ultimately had an
advantage.
d. Both countries were struggling, but Spain had
8. True or False: Italian immigrants came primarily
from the southern half of the country
9. What president during this time was notably antiimperialist
a. Grover Cleveland
b. Rutherford B. Hayes
c. Ulysses S. Grant
d. William McKinley
10. Which was not a product of the Treaty of
Paris?
a.
b.
c.
d.
US ownership of the Philippines, Guam, and
Puerto Rico
Cuba becoming independent of Spain
Spain getting $20 million for its losses.
Samoan islands was almost a cause conflict
between Germany, the United States, and
Britain