CHAPTER 10
AMERICA CLAIMS
AN EMPIRE
The Great Transformation
1876-1900
• From rural to urban
• From agricultural to industrial
• From isolationist to international
involvement & imperialism
IMPERIALISM AND AMERICA
• Throughout the 19th century
America expanded control of
the continent to the Pacific
Ocean
• By 1880, many American
leaders felt the U.S. should
join European nations and
establish colonies overseas
• Thus began America’s foray
into Imperialism – the policy
in which stronger nations
extend their economic,
political or military control
over weaker nations
WHY IMPERIALISM?
• 1) Desire for Military
strength – Mahan
advised strong navy
• 2) Thirst for new
markets – to spur
economy & trade
• 3) Belief in Cultural
Superiority – a belief
that Anglo-Saxons
were superior
1. Commercial/Business
Interests
U. S. Foreign Investments: 1869-1908
1. Commercial/Business
Interests
American Foreign Trade:
1870-1914
I. Motivations for Intervention
• A. Economic: Agriculture & Industry
Desires Resources and Markets
Business Demands Imperialism
Senator Alfred Beveridge, 1898
• “Today we are raising more than we can
consume. Today we are making more
than we can use… Therefore we must
find new markets for our produce, new
occupation for our capital, new work for
our labor.”
Business Demands Imperialism
• “As our commerce spreads, the flag of
liberty will circle the globe and the highway
of the ocean – carrying trade to all
mankind – will be guarded by the guns of
the republic. And as their thunders salute
the flag, benighted (ignorant) people will
know that the voice of liberty is speaking,
at last, for them … that civilization is
dawning at last, for them.”
2.Military/Strategic Interests
Alfred T. Mahan  The Influence of Sea
Power on History: 1660-1783
3. Social Darwinist Thinking
The Hierarchy
of Race
The White Man’s
Burden
The “Triumph” of the AngloSaxons – the American branch
• “The time is coming … (when) the world
will enter upon a new stage of its history
– the final competition of races, for
which the Anglo-Saxon is being
schooled.”
The “Triumph” of the AngloSaxons – the American branch
• “Then this race of unequaled energy,
with all the majesty of numbers and the
might of wealth behind it – the
representative ... Of the largest liberty,
the purist Christianity, the highest
civilization - … will spread itself over the
earth.”
The “Triumph” of the AngloSaxons – the American branch
• “... This powerful race will move down
upon Mexico, down upon Central and
South America, out upon the islands of
the sea, over upon Africa and beyond.
And can anyone doubt that the results
of this competition of races will be the
‘survival of the fittest?”
– Rev. Josiah Strong, 1891
– Is this similar to something we have come
across before in American history?
C. Racial: “Little Brown Brothers”
Humanitarian: To Civilize and
Christianize
“The White Man’s Burden”
• Americans & Europeans both claimed
that it was their responsibility as
superior races to uplift, civilize and
Christianize native peoples
• “Take up the white man’s burden –
• Send forth the best ye breed• Go bind your sons to exile
• To serve your captives need”
– Rudyard Kipling
4.Religious/Missionary Interests
American
Missionaries
in China, 1905
5. National Pride & Global Competition
“Everyone else gets to!”
International Darwinism
• Since only the strongest nations will
survive, the U.S. had to be strong
religiously, militarily, and politically.
• The U.S. had to demonstrate its
strength by acquiring territories
overseas.
6.Closing the American Frontier
First Steps
• Seward and Blaine
– Secretaries of State William H. Seward and
James G. Blaine
– Both promoted expansion in the Pacific
• Hawaii
– Government overthrown by American planters
• Chile and Venezuela
– President Cleveland asserted American
authority in the Western hemisphere
The Roots of
Imperialism
THE U.S. ACQUIRES
ALASKA
• In 1867, Secretary of State
William Steward arranged
for the United States to
buy Alaska from the
Russians for $7.2 million
• Some thought it was a silly
idea and called it
“Steward’s Icebox”
• Time has shown how
smart it was to buy Alaska
for 2 cents an acre
• Alaska is rich in timber,
minerals and oil
U.S. TAKES HAWAII
• Hawaii had been
economically important to
Americans for centuries
• To avoid import taxes
(tariffs), sugar growers
pleaded for annexation
• The U.S. knew the value of
the Islands – they had
built a naval base at Pearl
Harbor in 1887
• Led by Sanford Dole,
American annexed Hawaii
in 1898 and it formally
became a state in 1959
U. S. Missionaries in Hawaii
Imiola Church – first built in the late 1820s
U. S. View of Hawaiians
Hawaii becomes a U. S. Protectorate in 1849
by virtue of economic treaties.
Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani
Hawaii for the
Hawaiians!
U. S. Business Interests In Hawaii
1875 – Reciprocity
Treaty
1890 – McKinley Tariff
1893 – American
businessmen backed an
uprising against Queen
Liliuokalani.
Sanford Ballard Dole
proclaims the Republic
of Hawaii in 1894.
SECTION 2: THE SPANISH
AMERICAN WAR
• America had long held an
interest in Cuba
• When Cubans
unsuccessfully rebelled
against Spanish rule in
the late 19th century,
American sympathy went
out to the Cuban people
• After Spain abolished
slavery in Cuba in 1886,
Americans invested
millions in Cuban sugar
Cuba is just 90 miles south
of Florida
II. The Spanish American-War
A. 4 Causes of the War:
– Sugar (Economic)
– Spanish Cruelties (Humanitarian)
CUBA’S SECOND WAR FOR
INDEPENDENCE
• Anti-Spain sentiment
in Cuba soon erupted
into a second war for
independence
• Led by poet Jose
Marti, Cuba attempted
a revolution in 1895
• Marti deliberately
destroyed property,
including American
sugar plants, hoping
to provoke American
intervention
Marti
WAR FEVER ESCALATES
• Newspaper
publishers William
Randolph Hearst
(New York Journal)
and Joseph Pulitzer
(New York World)
exaggerated
Spanish atrocities
and brutality in
“Headline Wars”
Political cartoon: Pulitzer (left) and
Hearst escalating and instigating war
between the U.S. and Spain
“Yellow Journalism” & Jingoism
Joseph Pulitzer
Hearst to Frederick
Remington:
You furnish the pictures,
William Randolph Hearst and I’ll furnish the war!
De Lôme Letter
Dupuy de Lôme, Spanish
Ambassador to the U.S.
Criticized President
McKinley as weak and a
bidder for the admiration
of the crowd, besides
being a would-be politician
who tries to leave a door
open behind himself while
keeping on good terms
with the jingoes of his
party.
Theodore Roosevelt
Assistant Secretary
of the Navy in the
McKinley
administration.
Imperialist and
American nationalist.
Criticized President
McKinley as having
the backbone of a
chocolate éclair!
Resigns his position to
fight in Cuba.
U.S.S MAINE EXPLODES
Before
After
• Early in 1888,
President McKinley
ordered the U.S.S.
Maine to Cuba in
order to bring home
American citizens in
danger
• On February 15, 1898
the ship blew up in the
harbor of Havana
• More than 260 men
were killed
WAR ERUPTS WITH SPAIN
• There was no holding
back those that
wanted war with Spain
• Newspapers blamed
the Spanish for
bombing the U.S.S.
Maine (recent
investigations have
shown it was a fire
inside the Maine)
• “Remember the
Maine!” became a
rallying cry for U.S.
intervention in Cuba
THE WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN
• A naval blockade of
Cuba was followed by
a land invasion
highlighted by
Roosevelt’s Rough
Rider victory at San
Juan Hill
• Next, the American
Navy destroyed the
Spanish fleet and
paved the way for an
invasion of Puerto
Rico (Spanish colony)
THE WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES
• U.S. forces surprised
Spain by attacking the
Spanish colony of the
Philippines
• 11,000 Americans joined
forces with Filipino rebel
leader Emilo Aguinaldo
• By August, 1898 Spain
had surrendered to the
U.S. in Manila
U.S. WINS; SIGNS TREATY OF
PARIS
• The U.S. and Spain signed
an armistice on August 12,
1898, ending what
Secretary of State John
Hay called “a splendid little
war”
• The war lasted only 16
weeks
• Cuba was now
independent
• U.S. receives Guam,
Puerto Rico, and “bought”
the Philippines for $20
million
Treaty of Paris, 1898
The Treaty of Paris: 1898
Cuba was freed from Spanish rule.
Spain gave up Puerto Rico and the island of
Guam.
The U. S. paid Spain
$20 mil. for the
Philippines.
The U. S. becomes
an imperial power!
The American Anti-Imperialist
League
Founded in 1899.
Mark Twain, Andrew
Carnegie, William
James, and William
Jennings Bryan among
the leaders.
Campaigned against
the annexation of the
Philippines and other
acts of imperialism.
SECTION 3:
ACQUIRING NEW LANDS
• The U.S had to decide
how to rule the new
lands
• Puerto Rico wanted
their independence–
but the U.S. had other
plans
• Puerto Rico was
important to the U.S.
strategically
• The U.S. set up a civil
government, full
citizenship, and a
bicameral system
Puerto Rico: 1898
1900 - Foraker Act.
 PR became an “unincorporated territory.”
 Citizens of PR, not of the US.
 Import duties on PR goods
1901-1903  the Insular Cases.
 Constitutional rights were not automatically
extended to territorial possessions.
 Congress had the power to decide these rights.
 Import duties laid down by the Foraker Act
were legal!
Puerto Rico: 1898
1917 – Jones Act.
 Gave full territorial status to PR.
 Removed tariff duties on PR goods coming
into the US.
 PRs elected their
own legislators &
governor to enforce
local laws.
 PRs could NOT vote
in US presidential
elections.
 A resident commissioner was sent to
Washington to vote for PR in the House.
CUBA AND THE UNITED
STATES
• The Treaty of Paris granted
full independence to Cuba
• The U.S signed an
agreement with Cuba
known as the Platt
Amendment 1903
• Key features of “Platt”
included the right of the
U.S. to maintain naval
stations on the island and
the right to intervene in
Cuban affairs
• Cuba had become a
“protectorate” of the U.S.
Today the U.S. has a
prison in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba
Cuban Independence?
Teller Amendment (1898)
Platt Amendment (1903)
Senator
Orville Platt
1. Cuba was not to enter into any agreements with foreign
powers that would endanger its independence.
2. The U.S. could intervene in Cuban affairs if necessary
to maintain an efficient, independent govt.
3. Cuba must lease Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. for naval
and coaling station.
4. Cuba must not build up an excessive public debt.
C. An American Puppet: Cuba & the Platt Amendment
“The government of Cuba consents that
the United States may exercise the right to
intervene for the preservation of Cuban
independence, the maintenance of a
government adequate for the protection of
life, property, and individual liberty….”
FILIPINOS REBEL
U.S. troops fire on rebels
• Filipinos reacted with
rage to the American
annexation
• Rebel leader Emilio
Aguinaldo vowed to
fight for freedom and
in 1899 he led a
rebellion
• The 3-year war claimed
20,000 Filipino rebels,
4,000 American lives
and $400,000,000 (20x
the price the U.S. paid
for the land)
FOREIGN INFLUENCE IN CHINA
• China was a vast
potential market for
American products
• Weakened by war and
foreign intervention,
many European
countries had colonized
in China
• In 1889, John Hay, U.S.
Secretary of State,
issued the Open Door
Policy which outlined
his plan for free trade
among nations in China
Foreign
nations were
opening the
door to
China’s trade
BOXER REBELLION
• European nations
dominated China’s cities
• Resentment arose in the
form of secret societies
determined to rid China of
these “foreign devils”
• The Boxer’s were a secret
group that rioted in 1900,
killing and vandalizing all
things foreign
• Foreign Troops were
called in to put down this
“Boxer Rebellion”
The Open Door Policy
Secretary John Hay.
Give all nations equal
access to trade in China.
Guaranteed that China would NOT be taken
over by any one foreign power.
AMERICANS PROTECT RIGHTS
IN ASIA
• After the Boxer Rebellion,
John Hay again issued a
series of Open Door
Policies
• These policies reflected
American beliefs in the
importance of exports, the
right of America to
intervene to keep foreign
markets open, and the
belief that America’s
survival depended on
access to foreign markets
America as a Pacific Power
SECTION 4: AMERICA AS A
WORLD POWER
The Nobel
Peace Prize
is awarded
annually
• Two events signaled
America’s continued climb
toward being the #1 world
power
• 1) Roosevelt negotiated a
settlement between Russia
and Japan who had been at
War – his successful efforts
in negotiating the Treaty of
Portsmouth won Roosevelt
the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize
• 2) Construction of Panama
Canal
Panama: The King’s Crown
1850  Clayton-Bulwer
Treaty.
1901  Hay-Paunceforte
Treaty.
Philippe Bunau-Varilla,
agent provocateur.
Dr. Walter Reed.
Colonel W. Goethals.
1903  Hay-BunauVarilla Treaty.
Panama Canal
TR in Panama
(Construction begins in
1904)
THE PANAMA CANAL
• By the early 20th century,
many Americans
understood the
advantages of a canal
through Panama
• It would greatly reduce
travel times for
commercial and military
ships by providing a
short cut between the
Atlantic and Pacific
oceans
“The shortcut”
BUILDING THE PANAMA
CANAL 1904-1914
Cost- $380 million
Workers– Over 40,000 (5,600 died)
Time – Construction took 10 years
• The French had
already
unsuccessfully
attempted to build a
canal through Panama
• America first had to
help Panama win their
independence from
Colombia – which it
did
• Construction of the
Canal stands as one
of the greatest
engineering feats of
all-time
Constable of the World
The Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine: 1905
Chronic wrongdoing… may
in America, as elsewhere,
ultimately require
intervention by some
civilized nation, and in the
Western Hemisphere the
adherence of the United
States to the Monroe
Doctrine may force the
United States, however
reluctantly, in flagrant
cases of such wrongdoing
or impotence, to the
exercise of an
international police power .
Speak Softly,
But Carry a Big Stick!
U. S. Interventions in
Latin America: 1898-1920s
The U.S. in Latin America: Good
Neighbor or Imperialist?
Taft’s “Dollar
Diplomacy”
Improve financial
opportunities for
American businesses.
Use private capital to
further U. S. interests
overseas.
Therefore, the U.S.
should create stability
and order abroad that
would best promote
America’s commercial
interests.
The Mexican Revolution: 1910s
Victoriano Huerta seizes control of Mexico
and puts Madero in prison where he was
murdered.
Venustiano Carranza, Pancho Villa, Emiliano
Zapata, and Alvaro Obregon fought
against Huerta.
The U.S. also got involved by occupying
Veracruz and Huerta fled the country.
Eventually Carranza would gain power in
Mexico.
Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy”
The U. S. should
be the conscience
of the world.
Spread democracy.
Promote peace.
Condemn colonialism.
U. S. Global Investments &
Investments in Latin America,
1914