Standard 5
Domestic and foreign developments
that contributed to the emergence of
the United States as a world power in
the twentieth century.
Day 1
Wednesday
5.1
• American expansionism
– Isolationism
– Intervention
• Imperialism
– Social Darwinism
– Capitalism
– Domestic issues
4 slides
Imperialism
• Historically, the US focused
on domestic issues instead
of international affairs
• Previous expansion was
motivated by land hunger
• Expansion in the late 19th c.
went beyond land in search
of new markets
• Imperialism- stronger
nations extend their
economic, political, or
military control over weaker
territories
Imperialism
• The US moved from
isolationism to
intervention because of
expanding capitalism
– Increased the need for raw
materials and new markets
• Trading overseas would
increased demand for US
manufactured goods
– Led to increased farm
production
Imperialism
• Growing nationalism
fostered the desire to
expand American naval
power in order to
compete with other
imperialist nations
– Protect trade
– Secure markets
– Spread Christianity
Imperialism
• Social Darwinism
encouraged the idea that
Americans were superior
to other cultures
– Must expand to fulfill the
nation’s destiny
• Expansionism led the US to
spread American ideas,
religious beliefs, and
capitalism to other nations
– It also initiated foreign
resentment of American
interference
Day 2
Thursday
5.2
• Spanish American War
– Yellow journalism
– South Pacific
– Pro- and anti-imperialists
5 slides
Spanish American War
• US involvement in the Spanish
American War marked America’s
emergence as a world power
– The US sympathized with the
democratic aspirations of the
oppressed Cubans
– Desire for new markets and
expanding capitalism
– Expansion of naval power
– Yellow journalism sensationalized
events in Cuba (USS Maine and
DeLome letter)
• President McKinley was pressured
to ask Congress to declare war
Spanish American War
• The US annexed Hawaii and
captured Manila Harbor
(Philippines) immediately
after the war declaration
– Offered a convenient fueling
stop on the way to markets in
Asia
• After the war, Americans
were against annexing the
Philippines because they
would never be fully
incorporated into the Union
– McKinley believed it was
America’s responsibility to
govern the Filipinos who could
not govern themselves
Spanish American War
• Social Darwinism and
racial prejudices
influenced both Pro- and
Anti-Imperialists
• Domestic prejudices
manifested through Jim
Crow Laws and voting
restrictions
Spanish American War
• After the Spanish American
War, the US gained territory in
the Caribbean and the Pacific
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The Philippines
Wake Island
Guam
Puerto Rico
• The Platt Amendment
declared the US a protectorate
of Cuba, controlling economic
and political influences
• The debate of how to govern
these areas was heighted
when Filipinos started
revolting against the US
Spanish American War
• The SCOTUS ruled that the
“Constitution does not
follow the flag”
– Subject peoples do not have
the same rights as citizens of
the US
– These lands were not
offered statehood
• Subject peoples saw the US
as a colonial power, not the
champion of liberty
Day 3
Friday
5.3
6 slides
• US foreign policy in the early 20th century
– Open Door policy
– Panama Revolution
– Roosevelt’s “big stick diplomacy”
– Taft’s “dollar diplomacy”
– Wilson’s “moral diplomacy”
– Changing world perceptions
Imperialism
• America changed form
isolationism to
imperialism based on the
need for new markets
• Chinese and Latin
American policy became
more assertive
Influence in China
• European nations had trading
privileges with China called
‘spheres of influence’
• In its Open Door Policy, the US
asked that all foreign powers
have equal opportunity to trade
– Great Britain supported the Open
Door Policy (much like they
supported the Monroe Doctrine)
• Chinese nationalists called the
“Boxers” resisted foreign
involvement but were put
down by the US and British
during the Boxer Rebellion
Influence in Latin America
• US involvement in Latin
America increased after
the Spanish American War
• The Platt Amendment in
the Cuban constitution
extended US supervision
over Cuban affairs and
granted the right to lease
a military base at
Guantanamo Bay
Influence in Latin America
• US imperialism in Latin
America manifested during
the Panama Revolution
• The US supported the
Panamanians in their revolt
against the Colombian
government
– In return, Panama agreed to
give the US exclusive rights to
build a canal
• This allowed the US to gain
influence over the region for
almost a century
– Alienated Colombia (and later
Panama)
Presidential Diplomacy
• Theodore Roosevelt’s Corollary
to the Monroe Doctrine
described the US as the police
of the Western Hemisphere
• Roosevelt’s “Big Stick”
diplomacy increased the US
profile in world affairs
• William H. Taft’s “Dollar”
diplomacy promised to protect
US economic and business
investments in Latin America
Presidential Diplomacy
• Woodrow Wilson’s
“Moral” diplomacy was
used to ‘teach the
Mexicans to elect good
men’ while supporting US
businessmen
• Each president’s policy
involved the US more
deeply in the Western
Hemisphere, angered US
neighbors, and increased
the US’ role in world
affairs
Day 4
Monday
5.4
12 slides
• Causes and consequences of US involvement
in World War I
– Neutrality
– Declaration of war
– Propaganda
– Individual liberties
– Treaty of Versailles
– League of Nations
Nationalism and Alliances
• ‘Nation’ refers to a group of
people who share a common
language, religion, history
and traditions
– Not all nations had states
– Many were included in empires
• Ethnic and ideological
differences led to conflict
within these empires
• Nationalism promoted
competition in military
strength and led to military
alliances
Start of World War I
• The assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
heir to the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, in Bosnia by a
Serbian nationalist sparked
the start of the Great War
– Serbian nationalists were
revolting against the
imperialistic control of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
• The confrontation between
Serbia and Austria-Hungary
quickly involved much of
Europe due to the alliance
system
US Neutrality
• The US initially declared
neutrality at the start of
WWI but European
actions caused it to fail
– Trade
– Submarines
– Mexico
US Neutrality: Trade
• US utilized its traditional
trading ties with GB
• British blockades of
German ports limited
American trade with
Germany
• US businesses loaned
money to the Allies to
promote trade
US Neutrality: Submarine Warfare
• Germany’s use of unrestricted
submarine warfare affected
US public opinion on the War
• The 1915 German U-boat’s
sinking of the Lusitania
outraged President Wilson
and the American public
– Lusitania- British passenger ship
which had Americans on board
• Germany pledged to restrict
their use of submarine
warfare
US Neutrality: Mexico
• Wilson was re-elected in 1916
on the slogan “he kept us out
of war”
• GB intercepted and published
a telegram from Germany to
Mexico
– Zimmerman note- Germany
asked Mexico to declare war on
the US and after the war,
Mexico would regain their lost
territory
• Americans were outraged
because this would have
violated their neutrality
Declaration of War
• Germany resumed unrestricted
submarine warfare in Spring 1917
• Wilson asked Congress to declare
war in April 1917
– “make the world safe for
democracy”
– Fourteen Points peace plan to
achieve a “just and lasting peace”
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Freedom of the seas
End to secret treaties
Arms reduction
Self-determination
International peace organization
End of World War I
• Due to American
involvement, Germany’s
last push on the Western
front in France was
deflected
• The armistice started on
Nov. 11, 1918
– Ended the fighting
between the Allies and the
Central Powers
Day 5
Tuesday
Propaganda
• Propaganda created a united
war effort
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Planted victory gardens
Enlisted in the military
Bought war bonds
Characterized German’s as
“Huns”
Resulted in discrimination
against German Americans
Stopped teaching German in
schools
Restricted the playing of
German music
Renamed German foods
Propaganda
• The Sedition Act restricted
the individual liberties of
Americans
– Couldn’t voice their
ideological objections to the
war effort
– Contributed to the post-war
Red Scare (fear of
communism)
Peace Treaty
• President Wilson wanted a
peace settlement based on
his Fourteen Points
• Other allies were determined
to protect their own national
interests
• Treaty of Versailles
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War Guilt Clause
Reparations
Demilitarization
New national boarders based
on self-determination
• The harsh terms of the treaty
laid the bases for WW2
Peace Treaty
• The League of Nations
would act as a discussion
board for member nations
– Created to prevent secret
alliances
– Promoted diplomacy instead
of war declaration
5.5
3 slides
• US rejection of internationalism
– Postwar disillusionment
– Treaty of Versailles
– Election of 1920
– 1920s International Affairs
US Treaty with Germany
• The US Constitution grants the
executive branch power over
foreign policy
– Check and balances requires the
Senate to ratify all treaties
• President Wilson took a central
role in the Treaty of Versailles and
wanted the US to play a leading
role in the League of Nations
– The Senate refused to ratify the
treaty because of fears it would bring
the US into future conflicts
• The US made a separate peace
with Germany
US Treaty with Germany
• The US never joined the League
but did send observers to the
meetings
• The US joined other nations in the
call for limiting the size of navies
• The US loaned money to Germany
so they could pay war reparations
to France and GB then those
nations could pay off loans to the
US
– Dawes Plan- $800 million
– Young Plan- Reduced reparation
amount from 269 billion gold marks
to 112 billion ($8 billion USD)
US Isolationism
• The US did not intervene in
European affairs when
dictators rose to power in
Italy and Germany during the
1920s and 1930s
• When the Great Depression
started in 1929, Americans
were too concerned with
domestic problems to worry
about European issues
• The Neutrality Acts were
passed to keep the US out of
any future war