Becoming a World Power:
U.S. Imperialism
1880-1917
Chapter 9
Chapter 9, Sec. 1
“The United States Continues to Expand”
 Reasons to expand for the U.S.
included that
 a) the United States had run out
of room and
 b) other countries in Europe
and Japan were doing it as
well.
 Important definitions to add:
 Annex: to gain control of a
country
 Intervene: to get involved in
another country’s affairs, etc.
Chapter 9, Sec. 1
“The United States Continues to Expand”
 Three major reasons the
US wanted to expand
into other areas of the
world:
 A) Economic reasons:
gaining more land
would mean more
resources to use, and
thus make the country
more powerful
Chapter 9, Sec. 1
“The United States Continues to Expand”
 Reasons for U.S.
Expansion
 B) military interests:
gaining more land
would mean more
options for military
bases and thus more
protection
Chapter 9, Sec. 1
“The United States Continues to Expand”
 Reasons for U.S.
Expansion
 C) belief in cultural
superiority: many
Americans simply felt that
they were better than
others and that gaining
more land would be able to
help make others more
“American-like”
 - such as more democracy
and spread Christianity
Chapter 9, Sec. 1
“The United States Continues to Expand”
 1) How and why did we get
Alaska?
 Secretary of State William
Seward decided to purchase
Alaska from Russia in 1867
for $7.2 million
 What did people think of
Seward’s decision to buy
Alaska at that time?
 People thought it was a huge
mistake and made fun of his
idea
 (It ended up being a great move
because Alaska had a lot of
resources like oil, timber, etc)
Chapter 9, Sec. 1
“The United States Continues to Expand”
 2) How and why did we get
Hawaii?
 What product was a major
money maker in Hawaii by the
late 1800s?
 there were lots of sugar
plantations in Hawaii
 Who did the U.S. gov’t help
overthrow in the late 1800s
there?
 we overthrew Queen
Liliokalani (& the native
Hawaiians) in 1891
 What naval base was
established in Hawaii?
MOVING TO SECTION 2
The Spanish-American War
Chapter 9, Sec. 2
“The Spanish American War”
 People in Cuba and Puerto Rico
revolted against what country that
was controlling them?
 Spain
 Explain how the “yellow
journalism” situation in Cuba
influenced American thoughts on
the situation:
 Newspapers told exaggerated
stories of what Spain was doing
to the people there to get the
U.S. to get involved (feeding to
sharks, etc)
 This led to American pressure
on President McKinley to go to
war with Spain
Chapter 9, Sec. 2
“The Spanish American War””
 This led Pres. McKinley to
send the U.S.S. Maine to
Cuba.
 What happened to the
U.S.S. Maine and who was
blamed for it?
 The ship blew up and
even though they don’t
think Spain blew it up,
they were blamed for it.
 See maps next slide of the
key areas of the war
Chapter 9, Sec. 2
“The Spanish American War””
 What set of islands did we attack
first when the Spanish-American
War started?
 The Phillipines
 Explain what happened in the battle
of Manila Bay:
 Thanks to the U.S. iron ships
against Spain’s wooden ships,
the U.S. overtook Manila Bay in a
couple hours
 Spain surrendered to the U.S. and
then the U.S. later annexed the
Philippines (even though we told the
Filipinos we would let them have
their own country during the war)
Chapter 9, Sec. 2
“The Spanish American War””
 What country did the
“Rough Riders” help take
over?
 Cuba
 Who was the leader of the
Rough Riders?
 Theodore Roosevelt (not
President yet)
Chapter 9, Sec. 2
“The Spanish-American War”
 What main countries (all of
them islands) did the U.S. get
from Spain as a result of the
war?
 USA gained (and annexed)
Puerto Rico, Guam and the
Philippines
 For Cuba, we agreed that
we got a Naval base there
(Guantanamo Bay)
Moving to Section 3
China, the Panama Canal, and Latin
America
President McKinley Assassinated
Pres. McKinley
Czolgosz
 What happened to President
McKinley in Sept. of 1901?
 President McKinley was shot in
Buffalo, NY.
 He was shot twice by Leon
Czolgosz while shaking hands at an
appearance in New York at the PanAmerican Conference.
 Who took over as President after his
death?
 Vice President Theodore
Roosevelt was sworn is as
President.
 Now, on to the building of the
Panama Canal…
Chapter 9, Sec. 3
“U.S. Involvement Overseas”
 3) How/why did we get the land for
the Panama Canal?
 Why was the U.S. interested in building
the Panama Canal?
 The U.S. wanted a connection
between the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans for easier trade, military
movement, etc.
 What country controlled Panama in the
early 1900s?
 Columbia wouldn’t sell us the canal
zone in Panama
 What did the U.S. do to help rebels in
Panama overtake this country’s
control?
 President Roosevelt (now President)
sent warships to intimidate Columbia
and keep their troops from fighting
Chapter 9, Sec. 3
“U.S. Involvement Overseas”
 What did the new gov’t of
Panama sell to the U.S. right
away?
 sold us the canal zone for
$10 million
 Why did the U.S. pay
Columbia $25 million in
1921?
 as an apology for
“stealing” the canal zone
Chapter 9, Sec. 3
“U.S. Involvement Overseas”
 4) Explain how the process went for
Youtube construction digging the Panama Canal
 major challenges that made building the
Panama Canal so hard:
 Swampy land, mosquitos carrying
malaria, heat, etc. made working
conditions bad
 Many died while working on the canal
and it was much harder than expected
 23) Work started in 1904 and was finished
in 1914 taking ten years to finish
 The canal cost $352 million to build by the
time it was done!
Youtube clip - canal time
Chapter 9 Overview
The Impact of U.S. Imperialism
 The U.S. was showing to be a
“Big Boy” on the Block. This unit
showed that the United States
had gotten very powerful in what
two major categories for world
power:
 A) The economy was getting
stronger and stronger and was
now more “global” and involved
worldwide
 B) The U.S. defeat of Spain (in 5
months) showed that the U.S.A.
was now a military force to be
reckoned with across the world