United States
Imperialism
at the turn of
th
the 20
Century
1865
1920
Imperialism = the policy in
which stronger nations
extend their economic,
political, or military control
over weaker territories.



Manifest Destiny - the idea that Americans were a
superior people and had the right to control the
North American continent
Monroe Doctrine of 1823 - warned European
powers not to meddle in the Americas because the
U.S. would defend the new countries in Latin
America
The idea of increasing U.S. territory seemed
natural to most Americans





Louisiana Purchase 1803 – gave U.S. land west of the
Mississippi to the Rocky Mts.
Purchased Florida and Alaska
Bargained for the Oregon Territory
Fought for Texas
Seized California and parts of the Southwest from Mexico

The Civil War from 1861-1865 disrupted the
nation’s expansionism but when it was over,
Americans looked for new frontiers to
conquer.

U.S began to look abroad for territory to
control because…

Advanced industrialization created surpluses =
desire for new markets.


Desire to increase military strength by establishing
overseas naval bases, fueling stations, etc.
Belief in cultural superiority.


Also, Americans believed that:
 Acquiring new lands would increase
American prestige
 Americans had a moral obligation to
spread democracy and Christianity to
people in other lands
Led to expansion in Latin America, and
the Pacific

Background:



Since the 1790s Hawaii served as a stopping point
for U.S. ships traveling to China and East India
1820s missionaries established Christian schools and
churches and their children became sugar planters
who sold their crops to the U.S.
Push for Annexation


After the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890, which placed
tariffs on Hawaiian sugar sold to the U.S., American
planters in Hawaii called for annexation to avoid the
tax.
The U.S. established a naval base at Pearl Harbor in
1887

End of the Hawaiian Monarchy


White business men pressured Hawaii’s King
Kalakaua to change the constitution to allow voting
rights only for wealthy landowners.
The King’s sister, Queen Liliuokalani, took over in
1891 after he died and tried to remove the propertyowning qualifications for voting:
 In response, business groups, with the help of the
Ambassador John L. Stevens, organized a revolution,
overthrew the Queen, and established a new
government.
 President Grover Cleveland recognized the Republic of
Hawaii but refused to annex Hawaii unless a majority
of Hawaiians favored it.

End of the Hawaiian Monarchy – cont.
 William McKinley took over the presidency
in 1897 and favored annexation!
 August 12, 1898 Congress proclaimed
Hawaii an American territory
 The Hawaiian people never had the
chance to vote!



1868 the Cuban people started fighting for
independence from Spain’s repressive rule –
unsuccessful at first!
Americans sympathized with the Cubans and
began to see Cuba as part of the U.S.
After the abolishment of slavery in Cuba in the
late 1800s, Americans began investing millions
of dollars in sugar cane plantations on the
island.

1895 the Cubans led by Jose Marti launched a
revolution
Rebels believed that if they created enough destruction
than the Spanish would want to leave
 Burned sugar fields, destroyed mills and fought against
the Spanish soldiers
 The Spanish forced the Cubans into “reconcentration”
camps = death of 1/10 of the island’s population
 Cuba’s economy fell apart


Americans were divided:

Many business people wanted to support Spain to protect
their investments but other Americans wanted to support
the rebels in their quest for independence

On February 15, 1898 the American battleship the
Maine, exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 260
men.
Americans blamed Spain
 Journalists used sensational writing called Yellow
Journalism to enrage readers and fuel hatred for the
Spanish.

 “Remember the Maine! To War with Spain”
Later it was determined that the explosion was the result
of a faulty broiler and not a bomb!
 Despite Spain’s agreement to a 6 month cease-fire,
President McKinley asked Congress to declare war on
Spain

 April 20, 1898 the U.S. officially declared war on Spain

Fighting begins in the Philippines (also a
colony of Spain)
 Commodore George Dewey led the
American navy and defeated Spanish ships
in the harbor of Manila, the Philippine
capital.
 U.S. troops were then able to land in the
Philippines
 The U.S. with the help of rebel leader,
Emilio Aguinaldo, and other Filipino
rebels, defeated Spanish troops in 2
months.

After the victory in the Philippines, U.S. troops
land in Cuba

June 1898, 17,000 American troops, converged on
Santiago, Cuba.
 These troops included four African-American
regiments and a volunteer cavalry known as the Rough
Riders, led by Teddy Roosevelt.

July 1, 1898- two African American regiments and
the rough riders storm Kettle Hill and clear the way
for a successful attack on the strategic San Juan Hill.
 U.S. newspapers declare Roosevelt the hero of San
Juan Hill, even though Roosevelt and the rough
riders played a minor role in this 2nd victory.

After the victory in the Philippines, U.S. troops
land in Cuba - continued


Two days later, the Spanish fleet is crushed in
Santiago harbor and Spain is defeated!
U.S. also conquers Puerto Rico (another Spanish
colony) on July 25, 1898.

Outcome:



December 10, 1898 the U.S. and Spain sign the
Treaty of Paris:
 Spain grants independence to Cuba
 Spain cedes Puerto Rico and Guam
 Spain sells the Philippines to the U.S. for $20
million
 U.S remained in Cuba and establishes naval
stations
 U.S. makes the Philippines a colony
U.S. emerges as a world power.
Anti-imperialism spreads in the U.S.

Annexation of the Philippines????????

Americans now debated whether they could/should
annex the Philippines:
 President McKinley justified annexation by saying,
“that there was nothing left for us to do but to take
them all [the Philippine Islands], and to educate
the Filipinos, and uplift and Christianize them.”
 Interestingly, most Filipinos were already Christians!
 Other Americans were against annexation for a

variety of political, economic and moral reasons.
February 6, 1899, the Treaty of Paris is approved and
the Philippines become part of the American empire.



During the Spanish-Amer. War, U.S. forces occupied
the island and took military control under General
Nelson A. Miles.
Many Puerto Ricans wanted independence from the
U.S. while many others wanted some form of selfgovernment as an American territory.
In 1900, Congress passed the Foraker Act, which ended
military rule and established a civil government.


This act gave the president the power to appoint Puerto Rican
governors and some members of the legislature
In 1901 the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution
did not automatically apply to people in acquired
territories.

Congress, however, still had the right to extend citizenship, and
it granted that right to the Puerto Ricans in 1917.


After the war, the U.S recognized Cuba’s independence
but still occupied Cuba.
 Under American occupation, the same officials who
had served Spain remained in office and those
Cubans who protested this policy were imprisoned
or exiled.
 However, the U.S. provided food, clothing, schools,
and medicine, and helped rebuild farmers’ land.
In 1900, the newly formed Cuban government
wrote a new constitution that did not specify
the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba.

1901 – the U.S. insisted that Cuba add to its
constitution provisions known as the Platt
Amendment, stating that:






Cuba could not make treaties that might limit its independence
or permit a foreign power to control any part of its territory.
The U.S. reserved the right to intervene in Cuba
Cuba was not to go into debt
The U.S. could buy or lease land on the island for naval stations
and refueling stations
U.S. refused to withdraw its army until Cuba adopted
the Amendment and despite protest, the Cuban gov.
reluctantly accepted the new constitution in 1903.
The Amendment remained in effect for 31 years, and
Cuba became a U.S. protectorate – a country whose
affairs are partially controlled by a stronger power.


Filipinos were outraged at the Treaty of Paris that
called for American annexation of the Philippines.
In 1899, the Filipinos led by Aguinaldo, revolted:
The U.S. took over Spain’s role and imposed its power on
a colony fighting for independence.
 Aguinaldo turns to guerilla tactics, and in response, the
U.S. forced the Filipinos to live in designated zones where
sanitation, starvation, and disease killed thousands.
 It took the Americans 3 years to put down the rebellion,
cost the lives of 20,000 Filipino rebels, 4,000 Americans
and $400 million dollars.
 The U.S. set up a government in the Philippines and the
Filipinos gradually worked toward independence which
they were granted in 1946.




The U.S. saw the Philippines as a gateway to
the rest of Asia, particularly China.
European powers, Japan and Russia had
already established settlements for trade along
China’s coast.
Fearing the U.S. would be shut out of China,
U.S. Secretary of State John Hay issued a series
of policy statements in 1899 called the Open
Door Notes – proposing that nations share
their trading rights with the U.S., thus creating
an open door for trade.

Other imperialist nations reluctantly accepted

1900- thousands of Chinese led a revolt to rid
China of all foreigners known as the Boxer
Rebellion


Britain, France, Germany, Japan and 2,500 American
soldiers marched on the Chinese capital and crushed
the rebellion.
Fearing that the European nations would use their
victory to take more control, John Hay issued a
second series of Open Door notes stating that the
U.S. would “safeguard for the world the principle of
equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese
Empire”.

The U.S. and the Panama Canal
 U.S. control of territory in the Pacific led to
an interest in building a canal across Central
America to allow warships to pass – they
looked to Panama (a province of Colombia).
 President Theodore Roosevelt bought the
rights to the Panama route from France for
$40 million (a French company had tried to
build the canal but after 10 years they gave
up)

The U.S. and the Panama Canal -continued
 TR still needed to get permission from the
Colombian government, who ruled Panama.
 When negotiations broke down, the owner of the French
company who sold the route to the U.S., worked with
Panamanian rebels to revolt against Colombia.
 On Nov. 3, 1903 Panama won its independence and 15 days
later Panama and the U.S. signed a treaty to build the canal.

Construction of the Canal:
 The canal took ten years to complete and 43,400
workers.
 Workers fought diseases such as yellow fever and
malaria and very difficult working conditions
 Building the canal cost more than 5,600 lives and $380
million.

The U.S. and the Panama Canal -continued
 On August 15, 1914, the canal opened for
business.
 U.S. intervention in Colombian –Panamanian
affairs marked a decline in U.S. relations with
Latin America because these countries began
to fear the power of the United States in the
region.
 1921 the U.S. signed a treaty with Colombia
expressing regret on the part of the U.S. and
paying Colombia $25 million in
compensation.

Roosevelt’s Policy in Latin America:
 TR wanted to keep European powers out of
Latin America and TR based his Latin
American policy on the West African proverb
that said, “Speak softly and carry a Big Stick”.
 TR issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine warning that disorder in
Latin America might “force the United
States… to the exercise of an international
police power.”

Taft continued Roosevelt’s policy of policing Latin
America:
In 1911, Taft arranged for American bankers to loan
Nicaragua enough money to pay its debt, after rebellion
nearly bankrupted the country.
 In return, U.S. bankers could collect Nicaragua’s customs
duties, gained control of Nicaragua’s railroads and its
national bank.
 Furious, the Nicaraguan citizens revolted against their
President Adolfo Diaz.
 The U.S. quickly sent marines to support the President
and successfully put down the revolt.
 This policy of using the government to guarantee loans
made to foreign countries by American businesspeople
became known as Dollar Diplomacy


When Wilson became president in 1913 he
added a moral tone to the Monroe Doctrine:


Wilson’s “Missionary Diplomacy” stated that the
U.S. had a moral obligation to deny recognition to
any Latin American government it viewed as
oppressive, undemocratic, or hostile to U.S. interests.
This policy pressured nations in the Western
Hemisphere to establish democratic governments.

Wilson’s policy and the Mexican Revolution:

Mexico had been ruled for 3 decades by Porfirio
Diaz – a friend of the U.S. who encouraged foreign
investment in his country.
 As a result, foreigners, mostly Americans, grew rich
and owned many of Mexico’s oil wells, mines, ranches
and railroads while the Mexican people remained very
poor.


1911, Mexican workers and peasants led by
Francisco Madero overthrew Diaz.
Madero was unable to satisfy the people and was
soon replaced by General Victoriano Huerta. Two
days later, Madero was murdered and President
Wilson refused to recognize the government formed
under Huerta, calling it a “government of butchers.”

Wilson’s policy and the Mexican Revolution:

Wilson waited for an opportunity to intervene and
finally did in April 1914 after a small group of
Huerta’s officers arrested but quickly released a
group of American sailors off the coast of Mexico.
 Wilson ordered marines to occupy Veracruz and
Mexico and the U.S. came close to war.
 However, Huerta’s regime soon collapsed and was
replaced by Venustiano Carranza, a nationalist leader.
 Wilson withdrew his troops and recognized Carranza’s
government.

Wilson’s policy and the Mexican Revolution:
Carranza was not supported by all Mexicans and
soon rebels, led by Francisco “Pancho” Villa and
Emiliano Zapata fought to replace him. Villa and
Zapata wanted land reform in Mexico.
 Villa and Zapata wanted friendship with the U.S. but
when the U.S. recognized Carranza’s gov., Villa’s
men attacked and killed many Americans in Mexico.
 In response, Wilson sent 15,000 U.S. troops, under
the command of General John J. Pershing.

 Pershing’s troops searched for Villa for over a year and
as more U.S. troops invaded Mexico, the Mexicans
grew angry over the invasion of their land.

Wilson’s policy and the Mexican Revolution:


In February 1917 both sides back down as the U.S.
faced war in Europe and wanted peace on its
borders.
U.S. intervention in Mexican affairs proved that the
U.S. would fight to spread free-enterprise democracy
and its political and economic system even through
armed intervention.
1.) It expanded its access to foreign markets in
order to ensure the continued growth of the
economy.
2.)The U.S. built a modern navy to protect its
interests abroad.
3.)The U.S. exercised its international police
power to ensure dominance in Latin America.