Henretta • Brody • Dumenil
America’s History
Sixth Edition
CHAPTER 21
An Emerging World Power,
1877-1914
Copyright © 2010 by Bedford/St. Martin’s and
Matthew Ellington, Ruben S. Ayala High School
Chapter 21: An Emerging World Power, 1877-1914
1.
The Roots of Expansion
A.
B.
C.
D.
2.
Diplomacy in the Gilded Age
The Economy in the Making
The Making of a “Large” Foreign Policy
The Ideology of Expansionism
An American Empire
A. The Cuban Crisis
B. The Spoils of War
C. The Imperial Experiment
3.
Onto the World Stage
A.
B.
C.
D.
A Power Among Powers
The Open Door in Asia
Wilson and Mexico
The Gathering Storm in Europe
Part 1: The Roots of Expansion
1A: Diplomacy in the Gilded Age
• Economics overshadowed foreign
policy in Gilded Age
• Pan-American effort faltered with
US bullying of Chile
• Alaska purchase and Hawaii revolt
over sugar tariffs showed growing
US interest in the Pacific
Part 1: The Roots of Expansion
1B: The Economy of Expansionism
• The size of the US economy (GDP)
quadrupled between 1870 and 1900!
• Greater exports were seen as necessary to
meet growing US manufacturing output,
especially in the future
• The carving up of Africa & China by European
powers and the Panic of 1893 spurred a new
foreign policy
Part 1: The Roots of Expansion
1C: The Making of a “Large” Foreign Policy
• Mahan’s Influence of Seapower Upon History argued that control of
the seas was the key to imperial power
• Cleveland and Harrison built new battleships for the US Navy
• In 1895 US successfully
applied the Monroe Doctrine
to a Venezuelan border
dispute with England
Part 1: The Roots of Expansion
1D: The Ideology of Expansionism
• Ideological roots of expansionism: Social Darwinism, AngloSaxonism, and a “New Manifest Destiny”
• Turner’s Thesis suggested a link between the “closing” of the frontier
(1890) and overseas expansion
Part 2: An American Empire
2A: The Cuban Crisis
• Yellow Press (Hearst, Pulitzer) publicized atrocities creating jingoism
• De Lôme letter and the explosion of the USS Maine created war fever
• Teller Amendment
promised Cuba
freedom after war
Part 2: An American Empire
2B: The Spoils of War
• Spain’s navy was easily defeated by US in Philippines and Cuba
• In the 4 month war, more Americans died from disease than bullets
• US gained Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam from Spain and
also finally annexed Hawaii
Part 2: An American Empire
2C: The Imperial Experiment
• McKinley’s denial of Philippine self-rule created a bloody, 3 year
insurrection led by Emilo Aguinaldo
• Anti-Imperialist Leagues opposed US expansionism, but McKinley
was still reelected in 1900
• Supreme Court ruled in
the Insular Cases (1901)
that the Constitution
does not necessarily
follow the flag
US Army during Ph. Insurrection
Part 3: Onto The World Stage
3A: A Power Among Powers
• England and US began a “special friendship” in 1901
• US withdrew from Cuba in 1902 but kept Guantanamo Naval Base
and required Cubans adopt the Platt Amendment
• US built the Panama Canal after revolt against Colombia
• Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine gave US the ability to
“police” hemisphere against Europeans
Part 3: Onto The World Stage
3B: The Open Door in Asia
•
•
•
•
Hay’s Open Door Policy met resistance but helped keep China intact
US helped imperial powers suppress Boxer Rebellion in China
“Gentlemen’s Agreement” ended Japanese immigration in 1907
US Navy tour and Root-Takahira Agreement of 1908 eased relations
with Japan
• Taft’s Dollar
Diplomacy and
support for
Chinese
nationalists put
US on collision
course with
Japan
Part 3: Onto The World Stage
3C: Wilson and Mexico
• Wilson rejected imperialism and supported a US
foreign policy of human rights and constitutional liberty
• Wilson meddled in Mexican affairs and even sent US
troops but refused to protect US business interests
• US pulled out in 1917 on brink of its entering WWI
Part 3: Onto The World Stage
3D: The Gathering Storm in Europe
• Europe was divided into two major blocs at the eve of World War I:
the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente
• Most Americans
wanted to
encourage world
peace but avoid
getting tangled in
European affairs
or wars
Algeciras, 1906 signing agreement by Moroccan King