Name ______________________________
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Is an imperialist U.S. a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
PART 1: IMPERIALISM DEFINED AND REASONS FOR IMPERIALISM
What is imperialism?
goals of a football team
goals of imperialism
imperialism =
Why did America want to expand?
1.

_______________________________________________ said we needed a
new ____________________ to keep the unifying quest of
______________________________________ alive
2.

_____________________________________ for raw materials

_____________________________________ argued that the U.S. must build
3.
up its ________ to protect ______________ and its overseas _______________
example: U.S. annexes Hawaii

___________________________________________________ (i.e. Dole) had
taken over the __________________________

_________________________________________________ wants to return
“Hawaii to Hawaiians” so __________ takes over

Hawaii later ____________________________ by U.S.
Follow-up: How do we see anything similar today?
In the chart below, list some current events that are similar to the imperialism that we saw over
100 years ago. Be sure to say how it is similar. Afterwards, answer the question at the bottom.
current event that involves
the U.S. outside the U.S.
historical event from this sheet that is similar
(say how it is similar)
Based on the chart, do you think America is a better or worse imperial nation today than it was
during the late 1800s?
Name ______________________________
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Is an imperialist U.S. a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
PART 2: THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR (1898)
CAUSES:
what really happened:

Spanish put some Cubans
in concentration camps after
Cuba begins to fight Spain
for independence

Spanish de Lôme letter
insults President McKinley
and U.S.

U.S.S. Maine explodes in
Cuban harbor

yellow journalism (William
Randolph Hearst’s New York
Journal vs. Joseph Pulitzer’s
New York World) convinces
Americans to support Cuba
against Spain
EVENTS:
what really happened:

1898: U.S. declares war
against Spain

Admiral George Dewey
quickly defeats Spain in the
Philippines

Theodore Roosevelt led the
Rough Riders in Cuba,
helping (in small part) to
defeat the Spanish there
yellow journalism headline or picture about what happened:
yellow journalism headline or picture about what happened:
EFFECTS:
what really happened:

Treaty of Paris ended the
“splendid little war,” the U.S.
won control of Guam,
Puerto Rico, and the
Philippines

U.S. forced Cuba to add the
Platt Amendment to their
new constitution, giving the
U.S. the right to intervene in
Cuba

U.S. now recognized as a
world power

U.S. ruthlessly puts down a
Filipino revolt to control the
Philippines, starting the
debate over whether the
U.S. should be imperialist or
not
yellow journalism headline or picture about what happened:
follow-up question: Did the Spanish-American War make the U.S. better or worse? How?
Yellow journalism exaggerates the truth and adds believable, yet sensational, lies to sell newspapers.
For at least six of the bullet points, change the note into a yellow journalism headline or picture. For
example, U.S. declares war against Spain could have a headline that reads “U.S. to Banish Evil Empire
from Victimized Cuba” or “Spain Forces U.S. to Fight for Cuban Freedom.”
Name __________________________
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Is an imperialist U.S. a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
PART 3: THE IMPERIALISM VS. ANTI-IMPERIALISM DEBATE
The arguments for imperialism are listed below on the left. Those that argued for imperialism included
the first imperialist president, William McKinley, who was president from 1897 until he was assassinated
in 1901. Add any reasons to this list that you can think of.
On the right side, list any reasons that some, such as Samuel Gompers, William Jennings Bryan, and
Mark Twain, might be against imperialism. People against imperialism were called anti-imperialists.
Page 466 also discusses this if you need a reference.
argument supporting an imperialist
U.S.
 new markets
 more raw materials
 military strength
 Social Darwinism (it was the
“_________________________________”
to civilize the “heathens”)
others?
anti-imperialist argument (the AntiImperialist League was the major group
against imperialism)
 as companies move overseas, so foreigners
are taking our __________ (Samuel Gompers)
 imperialism is ________________ against
foreigners (Mark Twain)
 we need to solve our own
_____________________ first (Booker T.
Washington)
 it’s wrong that the
____________________________ does not
apply to ______________________
territories (Insular cases)
others?
Which of these do you think are true of U.S. imperialism today? How?
Is an imperialist U.S. a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
PART 4: CARIBBEAN VS. ASIAN IMPERIALISM
CARIBBEAN IMPERIALISM:
The Monroe Doctrine was issued by the U.S. in 1823 telling Europe to stay out of the affairs of
the Western Hemisphere (North and South America). Based on the map, how would you
describe the U.S.’s relationship with the Caribbean countries from 1895-1934? Be sure to
consider the map’s key.
ASIAN IMPERIALISM:
The Open Door in Asia

U.S. mostly wants _____________________________ control in ______________

Secretary of State _____________________ issues _______________________________
to other empires saying everyone should respect the others within their
“______________________________________” in ___________________

Chinese try to kick out ______________________ powers with the
_______________________________________ but this ________________
Do you think the military imperialism in the Caribbean or the economic imperialism in Asia is a
better option for the U.S.? Why?
Name __________________________
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Is an imperialist U.S. a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
PART 5: BIG STICK, DOLLAR, AND MORAL DIPLOMACY
Teddy Roosevelt’s foreign policy was called _________________________ Diplomacy.
For the following pictures, use the text pages given to explain the following using the word(s) provided. In
other words, describe how the underlined terms relate to the picture.
Panama Canal (“Focus on Geography: The Panama Canal” p. 474-5)
Panama Canal (“America Builds the
Panama Canal” p. 474-5)
Roosevelt Corollary (“Roosevelt
Updates the Monroe Doctrine, p.
475)
William Howard Taft’s foreign policy was called _________________________ Diplomacy.
dollar diplomacy (“Taft
Switches to Dollar
Diplomacy” p. 477)
Taft
Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy was called _________________________ Diplomacy.
moral diplomacy
Pancho Villa
President Woodrow Wilson took a step beyond Presidents Roosevelt and Taft by adding a moral tone to
Latin American policy. He used the Monroe Doctrine to ensure that Latin America did what he felt was
right. This so-called “moral diplomacy” (also sometimes called missionary diplomacy) meant that the
United States could not officially recognize governments that were oppressive, undemocratic, or opposed
to U.S. business interests. The new doctrine put pressure on countries to have democratic governments.
A revolution in Mexico would test Wilson and his policy. In 1910, Mexican peasants and workers rebelled
against their military dictator. Two new governments followed, the second headed by General Victoriano
Huerta. Wilson refused to support the Huerta government because it came to power through violence.
Wilson would prove to be very stubborn with his missionary diplomacy after few American sailors got
arrested in Mexico. Wilson responded by having the U.S. military occupy Veracruz (a large Mexican
port). This brought the U.S. and Mexico close to war. This time, war was avoided when Wilson finally
recognizes the oppressive Mexican dictator that followed Huerta.
Wilson’s stubbornness would push the U.S. and Mexico close to war again. Pancho Villa began leading
Mexican rebels against the new dictator and his U.S. supporter, President Wilson. To get back at Wilson,
he raided towns in the U.S. near Mexico and killed some Americans. Wilson sent 15,000 soldiers to
capture Villa dead or alive. Mexicans once again were angered by U.S. troops being in their country and
supported war. Wilson would only back down when World War I in Europe turned his attention across the
Atlantic. See pages 477-479 in the textbook for more information.