AP US History – Lesson # 19
Stirrings of Imperialism
I. The New Manifest Destiny
A. Fredrick Jackson Turner’s thesis suggested a need for external expansion
B. Foreign trade was becoming increasingly more important to our economy
1. national exports in 1870 - $392 million
2. national exports in 1890 - $857 million
3. national exports in 1900 - $1.4 billion
C. Voices of Imperialism become more vocal
1. Albert J. Beveridge –Senator from Ind. – “We are raising more than we
can consume.” (economic argument)
2. Henry Cabot Lodge – Senator from Mass. – warned that America when
competing with other world powers - “Must not fall out of the line of
march.” (competitive nations argument)
3. John Fiske – author wrote in Harper’s Weekly – Argued that Englishspeaking peoples were “destined to go on” to advance civilization in other
parts of the world (cultural Darwinist argument)
4. Josiah Strong – Congregationalist minister – Declared that the AngloSaxon race was “divinely commissioned” to spread out religion and
civilization – (White Man’s Burden argument)
5. Alfred Thayer Mahan - Admiral of US Navy – Countries with great sea
powers were the great nations of history (Military power argument)
II. Early Attempts at Expansion
A. Excursions into Latin America
1. James G. Blaine – Sec. of State for two Rep. administrations in 1880’s
helped to organize the first Pan-American Congress
2. Cleveland administration supported Venezuela in a border dispute with
English-owned British Guiana by enacting the Monroe Doctrine – 1895
B. Alaska
1. William Seward- Sec. of State under Lincoln was a strong expansionist
2. Purchased Alaska for $7.2 million from Russia (Seward’s Folly)
3. 1867 – used this purchase to help him annex Midway Islands
C. Hawaii
1. 1840’s – American planters spread throughout islands
2. 1875 – agreement to allow Hawaiian sugar into America duty-free
3. 1887 – US negotiates treaty to open naval base at Pearl Harbor
4. 1891- Queen Liliuokalani tries to resist American imperialism
5. 1893 – American planters stage a revolution and asked for American
help
6. 1898 – Hawaii becomes a permanent territory of America
D. Samoa
1. Samoa long had been a way-station of Asian bound American ships
2. 1878 – Harrison administration sets up naval station at Pago Pago
3. 1899 – US splits island with Germany
III. Spanish-American War
A. Controversy over Cuba
1. Cubans were resisting Spanish rule since 1868
2. 1895 a serious revolution occurred
3. Spanish commander Valeriano Weyler began setting up concentration
camps for resistant Cubans
4. Yellow Journalism began to exaggerate atrocities in Cuba
 Joseph Pulitzer – New York World
 William Randolph Hearst – New York Journal
5. de Lome letter portrayed McKinley as a coward
6. Sinking of The Maine
 Ordered to Cuba to protect American lives
 Sunk killing 260 Americans
 Actually was accidentally sunk by an internal explosion
B. “A Splendid Little War”
1. declared in April , 1898 and ended in August, 1898
2. only 460 Americans killed in battle
3. famous for San Juan Hill charge led by Teddy Roosevelt
4. substantial number of soldiers were African-American
5. Admiral Dewey sailed into manila, Philippines and destroyed Spanish
fleet on May 1, 1898
C. Results of Spanish –American War
1. Spanish territories were annexed to US including Puerto Rico,
Philippines and Guam
2. The Philippine’s annexation resulted in a major debate over the right to
seize foreign lands
3. annexation narrowly won with unusual support of William J. Bryan
4. Philippines War went from 1898 to 1900 and involved 200,000
American soldiers and resulted in 4,300 American deaths (nearly 10 X
Span-Amer War)
5. made war hero out of Emilio Aguinaldo from Philippines
6. Philippines would finally win independence in 1848
7. William Howard Taft became first Civilian governor in 1901
8. Propels us into an actual Empire with territories