CHAPTER
18
America Claims an Empire
Overview
Time Lines
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1 Imperialism and America
SECTION
2 The Spanish-American-Cuban War
SECTION
3 Acquiring New Lands
SECTION
4 America as a World Power
Chapter Assessment
Transparencies
CHAPTER
18
America Claims an Empire
“In the field of trade and commerce, we shall
be the keen competitors of the richest and
greatest powers, and . . . we shall bring the
sweat to their brows.”
Secretary of State John Hay, 1899
THEMES IN CHAPTER 18
Science and Technology
Constitutional Concerns
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CHAPTER
18
America Claims an Empire
“In the field of trade and commerce, we shall
be the keen competitors of the richest and
greatest powers, and . . . we shall bring the
sweat to their brows.”
Secretary of State John Hay, 1899
What do you know?
• How would you react if the United States took
over another country? If you oppose it under
any circumstances, why? If you think it might
be all right under certain circumstances, what
would they be?
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CHAPTER
18
Time Line
The United States
1893 Hawaiian revolution overthrows Queen
Liliuokalani.
1898 The U.S.S. Maine explodes and sinks.
Spanish-American-Cuban War is
fought.
1899 John Hay issues first Open Door notes,
calling for equal trading opportunities in
China.
The United States annexes the
Philippine Islands.
1914 Panama Canal opens.
U.S. troops invade Mexico.
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SECTION
1
Imperialism and America
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Learn About
economic and cultural factors that shaped American
foreign policy at the turn of the century.
To Understand
why the United States became an imperial power.
SECTION
1
Imperialism and America
Key Idea
Economic and cultural factors convince
U.S. policymakers to join the competition
for new markets in territories overseas,
including Hawaii.
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Section 1 Imperialism and America


Imperialism: the policy in which
stronger nations extend their
economic, political, or military
control over weaker territories
Three factors fueled the new
American Imperialism
• 1. Desire for military strength
• 2. Thirst for new markets
• 3. Belief in cultural superiority
American Imperialism: 3 Factors

1. Desire for Military Strength
• America needed to build up its military to compete with
other nations
• Alfred Mahan: Admiral of the US Navy


Construction of modern battleships turned the US Navy
into the third largest Navy in the world
2. Thirst for New Markets
• Advances in technology enabled American farms and
factories to produce far more than American citizens
could consume
• Surplus of farm products allowed the US to increase its
foreign trade and find new markets outside the country

3. Belief in Cultural Superiority
• Social Darwinism: a belief that free-market competition
would lead to the survival of the fittest
• A belief in the Anglo-Saxons…Americans thought that
other civilizations and religions were inferior to them
The United States Acquires Alaska

William Seward: Secretary of State
• Arranged for the US to buy Alaska from
Russia for $7.2 million in 1867
• In 1959 Alaska became the 49th state
• For about 2 cents an acre the US
acquired a land rich in timber, minerals,
and oil
• Protection from Russia
The United States Takes
Hawaii


The Hawaiian islands had always been important
to the US because it was a stopping point for
ships to refuel
By the 1850’s American-owned sugar plantations
accounted for ¾ of the islands’ wealth
• By 1900 foreigners and immigrant laborers
outnumbered native Hawaiians about three to one

In 1875 the US agreed to import Hawaiian sugar
duty-free
• Over the next 15 years sugar production increased 9X

McKinley Tariff of 1890: eliminated the duty-free
status of Hawaiian sugar
• American planters in Hawaii wanted to be annexed in as
a state

Pearl Harbor: 1887 the US built a naval base
The End of a Monarchy…Hawaii

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
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
Queen Lil came to power in 1891 after the death of her
husband
• She wanted to reestablish Hawaii for native
Hawaiians
 Proposed removing the property-owning
qualifications for voting
Business groups organized a revolt against Queen Lil
• With the help of the marines they overthrew Queen
Lil and set up a government led by Sanford Dole
President Cleveland did not favor annexation of Hawaii
b/c a majority of Hawaiians did not favor it
• Annex: to incorporate territory into an existing
country or state
President McKinley favored annexation and in 1898
Congress proclaimed Hawaii an American territory
In 1959 Hawaii became the 50th state
SECTION
1
Imperialism and America
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Section 1 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What are some of the key events and concepts that illustrate
the roots of U.S. imperialism?
Political & military rivalry with other
imperialist powers.
Construction of a modern naval fleet.
ROOTS OF U.S.
IMPERIALISM
Foreign trade as the solution
to overproduction, unemployment,
and economic depression.
Economic competition among
industrial nations.
Combining the philosophies
of Social Darwinism with
Anglo-Saxon superiority.
Missionary impulse to spread
Christianity.
SECTION
1
Imperialism and America
Section 1 Assessment
DEVELOPING HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
To what extent might the mid-19th century belief in manifest
destiny have set the stage for the new American imperialism
at the end of the century?
THINK ABOUT
• why westward expansion might inspire overseas expansion
• justifications for imperialism
• Senator Beveridge’s remark, “Fate has written our policy
for us . . .”
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1
Imperialism and America
Section 1 Assessment
SYNTHESIZING
Why did the United States want to annex Hawaii?
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SECTION
2
The Spanish-American-Cuban War
Learn About
the causes and course of the Spanish-AmericanCuban War.
To Understand
how and why the United States gained control
of Spain’s former colonial possessions.
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SECTION
2
The Spanish-American-Cuban War
Key Idea
The United States goes to war with Spain
over Cuban independence and emerges with
colonies in Guam, Puerto Rico, and the
Philippine Islands.
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Section 2: The Spanish American
War

Cubans Rebel Against Spain
• The first war for independence failed…Cuban
people did force Spain to abolish Slavery…b/c
of this America started to invest in Cuban
sugar plantations
• America had an interest in buying Cuba
(Sugar)…Spain wanted no part in selling

The Second war for independence
• Jose Marti: a Cuban poet and journalist in exile
in New York…launched a revolution in 1895


Guerrilla warfare: military force that harasses the
enemy
Wanted to get US intervention by deliberately
destroying American-owned sugar mills and
plantations
War Fever Escalates

1896 Spain sent General Weyler to Cuba
to restore order
• Herded civilians into barbed wire concentration
camps…est 300,000 died

Yellow Journalism: exaggerates the news
to lure and enrage readers
New York Papers deepened American sympathy
for Cuban rebels

The De Lome Letter: Spanish minister to
the US
• Letter criticized President McKinley…makes
American public mad

New York Journal published the letter…looking for
controversy
War Fever Escalates Cont…

The U.S.S. Maine Explodes
• Happened a few days after the publication of
the de Lome letter
• U.S.S. Maine was sent to Cuba by McKinley
to bring home American citizens
• February 15, 1898 the ship blew up killing
more than 260 men
• To this day no one knows what happened
• American newspapers claimed it was Spain
War with Spain Erupts



April 20, 1898 America declared war on
Spain
Spain did not want war…agreed to
everything the US wanted including a six
month cease fire
The War in the Philippines: Spain thought
American would invade Cuba
• George Dewey defeats the Spanish fleet at
Manila: capital of Philippines
• With the help of the Filipino rebels the US
forced Spanish troops to surrender in Manila
War With Spain Cont…

The war in the Caribbean
• Admiral Sampson effectively blocked the Spanish
fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba
• Dewey’s victory demonstrated US’s superior Navy
• Army: mostly volunteers
• Rough Riders: a volunteer cavalry under the
command of Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt:
had given up his job as Assistant Secretary of Navy
to lead the volunteers
• San Juan Hill: most famous land battle in Cuba


Rough Riders lead the way to victory and the newspapers
declared Roosevelt a hero
Two days later the Spanish tried to break the
blockade…Naval battle that followed ended in destruction of
the Spanish fleet
Treaty of Paris

United States and Spain signed an
armistice: a cease fire agreement on
August 12, 1898
• Fighting only lasted 16 weeks

Treaty of Paris: December 10, 1898 US
and Spain met in Paris to agree on a
treaty
• Spain freed Cuba
• Tuned over the islands of Guam and Puerto
Rico to the US
• Spain sold the Philippines to the US for 20
million
SECTION
2
The Spanish-American-Cuban War
Section 2 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What newspaper headlines would explain the significance of the
following dates related to the Spanish-American-Cuban War?
DATE
NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
February 15,
1898
Battleship Maine Mysteriously Explodes and Sinks
Near Cuban Coast; Over 260 Americans Die
April 20, 1898
U.S. Goes to War with Spain
May 1, 1898
Admiral Dewey Streams into Manila Bay and Destroys
Spanish Fleet
July 25, 1898
U.S. Troops Invade Puerto Rico
August 12,
1898
February 6,
1899
War Over! U.S. and Spain Sign Armistice
Senate Passes Treaty of Paris
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SECTION
2
The Spanish-American-Cuban War
Section 2 Assessment
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
What do you think were the unstated editorial policies of the
yellow press?
THINK ABOUT
• journalist James Creelman’s account of Spanish atrocities
against Cubans on page 530
• why Hearst reportedly said to Remington, “You furnish the
pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”
• the Journal’s headline about the explosion of the battleship
Maine
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SECTION
2
The Spanish-American-Cuban War
Section 2 Assessment
FORMING OPINIONS
If you were a member of the 1898 Congress, would you have
voted to declare war on Spain? Why or why not?
THINK ABOUT
• events that fueled the U.S. conflict with Spain
• the public’s opinion of the war
• the success of McKinley’s diplomatic measures in
resolving the crisis
• the debate in Congress before the declaration of war
HOME
SECTION
3
Acquiring New Lands
HOME
Learn About
U.S. relations with Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the
Philippines.
To Understand
how American imperialism developed across
the globe.
SECTION
3
Acquiring New Lands
Key Idea
The United States encounters continuing
conflict in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the
Philippines, as well as in its attempt to expand
trade with China.
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Section 3: Acquiring New Lands

Ruling Puerto Rico
• Puerto Rico was important to the US for
two reasons


1. Maintaining a presence in the Caribbean
Protecting a future canal to be built across
the Isthmus of Panama
• In 1900 Congress passed the Foraker
Act: ended military rule and set up a
civil government
Cuba and the United States

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Teller Amendment: Stated that the US had no
intention of taking over any part of Cuba
Treaty of Paris further guaranteed Cuba independence
Platt Amendment: The US insisted that Cuba add to
its Constitution…US would not take soldiers out of
Cuba until these terms were agreed too
• Cuba could not make treaties that might limit its
independence or permit a foreign power to control
any part of its territory
• The US reserved the right to intervene in Cuba
• Cuba was not to go into debt that its government
could not repay
• The US could buy or lease land on the island for
naval stations and refueling stations
Platt Amendment stood for 31 years
Protectorate: a country whose affairs are partially
controlled by a stronger power
Filipinos Rebel

Emilio Aguinaldo: rebel leader
• Believed the US had promised independence

The Philippine-American War
• Aguinaldo used guerrilla tactics

The US forced Filipinos to live in designated zones…poor
sanitation, starvation, and disease killed thousands
• Took US three years to put down the revolt



Cost $400 million…20x the price to buy the islands
After the war the US set up a government
similar to the one that was set up in Cuba
Philippines finally became an independent
republic on July 4, 1946
Foreign Influence in China


John Hay: US Secretary of State in 1899
who introduced a series of policy
statements regarding American interest
in China known as the Open Door notes
Open Door Notes: Letters addressed to
the leaders of imperialist nations
proposing that the nations share their
trading rights with the US, thus creating
an open door
• This meant that no single nation would
have a monopoly on trade with any
Foreign Influence in China cont…



The Boxer Rebellion in China:
Boxer: Chinese secret societies that
pledged to rid the country of “foreign
devils”
• Named by Westerners b/c members
practices martial arts
In 1900 troops from Britain, France,
Germany, US marched on the Chinese
capital…within two months the Boxer
rebellion was put down
Protecting American Rights

John Hay…2nd series of Open Door notes
• US would safeguard for the world the principal
of equal and impartial trade with all parts of
the Chinese Empire

Open Door policy reflected three deeply
held American beliefs
• 1. Growth of US economy depended on
exports
• 2. US had a right to intervene abroad to keep
foreign markets open
• 3. Feared that the closing of an area to
American products, citizens, or ideas
threatened US survival


The Impact of US Territorial
Gains
In 1900 McKinley reelected for a second
term…shows that America agreed with
Imperialism policies
Anti-Imperialist League developed
• Prominent Americans such as former Pres.
Cleveland, industrial leader Andrew
Carnegie, social worker Jane Addams
novelist Mark Twain

In the early 20th century the US under
Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson would
continue to exert its power around the
globe
SECTION
3
Acquiring New Lands
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Section 3 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What key events related to U.S. relations with Cuba, Puerto Rico,
and the Philippines occurred between 1899 and 1917?
1899
Aguinaldo’s
armed revolt
sparks
PhilippineAmerican War.
1901
Platt Amendment
authorizes U.S.
intervention in Cuba.
1900
Foraker Act denies U.S. citizenship
to Puerto Ricans and gives the U.S.
president partial control over their
government.
McKinley is reelected as president.
1917
Congress grants U.S.
citizenship to Puerto
Ricans.
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3
Acquiring New Lands
Section 3 Assessment
3
ANALYZING ISSUES
How did U.S. foreign policy at the turn of the century affect
actions taken by the United States toward China?
THINK ABOUT
• why the United States wanted access to China’s markets
• the purpose of the Open Door notes
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SECTION
3
Acquiring New Lands
Section 3 Assessment
3
FORMING OPINIONS
Do you think that America was justified in its policy of
overseas expansion? Why or why not?
THINK ABOUT
• Andrew Carnegie’s comment about U.S. exports
• economic advantages of imperialism for the United States
• William Jennings Bryan’s comment
• Carl Schurz’s warnings about the expense of imperialism
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SECTION
4
America as a World Power
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Learn About
American involvement in the Russo-Japanese
War, the building of the Panama Canal, and the
Mexican Revolution.
To Understand
how and why Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson
used American military and economic power
around the world.
SECTION
4
America as a World Power
Key Idea
Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow
Wilson continue to use American military
power in territories around the world,
including Panama and Mexico.
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Section 4: America as a World
Power


Teddy Roosevelt and the World
• William McKinley assassinated in
1901…TR was Vice Pres
TR the Peacemaker
• In 1904 the Russo-Japanese War
takes place
• TR is asked to mediate peace
negotiations
• TR won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize
Panama Canal
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Panama Canal
Greatly reduce travel time for commercial and military
ships by providing a shortcut between the Atlantic and
Pacific
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901: Britain gave the US
exclusive rights to a canal
Late 1800’s French company tried to build the canal in
Panama gave up after ten years and wanted the US to
buy its claim
In 1903 the US decided to buy the claim for $40 million
US had to get permission from Columbia which ruled
Panama…Columbia denied
With the help of US Panama declared independence
from Columbia
US and Panama signed a treaty…US paid $10 million
plus annual rent of $250,000
Constructing the Canal

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Ranks as one of the world’s greatest
engineering feats
Work went from 1904-1914…In 1913 43,400
workers…Total of more than 5,600 workers
died from accidents or disease
August 15, 1914 the Canal Opened…more than
1,000 merchant ships in first year
US Latin American relations damaged by
American support of rebellion in Panama
• IN 1921 US paid Colombia $25 million to
compensate for lost territory
The Roosevelt Corollary




TR feared European influence in Latin
America
TR reminded European nations of the
Monroe Doctrine: issued in 1823 by
President James Monroe…demanded that
European countries stay out of the affairs of
Latin American nations
Roosevelt Corollary: In 1904 TR said that
the US would now use force to protect its
economic interests in Latin America
Dollar Diplomacy: the US policy of using the
nation’s economic power to exert influence
over other countries
Woodrow Wilson’s Missionary Diplomacy



Wilson gave the Monroe Doctrine a moral tone
• The US had a moral responsibility to deny recognition to
any Latin American government it viewed as oppressive,
undemocratic, or hostile to US interests
The Mexican Revolution: Porfirio Diaz was dictator
• Peasant revolt lead by Francisco Madero overthrew
Diaz…after two years General Huerta overthrew Diaz
 Wilson didn’t recognize Huerta’s government called
them “butcher”
Intervention in Mexico: Wilson looked for opportunity
• US and Mexico close to war…Brazil, Argentina, and Chile
step in to mediate the conflict
 Proposed plan was rejected by Mexico…Huerta’s
government is overthrown by a nationalist leader in
1915 named Carranza
 Wilson recognizes this government
Rebellion in Mexico

Francisco Villa and Emiliano Zapata opposed Carranza’s
government
• Kill Americans trying to go to Mexico for oil
• Wilson orders General Pershing to catch Villa alive or dead




Mexico is upset with US troops in the country
Carranza demands US troops leave…Wilson ignores him almost
leads to war
Both sides back down…US facing war in Europe…need
peace on Southern border
US achieved several foreign policy goals in early 20th
century
• 1. Expanded its access to foreign markers in order to ensure
the continued growth of the domestic economy
• 2. Built a modern navy to protect its interest abroad
• 3. Exercised its international police power to ensure dominance
in Latin American
SECTION
4
America as a World Power
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Section 4 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
During their presidencies, how did Teddy Roosevelt and
Woodrow Wilson use American power around the world?
USING AMERICAN POWER
Roosevelt
Wilson
Helped mediate the settlement
in Russo-Japanese War.
Formulated “missionary
diplomacy”.
Launched construction of the
Panama Canal.
Ordered U.S. military
occupation of Veracruz.
Formulated the Roosevelt
Corollary to the Monroe
Doctrine.
Sent General Pershing and
expeditionary forces to pursue
Pancho Villa.
SECTION
4
America as a World Power
Section 4 Assessment
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING
What do you think were the similarities and differences
between Roosevelt’s “big stick” diplomacy and Wilson’s
“missionary diplomacy”?
THINK ABOUT
• the goals of each of these foreign policies
• how they defined the role of U.S. intervention in
international affairs
• how they were applied
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4
America as a World Power
Section 4 Assessment
ANALYZING CAUSES
In your opinion, should the United States have become
involved in the affairs of Colombia, Nicaragua, and Mexico
during the early 1900s?
THINK ABOUT
• the effect of the Roosevelt Corollary
• the implication of Wilson’s “missionary diplomacy”
• the results of dollar diplomacy
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Chapter
18
Assessment
1. What three factors spurred the new American
imperialism?
2. How did Queen Liliuokalani’s goal conflict with one of
the American imperialists’ goals?
3. Why was American opinion about Cuban independence
divided?
4. Briefly describe the terms of the Treaty of Paris of
1898.
5. Why was the United States interested in events in
Puerto Rico?
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Chapter
18
Assessment
6. What sparked the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, and how
was it crushed?
7. What three key beliefs about America’s industrial
capitalist economy were reflected in the Open Door
policy?
8. What conflict triggered the war between Russia and
Japan?
9. Which of Admiral Mahan’s goals for becoming a world
power were achieved before Roosevelt’s presidency in
1901?
10. Explain Woodrow Wilson’s “missionary diplomacy”.
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