World Power
EQ: What conditions lead to
America becoming a world
power? Is America still a
world power?
Warm-Up: Each of you have a document
about U.S. imperialism. Read the
document and answer the question. Be
prepared to share your findings and
reflection with a partner.
-Hawaii
Territories
American planters organized the
overthrow of the monarchy
“They are still children, each one has a different idea
and they don’t really know what they want.” General
Guy Henry
military governor of Puerto Rico
Good for a naval base in Pacific
-Philippines
War erupts over Philippine desire to
be independent
•U.S. treating Filipinos the same as
the Spanish
William H. Taft first governor
Becomes independent Nation after
WWII
-Puerto Rico
became a territory of the U.S. and its
people became citizens in 1917
“You, citizens of a free fatherland, with its own laws,
its own institutions, and its own flag, can appreciate
the unhappiness of the small and solitary people that
must await its laws from your authority…when you
acquire the certainty that you can found in Puerto
Rico a republic like that found in Cuba and
Panama…give us our independence and you will
stand before humanity as…a great creator of new
nationalities and a great liberator of oppressed
peoples.”
American Imperial Claims following the Spanish-American War
“How some apprehensive people picture Uncle Sam
after the war.”
A standard anti-imperialist argument: acquiring
new territories meant acquiring new problems—
in this case, the problem of “pacifying” and
protecting the allegedly helpless inhabitants.
From The News, Detroit, 1899
“Opening of the fishing season. Uncle Sam seems to
be making a good catch!”
Imperialist cartoon showing Uncle Sam as a
great fisherman reeling in Cuba, Puerto Rico,
Hawaii, and the Philippines.
From The Journal, Minneapolis, 1898
Cuban Intervention
-Teller Amendment 1898
guaranteed Cuban Independence
•Passed before the Spanish-American
War
•Stated that the U.S. would not take
over Cuban government
-Platt Amendment
gives U.S. certain interests in Cuba
naval base
•Cuba cannot make treaties to limit
independence or allow other nations
to take over
The U.S. did not establish a permanent
government in Cuba, but it did create a
protectorate, a country whose affairs are partially
controlled by a stronger power, until Cuba was
strong enough to be own its own in the world.
•U.S. may intervene in Cuba
•Cuba cannot go into debt
In Plain English…
The Teller Amendments says that the U.S. will
leave Cuba and its people alone once they
gain independence from Spain. However, in
the Platt Amendment, the U.S. is saying that
they will not leave Cuba unless they set up a
government by their rules. Also, once the
Cubans make this government, the U.S. will
still stay around to make sure that their
independence is protected.
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Asian Interests
•Many consumers to buy US goods
-Spheres of Influence in China
•Places in China that are influenced
by foreign nations
•Each nation claims special rights
and privileges in that area
-Open Door Policy Notes
John Hay
Asked for access to China
•Afraid China would be carved into
colonies by Europe
•Asked leaders to share trading
rights in China with the U.S.
-Russo-Japanese War
Roosevelt is arbitrator
US becomes an active world power
Open Door Policy
Panama Canal
-Panama is part of Colombia
-U.S. tries to negotiate a canal
treaty
•Want a shortcut between Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans
-Colombia refuses
-Panama has a revolution backed by
the U.S.
-10 years of construction followed
thousands died of accidents and
disease to build the canal
•$380 million to build canal
-Roosevelt’s Big Stick Foreign
Policy
•Aggressiveness, use navy
The Panama Canal Controversy
Although Roosevelt denied any role in planning the revolution that freed
Panama from Colombia, he later said, “I took the canal zone and let Congress
debate, and while the debate goes on the canal does also.”
Big Stick Diplomacy
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Theodore Roosevelt
Foreign Policy
Teddy Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy
-Monroe Doctrine
basis of U.S. policy
•Europeans keep out of the affairs of
the Western Hemisphere
-Roosevelt Corollary•Addition to the Monroe Doctrine
-U.S. will be only nation to
intervene (Big Stick Politics)
•U.S. will use force to protect its
economic interests in Latin America
Teddy Roosevelt argued that disorder in
Latin America might “force the United
States…to the exercise of an international
police power” in order to protect US
interests.
Foreign Policy
-Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy
-U.S. will use financial policies to
influence
•U.S. government will guarantee loans
made to foreign countries by
American business people
•Replace bullets with dollars
•Helps trade and stability in Latin
America
-Wilson’s Missionary Diplomacy
-U.S. refuses to negotiate with
“illegal” governments
•Pressured nations in the Western
Hemisphere to establish
democracies
“The force of America is the force of
moral principle…there is nothing else
that she loves…and there is nothing
else for which she will contend.”
-Woodrow Wilson –
-Moral Diplomacy –
Foreign Policies
Impact of Imperialism
-U.S. is now a world power
-debate over the moral and
ethical idea of imperialism
•Anti-Imperialist League
•Declaration of Independence
-anti-U.S. feelings around the world
Philippines
Latin America
“We can have no sympathy with those who
seek to seize power of government to advance
their own personal interests or ambition. We
are the friends of peace, but we know that
there can be no lasting peace in such
circumstances. As friends, therefore, we shall
prefer those who act in the interest of peace
and honor, who protect private rights, and
respect the restraints of constitutional
provisions.”
- Woodrow Wilson on Latin America, 1913 -
Mexico
Pancho Villa
•Mexico is taken over by a dictator
and America will not support him
•Pancho Villa raids US settlements
and kills many
•Many nations begin to distrust
American “help”
Summary
1. What factors drove the U.S. to
imperialize?
2. What contributed to the U.S. becoming a
world power?
3. Are we still a world power? How do you
know?
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