Chapter 27
1890 – 1899
The Path to Empire
In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to
follow is:
Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the
line hard.
- Theodore Roosevelt
A. Imperialist Stirrings
• Production and agricultural
boom looks for new markets
• Growth in
– Population
– Wealth
– Production
• Imperialism, practice by which
powerful nations or peoples seek
to extend and maintain control
or influence over weaker nations
or peoples.
• States are motivated to
dominate others by the
need to
–
–
–
–
expand their economies,
acquire raw materials
additional sources of labor,
to find outlets for surplus
capital and markets for
surplus goods.
**1.
Economic
Imperialism
**2. Political Imperialism
• to expand primarily by
the desire for power,
prestige, security, and
diplomatic advantages
**3. Ideological Imperialism
• Political, cultural or
religious beliefs force
states into imperialism as
a “missionary” activity
4. Forces for Expansion
• Manifest Destiny
• a belief that territorial
expansion by the United
States was both
inevitable and divinely
ordained
• Remember the “Yellow
Press”
– Joseph Pulitzer and
William Randolph Hearst
***5. What was the Virginius?
• Ship captained by Joseph Fry, an
American soldier of fortune, which
was used in an attempt to smuggle
arms to Cuban rebels. It sailed
fraudulently under the neutral
American flag and carried
counterfeit American registration.
• On October 31, 1873, the Virginius
was captured by Spanish officials
in international waters, and 36 crew
members and 15 passengers,
including several American citizens
and British subjects, were executed
• Paid US $80,000 for damages and
released ship
6. Social Darwinism
• Missionaries look for
new souls overseas
– Native Americans no
longer target
– Superiority of AngloSaxon race
• Darwinism
– Earth belongs to the
strong and fit
– Other nations already
had a jump, esp.
Africa
7. The Influence of Sea Power
• Book written by Captain
Alfred Thayer Mahan
– Control of sea is key to world
dominance
– Stimulated the naval race
among world powers
– Relit isthmus argument
• Also James Blaine
– “Big Sister” policy
– Encouraged Latin America to
open markets
– First Pan-American Conference
– Suggested economic
cooperation – NAFTA????
B. Monroe’s doctrine and the
Venezuelan Squall
• Gold discovered in area
contested with Great
Britain
• British defying Monroe
Doctrine
• Pres. Cleveland sent
Sect. Of State, Olney to
protest
• British refuse to respond
for 4 months!!!
1. Twisting the Lion’s Tail
• British deny relevance of
Monroe Doctrine
• Angry Cleveland sends
commission to establish
boundary WITHOUT
British input
• British anger diverted by
capture of 600 British in
South Africa by German
Boers
2. Patting the Eagle’s Head??
• Strengthened Monroe
Doctrine
• England foresees
German threat
• Great Rapprochement,
reconciliation, between
US and England
C. Spurning the Hawaiian Pear
“The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is the golden hour for the
United States to pluck it.” – American minister to Hawaii
• Hawaiian Islands used as
provisioning stop for ships
• The first New England missionaries
reached Hawaii in 1820.
• State Department warned other
nations to keep their hands off
Hawaii in 1840.
• In 1887 treaty naval-base rights
secured at Pearl Harbor
• McKinley Tariff of 1890 used to
protect US sugar growers.
– Increased tariff on Hawaiian sugar
cultivation
– Reduced profits for American
planters in Hawaii
1. Hurrah for President Cleveland
• American planters decided
that the best way to overcome
the tariff would be to annex
Hawaii.
– Opposed by Queen Liliuokalani
– Planters organized revolt in
1893 with unofficial support
from US.
• The Queen was overthrown
• Treaty to annex Hawaii,
withdrawn from Senate by
President Grover Cleveland
D. Cubans Rise in Revolt
• Tariff of 1894 also affected
sugar production of Cuba
• Cubans began revolt against
their Spanish in 1895
• Because Spanish began to place
Cubans in reconcentration
camps
• Cuban revolutionaries hoped to
destroy enough of Cuba that
Spain would abandon Cuba
• Or United States might move in
and help the Cubans with their
independence.
1. Once again, President Cleveland
• America had large investment
as well as annual trade stake
in Cuba.
• Congress passed a resolution
in 1896 that recognized the
belligerence of the revolted
Cubans.
• President Cleveland refused
to budge and fight for Cuba’s
independence.
E. The Mystery of the Maine
Explosion
•
"You furnish the pictures,
I'll furnish the war!"
• WR Hearst to Frederic
Remington
• Who were leaders of “yellow
journalism.” ??
• Caused the American people
to believe that conditions in
Cuba were worse then they
actually were.
• Hearst’s Journal published a
letter written by Spanish
minister in Washington,
Dupuy de Lome in 1898.
• The letter, which degraded
President McKinley, forced
Dupuy de Lome to resign.
Political Cartoon on Spanish Imperialism
• On February 15, 1898,
the American ship,
Maine blew up in
Havana harbor.
• Spanish investigators
declared it was an
accident (spontaneous
combustion in one of the
coal bunkers)
• American investigators
claimed Spain had sunk
it.
• 254 seamen were dead,
and 59 wounded. Eight
of the wounded later
died.
• American people rally
around the flag.
1. “Remember
the Maine”
***2. What Really Happened to the Maine?
• Although the Maine was only
a second-class battleship, it
was the largest ship ever to
enter Havana harbor.
• To the Cubans, it was a
floating American fortress
right in their capital city
• Captain Sigsbee describes
what happened next.
• I laid down my pen and
listened to the notes of the
bugle, which were singularly
beautiful in the oppressive
stillness of the night. . . . I
was enclosing my letter in its
envelope when the explosion
came.
• It was a bursting, rending,
and crashing roar of immense
volume, largely metallic in
character.
• There was a trembling and
lurching motion of the vessel,
a list to port. The electric
lights went out.
• Then there was intense
blackness and smoke. The
situation could not be
mistaken.
• The Maine was blown up and
sinking. For a moment the
instinct of self-preservation
took charge of me, but this
was immediately dominated
by the habit of command.
***3. The Maine Explodes
•
•
•
•
Captain Sigsbee managed to reach the deck, now slanted down sharply toward the
submerged bow.
He climbed aft toward the only part of the ship that was not awash. Fires had broken
out all over the vessel, and they lit the harbor in an eerie red glow.
Most of the crew had been asleep in their berths at the forward part of the ship, which
was already at the bottom of the harbor. The stern sunk more slowly.
Crews from nearby ships manned lifeboats to rescue the surviving crewmen of the
Maine.
***4. The Spanish helped?
• "Chief among them," Sigsbee wrote, "were the boats from the
Alfonso XII. The Spanish officers and crews did all that humanity
and gallantry could compass." Reluctantly, Captain Sigsbee
abandoned the Maine, which continued to burn and explode
throughout the night.
F. McKinley Unleashes the Dogs
of War
• American diplomats had
already gained Madrid’s
agreement to
Washington’s 2 basic
demands
– an end to the
reconstruction camps
– armistice with Cuban
rebels.
1. Teller Amendment
• American people ready for war
• Pres. Cleveland, not convinced, followed their
lead.
• On April 11, 1898. Congress declared war and
adopted the Teller Amendment.
• Told the world when the United States had
overthrown the Spanish, it would give the
Cubans their freedom.
G. Dewey’s May Day Victory at
Manila
• American army numbered 2,100 officers and 28,000 men
compared to the 200,000 Spanish troops in Cuba.
• Navy ranked 5th world-wide
• Due to navy secretary John D. Long and his assistant secretary
Theodore Roosevelt.
1. Great White
Fleet
• Roosevelt sends
Commodore George
Dewey’s 6-ship fleet
to Spanish
Philippines
• On May 1, 1898,
Dewey sneaks in at
night and attacks and
destroys Spanish fleet
at Manila.
***2. USS Olympia - Dewey’s Flagship
• The Pacific fleet was visiting
Hong Kong when the news of
war arrived.
• Commodore George Dewey
quickly provisioned his ships
and set off to attack the
Spanish colony in the
Philippine Islands.
• Once at sea, Commodore
Dewey had his men paint all
the ships. Once a bright
white, the ships were soon
covered with a dull gray to
make them less visible to the
enemy.
***3. Dewey in Battle
• Next, Dewey ordered that
everything made of wood,
including the piano on his
flagship Olympia, be tossed
over the side. Splintered
wood presented a greater
danger to his crews than
enemy shells.
• Then with chests, chairs, and
tables bobbing in the water
behind them, the ships went
after the Spanish fleet
• After searching throughout an
oppressive tropical night,
Dewey found the Spaniards
in the shallows of Manila
Bay.
***4. The War in Motion Pictures
• At dawn on the first of May, the
Olympia led the fleet in single file
toward its enemy. The Spanish
opened fire long before the
Americans were within range.
When the Olympia reached
effective range, it turned sharply to
the west, bringing all its guns to
bear upon the Spanish
• "You may fire when ready,
Gridley," Dewey told his executive
officer. With a deafening roar, the
huge cruiser's guns erupted. The
flagship swung around in a wide
circle, and each ship followed, guns
blasting as it passed. "We made five
trips past the fleet," a gunner on the
Boston wrote.
***5. “The
destruction we
had wrought”
• Just two hours after the
beginning of the battle we
hauled out and, withdrawing
a few miles, the order was
given for breakfast. I was
exhausted from the heat,
loss of sleep, and lack of
proper food. I went up on
deck. Below the
thermometer was at 116°,
and the fresh air was a great
relief. From this vantage
point, I could see the
destruction we had wrought.
6. Capturing Manila
• Foreign ships began to
gather in the Manila
harbor, protecting their
nationals.
• On August 13, 1898,
American troops
captured Manila.
H.
Unexpected
Imperialistic
Plums
• After victory in the Philippines US needed Hawaii as
supply base for Dewey in the Philippines.
• Congress passed a joint resolution of Congress to
annex Hawaii on July 7, 1898.
I. The Confused Invasion of
Cuba
• Shortly after the outbreak of
the war, the Spanish
government sent a fleet of
warships to Cuba, led by
Admiral Cervera.
• He was blockaded in the
Santiago harbor in Cuba by
American ships.
• Leading the invasion force
from the rear was General
William R. Shafter.
1. The Landing in Cuba
• Commanded by Colonel Leonard Wood, the group was organized principally
by Theodore Roosevelt.
• Landing near Santiago, Cuba was made without serious opposition.
2. The Charge up San Juan Hill
• On July 1st, fighting
broke out at El Caney
and San Juan Hill, up
which Colonel Roosevelt
and his Rough Riders
charged.
• The “Rough Riders,”
part of the invading
army, was a regiment of
volunteers consisting of
cowboys and exathletes.
J. Curtains for Spain in America
• Admiral Cervera’s fleet was
entirely destroyed on July 3,
1898 and shortly thereafter
Santiago surrendered.
• General Nelson A. Miles met
little resistance when he took
over Puerto Rico.
• On August 12, 1898, Spain
signed an armistice.
• 400 servicemen died in
combat during the threemonth war, but nearly 5500
died from diseases such as
typhoid, malaria, yellow
fever, and dysentery.
K. McKinley Heeds Duty,
Destiny, and Dollars
• Spanish and American
negotiators met in Paris
• Americans secured Guam
and Puerto Rico, but the
Philippines presented
President McKinley with a
problem:
–
he didn’t want to give the
island back to Spanish misrule
– but America would be turning
its back upon responsibilities if
it simply left the Philippines.
1. McKinley’s Goals:
To Christianize and To Civilize
• I have been criticized a good deal
• Spanish negotiators
the Philippines," McKinley
objected to US control about
said, "but I don't deserve it. The
of Philippines because
truth is . . . they came to us as a
Manila had been
gift from the gods
captured the day after • "Congratulations," Andrew
the war
Carnegie wrote to a leading
expansionist. "You seem to have
• America therefore
about finished your work of
agreed to pay Spain
civilizing the Filipinos. It is
$20 million for the
thought that about eight thousand
Philippines.
of them have been completely
civilized and sent to heaven. I
hope you like it."
L. America’s Course (Curse?) of
Empire
• The Anti-Imperialistic League
sprang up and fought McKinley
administration’s expansionism.
• Democratic presidential
candidate 1900, William J.
Bryan used his influence on
senators to get the treaty
approved on February 6, 1899.
• Bryan argued that the sooner
the treaty was passed, the sooner
the Filipinos could gain their
independence.
***1. The White Man’s Burden
Take up the White Man's
burden-Send forth the best ye breed--
Go, bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait, in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild-Your new-caught sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.
***2. The March of the Flag
• "The Opposition tells us that we
ought not to govern a people
without their consent. I answer, The
rule of liberty that all just
government derives its authority
from, the consent of the governed,
applies only to those who are
capable of self- government. I
answer, We govern the Indians
without their consent, we govern our
territories without their consent, we
govern our children without their
consent. . . . Would not the people of
the Philippines prefer the just,
humane, civilizing government of
this republic to the savage, bloody
rule of pillage and extortion from
which we have rescued them? "
– (Albert J. Beveridge, "March of the
Flag," 16 September 1898)
**3. Mark Twain’s Response
• I am an anti-imperialist. I •
am opposed to having the
eagle put its talons on
any other land.
- quoted in A Pen
Warmed Up in Hell
M.
Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba
• Foraker Act of 1900,
Congress gave the Puerto
Ricans a limited degree of
popular government and,
in 1917, granted them
U.S. citizenship.
• In Puerto Rico the US
worked wonders in
education, sanitation,
transportation, and other
improvements.
• In the Insular Cases, the
Supreme Court declared
the Constitution did not
extend to the Philippines
and Puerto Rico.
1. The Platt Amendment
Elihu Root
Sect of War / Sect of State
• The United States, honoring the Teller
Amendment of 1898, withdrew from
Cuba in 1902.
• The U.S. forced the Cubans to write
their own constitution of 1901 (the
Platt Amendment).
• The constitution decreed that the
United States might intervene with
troops in Cuba in order to restore order
and to provide mutual protection.
• The Cubans also promised to sell or
lease needed coaling or naval stations
to the U.S.
N. New Horizons in Two Hemispheres
• Although the Spanish-American War only lasted 113 days,
American prestige as a world power increased.
• One of the greatest results of the war was the bonding between
the North and the South.