Chapter 18: America Claims an
Empire
 Section 1: Imperialism and America
 Section 2: The Spanish-American-Cuban War
 Section 3: Acquiring New Lands
 Section 4: America as a World Power
Section 1: Imperialism & America
Objectives
 To summarize the causes & effects of European and
Asian imperialism
 To identify factors that influenced American
imperialism
 To explain how the United States acquired Hawaii
Global Imperialism: Europe
 Imperialism: the policy in which stronger nations extend
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their economic, political or military control over weaker
territories
By the 19th century Africa was a prime target for European
expansion or imperialism
Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Portugal &
Spain had divided Africa up into European colonies
Great Britain also established colonies in Asia & the
Pacific
From 1837-1901, Britain had built an empire that included a
quarter of the world’s land and people
Global Imperialism: Asia
 Japan replaced its feudal order with a central
government modeled after Western nations
 Joined European nations in their imperialist
competition in China during the 1800s
American Imperialism
Three factors fueled the new American imperialism:
 Economic competition among industrial nations
 Political & military competition, including the
creation of a strong naval force
 A belief in the racial and cultural superiority of
Anglo-Saxons (the people of England & their
descendants)
Economic Competition
 Needed new markets for its manufactured goods
1. Advances in technology enabled American farm &
factories to produce more than we could consume
2. Needed raw materials from other countries for
factories
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Imperialists viewed foreign trade as the solution
to overproduction, unemployment & economic
depression
Desire For Military Strength
 U.S. wanted to establish a global military presence
 Alfred T. Mahan, President of the Naval War
College, argued for a strong U.S. navy to defend the
peacetime shipping lanes essential to American
economic growth
 He suggested we build a modern fleet, establish
naval bases in the Caribbean, construct a canal in
Panama & acquire Hawaii & other Pacific islands
 U.S. built 9 steel hulled ships and battleships –
transformed the U.S. into the world’s 3rd largest
naval power
Anglo-Saxon Superiority
 Some American believed that the notion of ethnic
superiority justified imperialism
 Combined the thinking of Social Darwinism:
survival of the fittest
 They said it was the U.S.’s responsibility to spread
Christianity & civilization to the world’s inferior
people
Anti-Imperialism
 Some saw imperialism as a threat to the Anglo-Saxon
heritage
 Objected to U.S. imperialism on moral and practical
grounds – should not dominate other countries
 Costs of maintaining a military force large enough to
protect U.S. positions abroad were too expensive
Spanish-Cuban-American War
 Cuban rebels started a violent revolution against
Spanish rule in 1895.
 These rebels were acting out, in part because of a
depression caused by a decline in U.S. sugar purchases
from Cuba.
 Rebel violence led to more repressive actions by the
Spanish.
Leaders
 Theodore Roosevelt
 George Dewey
 William Randolph Hearst
 General Weyler “The Butcher”
 Emilio Aguinaldo
William McKinley, Jr. 1843-1901
 25th President
 Wanted to avoid war in Cuba
 Yellow journalism and public
supported war
 In April 1898, President McKinley
abandoned his failed diplomatic
efforts and asked Congress for
permission to intervene in Cuba.
Theodore Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
 “I should welcome almost any
war, for I think this country
needs one”
 First Volunteer Cavalry,
nicknamed the "Rough
Riders)
Commodore George Dewey
 May 1, 1899— Commodore
Dewey and his Asiatic
Squadron defeated the
Spanish fleet in Manila Bay
 During and after the war,
George Dewey became one of
the war's most celebrated
heroes
William Randolph Hearst
 Newspaper publisher
and leading example of
yellow journalism
 New York Journal
started a public hysteria
for war with Spain by
publishing incendiary
articles and illustrations
 Hearst once said "You
provide the pictures and
I'll provide the war."
General Weyler “The Butcher”
 In 1896, the Spanish sent "The
Butcher," to Cuba
 To prevent the
insurrects(Filipino
Nationalists) from fighting
 Weyler built concentration
camps in which he imprisoned
a large portion of the
population
 Under the harsh and
unsanitary conditions in the
concentration camps,
 Cuban prisoners died rapidly,
especially from disease
Emilio Aguinaldo
The Philippines'
revolutionary leader
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Fought first against
Spanish imperialism
After the end of the
Spanish- American War,
fought against American
Events-Timeline
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1895: Cuban nationalists revolt against Spanish
rule
1896: Spanish General Weyler (the "Butcher")
comes to Cuba.
1897: Spain recalls Weyler
Early 1898: USS Maine sent to Cuba
February 9, 1898: Hearst publishes Dupuy de
Lome's letter insulting McKinley.
Events-Timeline
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February 15, 1898: Sinking of the USS
Maine
February 25, 1898: Assistant Secretary
of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt cables
Commodore Dewey with plan: attack the
Philippines if war with Spain breaks out
April 11, 1898: McKinley approves war
with Spain
April 24, 1898: Spain declares war on
the US
April 25, 1898: US declares war on Spain
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Events-Timeline
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May 1, 1898: Battle of Manila Bay (Philippines)
May, 1898: July 1, 1898: San Juan Hill taken
by "Rough Riders"
July 3, 1898: Battle of Santiago - Spain's
Caribbean fleet destroyed.
July 7, 1898: Hawaii annexed
July 17, 1898: City of Santiago surrenders to
General William Shafter
August 12, 1898: Spain signs armistice
August 13, 1898: US troops capture Manila
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Events-Timeline
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December 10, 1898: Treaty of Paris signed - US
annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.
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January 23, 1899: Philippines declares itself an
independent republic - Led by Emilio
Auginaldo, the self-declared Filipino
government fights a guerilla war against the US
that lasts longer than the Spanish-American
War itself.
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February 6, 1899: the Treaty of Paris passes in
the Senate
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1900: Foraker Act - Some self-government
allowed in Puerto Rico.
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Events-Timeline
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March 1901: Emilio Auginaldo captured.
1901: Platt Amendment-Cuban government
could not enter any foreign agreement, allows
two naval bases in Cuba and U.S can intervene
when necessary
1902: US withdraws from Cuba
1917: Puerto Ricans given US citizenship
Foxborough History Department
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Yellow Journalism
 In the United States, newspaper accounts spread
exaggerated tales of Spanish atrocities.
 This sensationalist journalism, called “yellow
journalism,” played a pivotal role in the war.
1. At the time, William Randolph Hearst's New York
American and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World,
were engaged in a fierce battle for circulation and
they used yellow journalism to try to captivate
audiences and sell more newspapers.
 William Randolph Hearst believed that a war with
Spain over Cuba would not only sell newspapers,
but also make him a popular national figure.
Propaganda
 Hearst launched a propaganda offensive, the first
in modern media history, which demonized Spain
for its brutal suppression of the Cuban rebellion
and fueled pro-war feeling.
 American newspapers across the country agitated
for the United States to intervene in Cuba’s
struggle to gain independence from Spain.
 At first President Cleveland resisted the rising
public demand for intervention, but by early 1898
the pressure, then on his successor, President
McKinley, was too great to be ignored.
Newspaper Headlines:
22 Feb Illinois State Journal
 "SMALL CHILDREN SHOT DOWN AND WOMEN
TREATED AS IF THEY WERE NO BETTER THAN
BRUTES"
24 Feb Illinois State Journal
 "SENATE DECLARED THAT ONE THIRD OF CUBANS
HAVE PERISHED UNDER SPANISH CRUELTY"
25 March Illinois State Register
 "CUBA MUST BE FREE"
U.S.S. Maine
 In January 1898, the US decided to send in the warship
USS Maine to Havana, Cuba to protect US interests
and to demonstrate an American presence in the
Caribbean.
War with Spain
 The sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor
in 1898 caused the death of about 266 men
including 22 African American sailors.
 “Yellow journalism” fueled American anger and
editor Hearst continued to push that the US had a
perfect pretext for war.
 Although President William McKinley opposed
growing public demand for war, the American cry
of the hour became, “Remember the Maine, To
Hell with Spain!”
“A splendid little war.”
 Although Spain wanted to avoid war, it refused to
withdraw from Cuba and recognize the island’s
independence.
 By mid-April, Congress authorized McKinley to
use the armed forces to expel the Spanish from
Cuba.
 For Americans it was, as Secretary of State John
Hay put it in a letter to Theodore Roosevelt, “a
splendid little war.”
Cuba, Puerto Rico,
and the Philippines
 American forces, quickly overcame the Spaniards
in Cuba.
 They then turned against Spain's last island in the
Caribbean, Puerto Rico.
 Meanwhile, on May 1, 1898, the American captain
George Dewey, with his Asiatic squadron,
destroyed a small Spanish fleet in the harbor of
Manila in the Philippines.
Peace Negotiations:
 The U.S. went to war with Spain in April 1898 and the
fighting was over by August of that year, when the US
and Spain signed a preliminary peace treaty in
Washington, D.C.
 Negotiators then met in Paris in October to draw up an
agreement, and the Treaty of Paris was signed on
December 10th.
Treaty of Paris:
 As a result of the Treaty of Paris, Spain gave up its
sovereignty over Cuba (granted its
independence) and gave the US ownership of the
former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, and
Guam.
 Business interests in the US also demanded the
acquisition of the entire Philippine archipelago in
the hope that Manila would become a trading
post.
 McKinley forced the Spanish to “sell” the
Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000.
Results
 Although, rebels in the Philippines and Cuba had
looked to the Americans as saviors, the U.S. victory
only replaced one imperial power with another.
 Months after the Spanish surrender, America was
fighting its own colonial war against Filipino rebels.
Intervention in Cuban affairs lasted until 1934 and left
a residue of anti-Americanism.
Puerto Rico Controls:
 Puerto Rican institutions control internal affairs
unless U.S. law is involved, as in matters of public
health and pollution.
 The major differences between Puerto Rico and
the 50 states are its local taxation system and
exemption from Internal Revenue Code, its lack of
voting representation in either house of the U.S.
Congress, the ineligibility of Puerto Ricans to vote
in presidential elections, and its lack of
assignation of some revenues reserved for the
states.
Yellow Journalism Activity
 Screaming newspaper headlines about the situation
in Cuba in the 1890s helped fan the flames of war by
influencing public opinion in the United States
 Research current headlines aimed at selling newspapers --
rather than telling honest stories --look at newsstands and in
supermarket checkout lines
 Research some of the headlines and stories published in the
World and the Journal in the 1890s and compare these with the
headlines found in modern tabloid papers
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How are they similar and/or different? Are any stories more or less
harmful than others?
http://www.pbs.org/crucible/frames/journalism.html
War is Over
 War began April 11, 1898
 War was over August 12, 1898
 Lasted only 16 weeks
 300,000 Americans served
 5,400 lost their lives
 379 were in battle
 The rest died from diseases
Treaty of Paris of 1898
On December 10, 1898 the U.S. & Spain agreed:
1. Cuba would become independent
2. Spain would give Puerto Rico & the Pacific Island of
Guam to the U.S.
3. The U.S. would pay Spain $20 million for the
annexation of the Philippine Islands
China & The Open Door Policy
 U.S. wanted the Philippines as a gateway to Asia,
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particularly China
Potential market for American products
Investment opportunities for railroad construction
China was weakened by war and Europe & Japan had
already demanded trading rights from China
Sphere of influence: regions in which countries had
exclusive trading rights in China
Each nation’s merchants or missionaries lived within its
sphere of influence where they were governened by their
own laws rather than those of China
The U.S., under pressure from businessmen, wanted a
“piece of the pie” & took action
China & John Hay
 A group of New York investors had formed a
development company to promote American trade in
China
 America had no sphere of influence in China & could
not form imperial powers out of China
 John Hay proposed a plan to protect American trading
rights
 He sent notes (Open Door Notes) to Germany, France,
Italy & Japan (they had spheres of influence in China)
& asked them to allow the U.S. to have trading rights in
China
China & John Hay cont…
 Those six nations complained among themselves & did
not want to share the trading rights they had won
through political & military war
 They never responded back to John Hay
 John Hay took this as an acceptance of his request
 On March 20, 1900 he announced that the Open Door
policy had become effective
The Boxers Revolt
 Chinese opposed the spread of the Western
influence in their country
 A secret society known as the “Boxers” revolted to
drive out the “foreign devils”
 The Boxers killed hundreds of missionaries & other
foreigners as well as those Chinese who converted to
Christianity
 Troops from Britain, France, Germany, & Japan joined
2,500 American soldiers to shut down the Boxer
rebellion
John Hay & the 2nd Series of Open
Door Notes
 The 2nd series of Open Door Notes announces that the
U.S. would:
 safeguard for the world the principle of equal
and impartial trade with all parts of the China
Empire
 This policy paved the way for greater American
influence in Asia & was used not only to open
foreign markets but to dominate them
Open Door Policy cont…
 It reflected three beliefs held by U.S. industrial
capitalist:
1. The growth of the U.S. economy depended on
exports
2. U.S. had a right to intervene abroad to keep foreign
markets open
3. They feared the closing of an area to American
products, citizens or ideas threatened U.S. survival
 These beliefs are the basis of American foreign
policy at the turn of the century
The Impact of U.S. Territorial Gains
 Most U.S. citizens supported McKinley and his pro
imperialism views
 U.S. enjoyed unprecedented economic prosperity
 America spread their economic & political
influences around the world
 America became a world power
Section 4: America as a World
Power: Teddy Roosevelt
 Teddy Roosevelt becomes President when McKinley is
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assassinated
He builds upon the Open Door Policy & wants to
increase American influence in other countries
Mediated the Russian – Japan war and became a
peacemaker.
Negotiated the Treaty of Portsmouth (Japan gets
back Manchuria & Korea from Russia)
Receives the Nobel Peace Prize because of the above
Teddy Roosevelt cont…
 Built up strong relations with Japan
 16 new battleships built under Roosevelt called the “Great
White Fleet”
 Started building the Panama Canal in Central
America(provided a shortcut between the Pacific & Atlantic
Ocean
 Roosevelt said:, “Speak softly & carry a big stick, you’ll go far” he used for the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
 Roosevelt Corollary: European powers must not intervene
in Western affairs, however disorder in Latin America
might force the U.S. to exercise the international policy
power to protect U.S. economic interests
Woodrow Wilson: Missionary
Diplomacy
 Missionary (moral)Diplomacy: The U.S. had a moral
responsibility to deny recognition to any Latin
American government it viewed as oppressive,
undemocratic or hostile to U.S. interests
 This policy pressured nations in the Western
Hemisphere to establish democratic governments
Mexican Revolution
 Mexican (General Huerta) overthrew the Mexican
government
 Wilson stuck to his missionary diplomacy & would not
recognize Mexico’s new government
 American businessman had monetary interests in
Mexico