The United States Becomes a World Power


 Imperialism  Dollar diplomacy
 Hearst
 Nationalism  Spain
 Jingoism
 Annex  Philippines
 McKinley
 Cuba  TR
 USS Maine
 San Juan Hill  George Dewey
 Rough Riders
 Treaty of Paris
 China
 Roosevelt
Corollary
 Platt
Amendment
 Spheres of influence
 “Splendid Little
War”
 Hawaii
 Open Door Policy
 Great White
Fleet
 Panama Canal
 Concession
 De Lome
 Anti-imperialists


 “What do nations care about the cost of war, if by spending a few hundred millions in steel and gunpowder they can gain a thousand millions in diamonds and cocoa?” – W.E.B. Du Bois
 “America…goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all.” – John Quincy Adams
Think-Pair-Share (5 minutes)


 Economic Factors
 Growth of industry = need for natural resources
 Need place to sell goods
 Nationalist Factors
 Nationalism = devotion to one’s nation
 Military Factors
 Military required bases around the world
 Humanitarian Factors
 Religious goals & “Westernize”
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_rHrGaoh4w


 Why would the strong U.S. want to create an empire in small, weak areas?




 Some feared the U.S. was losing power
 The quest for empire would restore the nation’s faith
 Justifications
 Darwinism
 Christianity
 Manifest Destiny
 “civilizing the uncivilized”


 What does it mean to “civilize the uncivilized?”


 Get into groups of 4
 Your group is a nation, name it!
 (don’t name it after an already-existing nation)
 On a Post-it Note, draw a flag to represent your nation & write your nation’s name at the top of the Post-it
 Create a basic language
 (Example: chacha=over there, baba=stay, etc.)
 Hint: It might be wise to choose words that indicate a direction or command
 (Example: right, left, stay, over there, up, down, stop, go, etc.)
This should take 5 minutes
Wait for further instructions


 Each group goes to opposite sides/corners of the room
 Designate TWO people to be the flag artist
 TWO people will be commanders
 Link arms (YOU CANNOT BREAK THIS)
This should take a maximum 2 minutes


 You are an imperialist nation. There are other nations that are competing against you for some desirable territories.
It is your mission to annex the most land. To do so, you will 1) link arms with your teammates…2)begin communicating in your “native” language…3)draw your flag & write your nation’s name on the Post-it and mark your territory. Anywhere, other than behind the teacher’s desk, is fair game. You may cancel out other nation’s by putting your Post-it on top of theirs!
10 minutes


 Reflect on the activity
 What was difficult? Why?
 How does the activity relate to imperialism?

April 1898 – August 1898

Click on the newspaper for a video!


 The U.S. looked to three main areas
 Latin America
 Islands of the Pacific
 China
 Conflicts already existed between Latin America &
Spain
 Spain was an “Old World” power & claimed territories in Latin America.


 Cuba was a colony of Spain
 Sugarcane plantations generated tons of wealth for
Spain
 1868 – Cuban rebels declared independence and launched a guerrilla war against Spanish authorities, but failed by 1878
 Americans wanted to intervene
 Already linked economically through trade


 Do you remember the Monroe Doctrine?
 What did it say?
 Declaration by President Monroe in 1823 that said the U.S. would oppose efforts by any outside power to control a nation in the Western Hemisphere
 What does this mean for the U.S., Spain, and Cuba?


 William McKinley became president in 1897
 Wanted to remain neutral in Cuban/Spanish conflict
 This means he did not want to go to war
 Hoped Spain & Cuba would negotiate


 Spain offered Cubans autonomy, the right to their own government, but only if Cuba agreed to remain part of the Spanish empire
 Cubans refused because they wanted complete independence
 McKinley worried that American citizens in Cuba would be harmed if the Spanish attacked
 sent USS Maine to Havana in case of evacuation
 Congress put $50million toward war preparations
 McKinley would not declare war


 Spanish Ambassador
 Wrote letter to “His Excellency Don Jose Canalejas”
 Described what was going on in Cuba


 “McKinley is weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd, besides being a would-be politician who tries to leave a door open behind himself while keeping on good terms with the jingoes of his party.”
 Yo, McKinley is so
WEAK! He just wants to be popular. The guy shouldn’t even be the President! He is such a people pleaser. Dude will do anything to get a vote.


 February 15, 1898 – USS Maine is docked in Havana,
Cuba
 The ship explodes
• Malfunction or act of the Spanish?
• Still a conspiracy
 266/354 officers and sailors on board were killed
• Americans blamed Spanish


 de Lome’s letter was intercepted and published in
William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal
(remember the first slide of the newspaper?)
 Newspapers wrote dramatic stories about Spain to make the Spanish look bad
 This sensationalist and exaggerated reporting, in which writers would make up stories to attract readers, was known as yellow journalism .
Does this remind you of media today?


 Jingoism was an attitude of aggressive nationalism
 They were furious at McKinley for not declaring war
 TR, who was Asst. Secretary of the Navy, was outraged at
McKinley and said
McKinley had “no more backbone than a chocolate éclair.”
Basically, Jingoes fueled the fire for war


 Create a 1-2 minute news report to convince the class that they should pressure the U.S. president to get involved in a war with Spain & Cuba.
 Use “yellow journalism” to sway your audience
 You should create the front page of a newspaper to headline the events
 Work in groups of 4 – write the script (what is your story), design the front page of the newspaper (visual, attention-grabber), and report it to the rest of the class.
 All members should assist each other, do not make one person do all of the work!


 April 11, 1898 – McKinley authorized the use of force to end the conflict in Cuba
 April 19 – Congress declared Cuba independent from Spain & demanded Spain withdraw from Cuba
 April 24 – Spain declared war on the U.S.
 For the first time, since the Civil War, the U.S. was at war

What does this picture represent?
Answer:
The uniting of the
Union &
Confederate soldiers for the
Spanish-American
War


 1 st action was actually in the Philippines
 Admiral George Dewey (click for video) launched a surprise attack on Spanish ships, destroying Spain’s entire fleet
 1 st Volunteer Cavalry, aka the Rough Riders, prepared to invade Cuba
 Led by TR
 July 1, 1898 – TR led RR in a charge up San Juan Hill
 Most famous battle of Spanish-American War
 July 3 – Spanish desperately attempt to escape Santiago
 U.S. Navy sank every Spanish ship
 What U.S. holiday is celebrated the next day?


 Signed in December 1898
 Spanish government recognized Cuba’s independence
 Gave up the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam
 Is Puerto Rico independent today?
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGui d/1F59368F-023A-46B6-81FA-881342A909B2


 In 1900, Cuba begins drafting their Constitution
 U.S. government insisted that the Cubans include provisions outlined in the Platt Amendment
 Cuban gov. could not enter foreign agreements
 Must allow U.S. to establish 2 naval bases
 Guantanamo Bay
 Give U.S. right to intervene when necessary
 Remained in force until 1934


 Why would the U.S. push the Platt Amendment onto the Cubans? Does this seem like independence?


 Hawaii was becoming important to the U.S.
 Trade treaty – sugar
 Leased Pearl Harbor to U.S. as fueling and repair station for naval vessels
 Liliuokalani ascended to the throne as Queen
 Opposed U.S. control of the islands
 Marines & pineapple planter
Sanford B. Dole removed
Lili from power and
McKinley annexed Hawaii in
1898

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Anti-Imperialists Platform
1 White Man’s Burden de Lome Letter
The Strenuous Life
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