The View of the Two Political
Parties
• Republicans
– Like Imperialism
• Democrats
– Not in favor of
Imperialism
1. Westward Expansion
2. Commercial/Business
Interests
3. Military/Strategic
Interests
4. Social Darwinism –
“The White Man’s
Burden”
5. Religious/Missionary
Interests
1875 – Reciprocity
Treaty: duty free
access for
Hawaiian
sugar
1890 –
McKinley Tariff:
no longer duty
free sugar
1893 – American
businessmen backed an
uprising against Queen
Liliuokalani and overthrew
her government
Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani
o Sanford Dole:
proclaims the Republic
of Hawaii in 1894 and
asks the U.S. to
annex the territory
o Cleveland initially
refuses
o McKinley believes it is
“Manifest Destiny”
o Annexes HI in 1898
Hawaiian
Annexation
Ceremony,
1898
The “Splendid Little
War”
Causes:
- Cuban desire for
independence
- Am. Business Interests
- Yellow Journalism
- American Jingoism
- De Lôme Letter
- Explosion of the U.S.S.
Maine
William Randolph Hearst Joseph Pulitzer
War declared April 25,
1898
Fought in the Caribbean and
in the Philippines
Spain surrendered August
12 and signs Treaty of Paris
(1898)
Cuba Gains “Independence”
U.S. gains control of Puerto
Rico, Guam, and the
Philippines
Marked U.S. entry into
world affairs
Uncle Sam: One of the “Boys?”
Cuban Independence?
Teller (1898) and Platt (1903) Amendments
1. Cuba could not enter agreements with
foreign nations that would risk their
independence
2. The U.S. could intervene in Cuban affairs if
necessary
3. Cuba must lease Guantanamo Bay to the
U.S.
4. Cuba must not build up excessive debt
Basically Cuba is a protectorate of the
U.S.
The American Anti-Imperialist
League
Founded in 1899.
Mark Twain, Andrew
Carnegie, and William
Jennings Bryan among
the leaders
Campaigned against
the annexation of the
Philippines and other
acts of imperialism
The Filipinos expected
independence
Began to fight against the
U.S.
The Philippine-American
War (1899-1902)
Emilio Aguinaldo
Leader of the Filipino
uprising
Over 200,000 Filipinos
killed
Ultimately unsuccessful
for the Philippines
Stereotypes of the Chinese
Immigrant
Chinese Exclusion
Act, 1882
The Open Door Policy
Secretary of State John Hay
Give all nations equal
access to trade in China.
Guaranteed that China would NOT be taken
over by any one foreign power.
The
Open Door
Policy
Commodore Matthew Perry
Opens Up Japan: 1853
The Japanese View
of Commodore
Perry
Treaty of Kanagawa: 1854
Gentleman’s Agreement: 1908
Agreement between Roosevelt
and Japanese government
Problems with segregation in
schools and unlimited
immigration in the U.S.
Japanese agreed to deny
passports to laborers entering
the U.S.
The U.S. government ordered
San Francisco to end
segregation of Asians in
schools.
• Bought by the U.S. in 1867 from Russia
• Bought for $7.2 million
• Thought to be “Seward’s Folly”
– Until gold discovered in 1890
• 1904: An addition to
the Monroe Doctrine
• U.S. had the right to
intervene in any W.
Hemisphere country
where events were
“harmful” to the U.S.
• Justified U.S.
intervention in Latin
America
U. S. Interventions in
Latin America: 1898-1920s
Big Stick Diplomacy
• “Speak softly
and carry a big
stick”
• The U.S.
became
increasingly
assertive and
took on the
role of world
policeman
• Great White Fleet
(1907-1909)
• Circumnavigated
the globe to show
American military
power
• Spanish-American
War demonstrated a
need for an AtlanticPacific connector
• Advantages to
building the canal:
– Business saved $
when shipping goods
– Travel time between
coasts reduced
– Allowed a military
presence in Central
America
• The Problem:
Colombia said NO
• Solution: Support
Panamanian
independence
• 1904 Hay-BunauVarilla Treaty: the
U.S. received
permanent rights to
10 miles of land for
$10 million
Construction Begins
in 1904
•Building of the
canal plagued with
problems
•Disease (yellow
fever and malaria)
•Landslides
•Over 27,000 men
died to build the 48
mile long canal
•Opened August 15,
1914
Panama Canal
• Taft becomes
President in 1909
• President Taft’s
economic policy
for Latin America
was “Substituting
dollars for bullets”
Taft’s “Dollar
Diplomacy”
Improve financial
opportunities for
American businesses.
Use private capital to
further U. S. interests
overseas.
Therefore, the U.S.
should create stability
and order abroad that
would best promote
America’s commercial
interests.
• Wilson becomes
President in 1913
• Democrat in office
with a different
point of view of
foreign affairs
• Appointed William
Jennings Bryan as
his Secretary of
State
Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy”
The U. S. should
be the conscience
of the world.
Spread democracy.
Promote peace.
Condemn colonialism.