Opening Assignment 10/28/2015
 Do
you think that America
should use its’ economic,
political, or military power to
control weaker countries?

Why or why not?
What are we learning today?

Essential Learning Goal
◦ America became an Imperial power during the
late 19th and early 20th centuries by extending
military control over areas outside of the U.S.
and expanding markets for American made
goods thanks to a belief in cultural superiority
and global competition.

Learning Targets
◦ The student will recognize the three causes of
Imperialism.
◦ The student will interpret the Hawaiian coup as
an Imperialist action and understand how U.S.
corporate interests trumped sovereign rulers.
IMPERIALISM AND THE US
Imperialism: A foreign policy in which
stronger nations extend their
economic, political, or military control
over weaker territories.
 As the United States had expanded
westward on the North American
continent (1776-1870’s) the need for
expansion was met.
 By the 1890’s there was a need for
economic expansion outside of North
America.

Global Competition

European nations had been establishing
colonies for centuries.

Americans’ belief in Manifest Destiny had
helped expand the US to the Pacific Ocean.

Manifest Destiny was the belief that the US
expansion was part of God’s
predetermined plan and that conquering of
the Native Americans and the areas
controlled by Mexico were manifest, or
obvious and inevitable.
Global Competition

Imperialist nations from Europe were
in competition for Africa and parts of
Asia.

Most Americans began to see overseas
expansion as an extension of Manifest
Destiny.

Three Factors (Justifications/Rationale)
fueled American Imperialism.
Three Factors Fuel US
Imperialism
 Desire
for military strength.
 Thirst
for new markets.
 Belief
in cultural superiority.
The Kingdom of Hawaii

White businessmen and community
leaders wanted Hawaii to become a
part of the United States.

If the island was part of the US, they
would no longer have to pay tariffs
on the massive amounts of sugar
grown on the island and exported to
the US.
Rebellion of 1887

In July of 1887 the Honolulu Rifles, a
paramilitary organization helped
business leaders overthrow the King of
Hawaii.

The King signed a new constitution at
bayonet point.

This new constitution restricted the
right to vote to only those owning land
and also allowed Europeans and
Americans to vote as citizens.
King Kalākaua
The Coup



In 1893 Queen Liliuokalani attempted to
create a new constitution that would
reverse some of the Bayonet
Constitution that her brother had been
forced to sign.
The American businessmen and
politicians who were part of the
Committee of Safety planned a coup to
overthrow the Queen.
When the Marshall of the Kingdom was
tipped off to the coup he attempted to
have the Committee of Safety arrested.
The Coup

Fearing an escalation of violence the Queen
denied the request to arrest the Committee
of Safety.

The Committee of Safety then informed the
US Government Minister that they feared the
lives and property of Americans were at risk.

In response the USS Boston put a company of
US Marines ashore with orders to remain
neutral and only protect American citizens
should fighting begin.
The Coup

This move by the Committee of Safety
helped to intimidate the Queen into taking
no action.

The Queen feared that bloodshed would
occur and she did not want to endanger her
family or her servants. She therefore
surrendered to the Committee of Safety.

The Committee of Safety and their
paramilitary organization the Honolulu Rifles
then disarmed the Queens Royal Guard and
took over government buildings.
President Sanford Dole
Epic
beard
right?
Who was behind the Revolution
The Big Five was the name given to a group of what
started as sugarcane processing corporations that wielded
considerable political power in the Territory of Hawaiʻi
during the early 20th century and leaned heavily towards
the Hawaii Republican Party.
 The extent of power the Big Five had was considered by
some as equivalent to an oligarchy.
 Oligarchy = a government in which a small group
exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish
purposes; also : a group exercising such control.
 Attorney General of Hawaii Edmund Pearson Dole,
referring to the Big Five, said in 1903, "There is a
government in this Territory which is centralized to an
extent unknown in the United States, and probably
almost as centralized as it was in France under Louis
XIV."

Critical Thinking: T.O.D.
1.
Why was the United States willing to
support businesses overthrowing Kings?
2.
What theories about society did many
Americans believe in that might have
encouraged the Hawaiian coup?
3.
What affect do you think the coup had
on the average native Hawaiian?
4.
Why do you recognize the last name of
Hawaii’s first president Sanford Dole?
HOMEWORK
Chapter 10 Section 1
 Pages 342 – 345
 Main Idea Questions A-C
 Define Terms & Names into Notebook
 Complete Skillbuilder #1-2 Page 344
 Complete Skillbuilder #1-2 Page 345
