American Imperialism
before WWI
American Imperialism
• While many European states
were busy creating empires
in Africa and Asia, many
Americans began to feel the
pangs of expansionism too.
• According to Professor
Frederick Jackson Turner
(University of Wisconsin),
the frontier was officially
“settled” by 1890.
American Imperialism
• By the 1890’s, the United States was the
world leader in industrial output and
agricultural production.
• American business wanted to expand into
new markets.
• Arguments in favor of expansion had great
appeal.
American Imperialism
• Expansionists also argued
that Americans had a right
and a duty to bring Western
culture to the “uncivilized”
peoples of the world.
• Many expansionists,
especially those in the
military (like Captain Alfred
Thayer Mahan), proposed
that America needed
overseas territories to
protect our merchant fleet.
American Foreign Policy
• American foreign policy
for the first 100+ years
of the republic was
dictated by George
Washington’s Farewell
Address.
• Washington begged his
countrymen to avoid
“foreign entanglements.”
American Foreign Policy
• Except for the
Monroe Doctrine, the
United States
primarily stayed
isolated throughout
most of the 19th
century.
• American attitudes
began to change
after the Civil War.
American Imperialism: Hawai’I
• The Nation of Hawaii:
• By 1875 American sugar
•
•
planters had brokered a
treaty between Hawai’I and
the U.S.
An 1882 amendment to the
treaty gave the U.S. Pearl
Harbor as a naval and
refueling base.
The growing power of the
Americans ousted King
Kalakana (the Bayonet
Constitution).
American Imperialism: Hawai’I
• In 1891, Queen
Lili’uokalani came to the
throne. She resented
the growing power of
the Americans.
• In 1893 the sugar
planters rebelled
against the Queen’s
attempt to limit their
power.
American Imperialism: Hawai’i
• The American Ambassador
called for the Marines, who
deposed the Queen in the
Hawaiian “Revolution” of
1893.
• A new “Americanized”
constitution was installed.
• President Grover Cleveland
refused to annex Hawai’I
because he said he was
“ashamed of the whole affair.”
American Imperialism: Hawai’I
•After Cleveland left office,
his successor, William
McKinley, pushed Congress
to annex Hawaii (which was
done in 1898).
•Hawaii became a U.S.
territory in 1900.
• It became a state in 1959.
American Imperialism: The Venezuelan
Border Dispute and the Monroe Doctrine
• After Hawaii, the next test for American
foreign policy came in Venezuela (1895).
Here, the United States and Great Britain
almost went to war over the Monroe
Doctrine.
• Britain and Venezuela were arguing over
the border between British Guiana and
Venezuela (no one cared until gold was
discovered).
American Imperialism: the Venezuelan Border
Dispute
American Imperialism: the Venezuelan
Border Dispute
• When Britain refused to negotiate through
American arbitration, President Cleveland
asked Congress for the authority to
defend Venezuela.
• Britain backed down and agreed to
arbitration, which favored their claims
anyway.
• This was the last time the U.S. and Britain
were at odds with each other.
American Imperialism: Cuba
• The next major test would come in Cuba.
In the late 1890’s, Americans opened their
daily newspapers to find shocking and lurid
tales of violence and revolution in Cuba, a
Spanish owned island 90 miles south of
Florida.
American Imperialism: Cuba
• In 1898, the United States put aside its
long standing policy of neutrality to
intervene in the Cuban revolution.
• Actually, American interests in Cuba went
back many decades…
Cuba
• In 1823, John Quincy
•
Adams was the Secretary
of State under President
Monroe. He compared
Cuba to a ripe apple. A
storm he said, might tear
that apple “from its native
tree” and drop it into
American hands.
The Cuban rebels of the
1890’s were giving Spain
the storm JQA had hoped
for 75 years earlier.
Cuba
• The Ostend Manifesto (1854) was an
attempt by President Franklin Pierce to
extend the southern boundary of the U.S.
by annexing Cuba. The U.S. was willing to
negotiate with Spain a payment of $120m.
Cuba
• If Spain refused to sell, Pierce was
prepared to take Cuba by force and make
it a slave state.
• This was leaked to a New York
newspaper, and faced with a firestorm of
criticism, Pierce repudiated the Manifesto
and disavowed any knowledge of it.
Cuba, and the Coming of War
• Spain held on tightly to her “Pearl of the
Antilles.” This was the last remnant of Spanish
colonialism in the New World and Spain did not
want to give it up.
• For the United States, Cuba’s close proximity,
climate, and soil made her a great place for
investment. Americans had invested over $50
million in Cuba (more than anywhere else) and
had trade with the island in excess of $100
million/year (nearly 25% of all American
exports).
Cuba, and the Coming of War
• The U.S. wanted naval bases in Cuba.
• Growing American sympathy for the rebels
fighting for their freedom created a tense
situation with Spain.
• By 1898, many Americans were eager for
a conflict with Spain over Cuba.
Cuba, and the Coming of War
• Sympathy for the Cuban rebels, reports of
Spanish atrocities against the Cubans (the
first “concentration” camps), and anger
towards a European power still trying to
maintain control of colonies in the
Western Hemisphere stirred Americans to
action.
• The “yellow” press whipped the nation
into a frenzy with lurid accounts, usually
exaggerated, of conditions in Cuba.
Cuba, and the Coming of War
• Newspaper baron
William Randolph
Hearst sent a
photographer to
cover Cuba with the
famous words: “You
provide the pictures,
I’ll provide the war!”
Cuba, and the Coming of War
• A typical headline read: “Blood on the
roadsides, blood in the fields, blood on the
doorsteps, blood, blood, blood!”
• Such sensational reports were often
inaccurate, but they succeeded in stirring
American anger against Spain.
Cuba, and the Coming of War
• President McKinley hoped to resolve the Cuban
issue without military intervention, but several
events prevented that from happening. Key
things besides “yellow” journalism were the De
Lome letter and the Battleship Maine.
Cuba, and the Coming of War
• De Lome was the Spanish ambassador to
Washington. In a private letter written to a
friend in Spain in early January 1898 (that
was intercepted and reprinted by the press),
De Lome called McKinley “weak and catering
to rabble…a low politician…”
• De Lome was then recalled to Spain.
Steps Leading to War
• President McKinley sent the battleship USS
Maine to Havana Harbor to protect
American citizens and American
investment (and pressure Spain).
Steps Leading to War
• On Feb. 15, 1898 the
•
Maine exploded in Havana
Harbor, killing 266
American sailors (of the
350 on board). American
newspapers immediately
blamed Spanish
saboteurs.
The Spanish denied
having anything to do
with the disaster.
Steps Leading to War
• Hearst and Pulitzer
newspapers ran
headlines that said
“Remember the
Maine…to Hell with
Spain!” The nation
was now poised for
war.
The Coming of War
• Spain knew it could not defeat the United
States, and on April 9, 1898 agreed to all
the concessions over Cuba the United
States asked for.
• President McKinley tried to resist the
political pressure to declare war, but
fearing his party (Republican) would lose
face and power, he acquiesced.
• Two days later (April 11, 1898), McKinley
asked Congress to declare war on Spain.
The Spanish-American War
• Before hostilities really
began, Assistant Secretary
of the Navy, Theodore
Roosevelt, secretly ordered
the American Pacific fleet
(known as the Asiatic
Squadron) out of port in
Hong Kong to sail to the
Philippines right away.
• American naval ships hadn’t
been to the Philippines in
22 years.
The Spanish-American War
• Roosevelt ordered the Spanish fleet
captured or destroyed.
• At dawn on May 1, just days after war was
“officially” declared, Commodore Dewey
and a small fleet of six American ships
surprised the enemy. From the bridge of
his flagship, the cruiser Olympia, Dewey
commanded the attack on the surprised
Spanish fleet.
• “Remember the Maine and down with
Spain!” was the battle cry of his gunners.
The Spanish-American War
• In a four-hour
engagement, without
losing a ship or a man
(except for an engineer
who died of heat
exhaustion), Dewey’s
fleet destroyed the
Spanish Pacific fleet of
10 ships in Manila Bay.
The Spanish-American War
• The American ships fired off nearly 6,000
shells, Spanish casualties numbered nearly
400, and the Americans captured the
crucial naval station at Cavite.
• The Americans had such an easy time of it
that at one point in the engagement,
Dewey ordered his men to cease firing so
they could have breakfast. They returned
to the attack after breakfast.
• “I control Manila Bay completely,” he
cabled Washington, “and can take the city
The Spanish-American War
• Dewey’s battle order to his captain on the
Olympia “You may fire when you are ready,
Gridley,” immediately became as famous as
David Farragut’s “Damn the torpedoes!”
• Newspapers in the U.S. called Dewey’s
victory “The Greatest Naval Engagement of
Modern Times,” and compared it to Horatio
Nelson’s defeat of the French at Trafalgar.
The Spanish-American War
• Because of his immediate fame and
popularity, Dewey went from Commodore
to rear admiral to Admiral of the Navy, a
rank and honor revived by Congress and
abolished after his death. The president
was his only superior.
• Given the pathetic condition of the
outgunned and mostly unarmored Spanish
fleet, however, Dewey’s victory was more
like a turkey shoot.
The Spanish-American War
• The Spanish admiral,
Patricio Montojo, had
fully expected defeat
so he moved his
ships to a shallow
anchorage.
• This way his men
could cling to the
rigging when their
ships went down
instead of drowning.
The Spanish-American War
• American troops
easily captured
Manila and took
complete possession
of the Philippines in
August (1898).
The Spanish-American War
• When war finally
came, few were more
eager to fight than
the young Assistant
Secretary of the
Navy, Teddy
Roosevelt.
• Roosevelt resigned
his position, and
formed a volunteer
regiment (the First
Volunteer Calvary
Regiment).
The Spanish-American War
• Sent to Cuba to fight for Cuban
independence, Roosevelt’s unit
(nicknamed the “Rough Riders”) saw
action in Santiago (Cuba’s 2nd largest city).
• Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill
became the stuff of legend. His unit was
joined by the African American units of the
9th and 10th Cavalries.
The Spanish-American War
• Two days later, the
combined American
forces destroyed the
Spanish fleet in
Santiago, causing the
Spanish army in Cuba
to surrender.
The Spanish-American War
• The war lasted just four months. America
lost over 5000 soldiers, but only 400 to
actual combat. The rest died of diseases
(heat exhaustion, yellow fever, malaria,
typhoid, food poisoning, etc).
• Secretary of State John Hay famously called
this action “a splendid little war.”
• This marked the end of the Spanish Empire
in the New World.
The Spanish-American War
• The United States had turned from her
position of isolationism to become an
international power.
• The United States now joined the ranks of
the world’s colonial powers.
The Treaty of Paris (1898)
• Having just defeated Spain, the following terms
were agreed to in October 1898:
• Cuba would gain independence from Spain, but
Spain would retain Cuba’s heavy debts.
• Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were
ceded to the United States.
The Treaty of Paris (1898)
• The United States agreed to pay Spain
$20.0 million for the Philippines. The U.S.
now had a launching point for trade in the
Far East.
• The United States now had the overseas
empire many had dreamed of (with all the
positives and negatives that went with it).
American Imperialism
The Philippines
• As a result of the
Spanish-American
War, the United
States could no
longer be truly
isolated again. As we
will see in WWI and
leading up to WWII,
the U.S. tried to
revert back to a
position of isolation,
but it was never
achieved. The world
had gotten too small.
The Philippines
• President McKinley saw in the Philippines the
chance to “educate and uplift and civilize and
Christianize…” the Filipinos. Meanwhile, they
had been Catholic for three centuries.
• The Philippines had helped the United States
against Spain, much the same way Cuba
helped the United States. Filipinos expected
independence (like that granted Cuba) to be
their reward.
The Philippines
• Filipinos were outraged when Congress did
not approve independence for the
Philippines. Most Filipinos felt betrayed by
the United States, and that they had merely
traded one master (Spain) for another.
• Filipino nationalists, under the direction of
Emilio Aguinaldo, rose up in armed
rebellion against American rule in 1899.
Aguinaldo had helped the Americans in
ridding the Philippines of Spanish rule.
The “Philippine Insurrection”
• From 1899-1902, American
•
military forces clashed with
Filipino nationalists.
Aguinaldo and 70,000 rebels
spent more than two years
fighting for their nation’s
freedom in a bloody, and
often brutal war.
After Aguinaldo was
captured, the war ended.
4,300 Americans and 57,000
Filipinos were killed in this
little known American war.
America and the World
• After the Philippine insurrection was put
down, movements were made to give the
Filipinos more autonomy. However
whenever these came before Congress, they
were voted down because it was felt the
Filipinos needed more time to “develop” a
true democracy.
• Today, Puerto Rico and Guam are still
territorial possessions of the United States.
The Philippines was finally granted
independence after WWII, in 1946.
Foreign Policy under Teddy
• Teddy’s “Big Stick”
•
diplomacy: Based on
the West African
proverb “Speak softly
and carry a big stick;
you will go far.”
Essentially the
Roosevelt Corollary
grew out of this
attitude.
Foreign Policy under Teddy
• It has come to mean any diplomatic
negotiations that are backed up by the threat
of (American) force. This is sometimes called
“Gunboat Diplomacy.”
Foreign Policy under Teddy
• The Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine: In the early 1900’s
Venezuela and the Dominican Republic
defaulted on loans from Britain, Germany,
and Italy. European warships menaced
Latin American/ Caribbean nations.
• Teddy Roosevelt invoked the Monroe
Doctrine and sent American battleships to
force the Europeans out. The Europeans
were furious, saying if they could not use
force to get their debts paid, the U.S.
must take responsibility.
Foreign Policy under Teddy
• To satisfy this demand, Roosevelt announced
the Roosevelt Corollary in 1904. He
declared the U.S. would exercise “international
police power” to get Latin American/Caribbean
nations to honor their financial commitments.
• Through the 1920’s, this policy sent American
troops to Nicaragua and Honduras (and other
places) to guarantee repayment of foreign
debts.
Teddy and the “Big Ditch”
• As the U.S. expanded its
•
interests in the Pacific, it
wanted to be able to move
its naval fleet easily
between oceans without
making the long voyage
around South America
(8000 nautical miles).
Teddy Roosevelt proposed
building a canal across the
narrow Isthmus of
Panama, which was a
province of Columbia.
Teddy and the “Big Ditch”
• Columbia did not want to
•
give the U.S. the rights
to build fearing it would
lose control of the
region.
When it looked like
another canal might be
built in Nicaragua, key
Panamanian business
and civic leaders seized
the moment and started
a rebellion.
Panama and the “Big Ditch”
• So in November 1903, with U.S. encouragement,
•
Panama rebelled against Columbia. When
Columbia sent troops to put down the rebellion,
10 American warships prevented the Columbian
troops from landing.
The rebel leaders, among them my uncle’s
grandfather, quickly declared Panamanian
independence (creating the Republic of Panama)
and signed a document granting the U.S. rights
to build the canal.
Panama and the “Big Ditch”
• The U.S. was also granted rights to the
Canal Zone, averaging 10 miles wide and
just over 50 miles long.
• This would be considered sovereign
American territory until given back to
Panama in 1999.
Panama and the “Big Ditch”
Panama and the “Big Ditch”
• Building the canal began in 1904.
Pittsburgh's furnaces roared as more than
fifty mills, foundries, and machine shops
churned out the rivets, bolts, nut, girders,
and other steel pieces the canal builders
needed.
• The Canal was a modern marvel of
American engineering, technological, and
medical advancement. When it opened in
1914, the Canal was a symbol of U.S.
power and influence in Latin America.
Teddy and the “Big Ditch”
• TR became the first
•
sitting president to
leave the country
while in office. Here
he sits in a 95 ton
Bucyrus hydraulic
bucket lifter.
Teddy Roosevelt
considered the Canal
his legacy and his
greatest achievement.