Empire and Expansion
America Turns Outward
• Between end of Civil War and 1890 US
very isolationist.
• In the late 19th Century the US became
more outward looking. Reasons?
– American’s felt a new sense of power
– Many people thought the US needed
colonies to compete with Europe.
– Hearst and Pulitzer “yellow Press”
whetted appetites for foreign adventure.
– Missionaries saw new opportunities
overseas
– Overseas seen as the new “frontier.”
– Some felt we needed our “share” of
Asia and Africa as colonies.
– Darwin and Manifest Destiny.
America Turns Outward
• Alfred Thayer Mahan.
– The Influence of Sea
Power upon History
• Caused all countries to
start focusing on their
naval resources, including
the US.
• Led to US to desire naval
bases around the world
and an isthmian canal
America Turns Outward
• America’s near wars
– 1889 Germany
(Samoan Islands)
– 1891-Italy
– 1892- Chile
– 1893 Canada
America Turns Outward
• Boundary dispute between
Venezuela and British Guiana.
• Cleveland urged arbitration
and invokes the Monroe
Doctrine.
– First real attempt by US to
enforce the doctrine.
• South Americans are pleased
with US help.
• Monroe Doctrine is upheld
and takes on new validity
• Great Rapprochement- the
beginning of friendly
relationship between the US
and Britain
Spurning the Hawaiian Pear
• In the 1820s New
England missionaries
had come to Hawaii
• Descendents become
the economic leaders.
• Important trade crossroads
Spurning the Hawaiian Pear
• US considers it owns
Hawaii, 1840’s warns
others to stay away
• Contact with whites =
declining Native Hawaii
population
• McKinley Tariff- raised
barriers against Hawaiian
sugar
• White economic leaders
now urge annexation
Spurning the Hawaiian Pear
• Queen Liliuokalani rejects
this
• 1893- whites revolt against
her (with help of US
forces)
• Grover Cleveland takes
office before treaty is
signed, study shows
Hawaiians wanted self rule
Cubans Rise in Revolt
• McKinley Tariff
cripples economy
• Cubans begin
rebelling against the
Spanish, scorched
earth policy worries
American interest in
area
• US 50 mill invested,
100 million in trade
Cubans Rise in Revolt
• Valeriano “the butcher”
Weyler- starts putting
Cuban rebels in
concentration camps
• Yellow Journalism
– Hearst- American women
getting searched at customs
– Published De-Lome letter
Cubans Rise in Revolt
• US sends SS Maine
battleship for friendly visit
to Cuba
• 1898 Maine explodes
– Spanish say internal
combustion
– US- Spanish mine blew it up
• Yellow Journalism hypes
war rhetoric- “Remember
the Maine, to Hell with
Spain!
Cubans Rise in Revolt
• Spain promises to stop
camps, and peace with
rebels- but US is in war
fever
• McKinley doesn’t want
war
– War vet
– Could make affect
economy
• April 1898- Declares war
on Spain
• Teller Amendment- when
US overthrows Spanish
rule, it will give Cubans
their freedom
Dewey’s May Day Victory at Manila
• Teddy Roosevelt (Ass’t
Sec. of Navy).
• Cabled Commodore
George Dewey to attack
Spain’s navy in the
Philippines in the event of
war.
• May 1, 1898 Dewey
attacks.
– Sinks 10 Spanish ships
without a single US casualty.
– Dewey is a huge hero and
immediately promoted to
admiral
Dewey’s May Day Victory at Manila
• Dewey must wait for
reinforcements before
invading land
• Manila captured in August
1898- helped by Emilio
Aguinaldo
• War in Philippines brings
attention to Hawaii
• July 1898- US annexes
Hawaii
Confused Invasion of Cuba
• Spain sends old worn down
Navy to Cuba, US’s
stronger military blockades
them
• US troops invade Cuba- ill
prepared for tropical war
• More US troops died of
disease (5000) than of
battle-inflicted injuries
(400).
Confused Invasion of Cuba
• Rough Riders; Teddy
Roosevelt.
• Made up of western
cowboys, miners and
friends from Harvard.
• Short on discipline but
long on dash and daring.
• Colonel Leonard Wood.
Confused Invasion of Cuba
• Mid-June US forces
land near Santiago.
Little opposition.
• Key battles El Caney
and San Juan Hill.
• Rough riders charge
up San Juan Hill.
Treaty Of Paris 1898
• War only last 4 months
• Cuba freed from Spanish (US does not claim
sovereignty as pledged at the beginning of the war).
– America reserves the right to intervene if country
goes off track. Also gets naval bases.
• US gets Guam, seized at the start of the war (Pacific
Island)
• US gets Puerto Rico, the last remnant of Spain’s New
World Empire.
• US purchases Philippines for 20 Mill.
The Philippines Question
• Problems
– Philippines is large island
– Diverse population
– Can’t give them back to
Spain
– If we don’t annex them,
Germany or Japan can get
them
• Reasons to go
– Missionary movements
– Philippines social welfare
Anti-Imperialists
• Anti-Imperialist League.
– Twain, Carnegie,
Gompers.
• Arguments:
– Filipinos wanted
freedom and to annex
them would be contrary
to spirit of Dec. of
Indep.
– Despotism abroad would
breed it at home
– Annexation would suck
US into politics of the
far east
Imperialist Arguments
• Patriotism. We fought and
died for it, giving it back
would dishonor US
soldiers.
• Trade profits in Far East
and use of natural resources
of the Islands.
• Filipinos not yet able to
govern themselves.
– US would help out its little
brown brothers and teach
them how to be an
independent democratic state
until ready to govern
themselves.
Perplexities in Puerto Rico
• Foraker Act – PR gets
limited degree of popular
government (and no
cockfighting)
• Insular Cases- PR and
Philo, while they are
subject to American rule,
they do not get American
Rights (aka no protection
by the Constitution
Perplexities in Cuba
• US Military Gov.
– Huge improvements in finace, ed. Ag. Gov. and public
health
• Honors Teller Amendment…but
• Cuban Constitution and Platt Amendment
– Not allowed to make treaties with others that will restrict its
sovereignty.
– Not allowed to go into debt beyond their means.
– US allowed to intervene in Cuba to restore order.
– Cubans agree to provide bases to US.
“Splendid little war”
• Helps US pride.
• Brings north and south
closer together;
• Americans believe that
American power is
stronger than it is.
• Mahan is vindicated;
more resources poured
into Navy.
• US stuck with Philippines
and far-east entanglement
Little Brown Brothers” In The Philippines
• The Filipinos wanted a
deal similar to Cubans
• 1899 the Filipino’s revolt
• War of atrocities on both
sides.
• US loses more soldiers
and spends more money
fighting against Filipinos
than it had in the SA war.
“Little Brown Brothers” In The Philippines
• Filipino army is quickly
defeated
• Turns into guerrilla jungle
warfare,
• vicious and difficult for
Americans to fight.
• Anti-imperialist in US
redouble their protests.
• War finally ends in 1901
when US captures
Aguinaldo, but still
sporadic guerilla terrorism.
Rebuilding Philippines
• McKinley appoints a
commission.
• William Howard Taft.
• Millions of US dollars
poured in to Philippines to
help build the country.
– Roads, sanitation, education,
public health
• Philippines finally get their
freedom in 1946 after
WWII .
• Thousands of Filipinos
emigrate to the US.
Hinging the Open Door in China
• Japan defeats China in 1895.
• China weak but filled with huge
markets and lush natural
resources,
• Imperialist powers in Europe
and Japan want to exploit
China.
• Sec. of State, John Hay
announces Open Door Policy
China.
– Respect certain Chinese rights, but
allow fair European competition in
its markets
Hinging the Open Door in China
• Boxer Rebellion
• In 1900 super-patriotic group of nationalists known as
“boxers” rebelled with the mission to “kill foreign
devils.”
– Over two hundred missionaries and other whites killed
– foreign diplomats were besieged in the capital
• A multinational force of 18,000, including 2500
Americans sent to put down the rebellion.
• Succeed quickly and relatively easily.
– US participation is a marked departure from traditional
policy of not becoming entangled in foreign disputes
Election of 1900
• Republicans- William
McKinley- won the
war, safeguard to gold
standard, got plenty of
new land
• Teddy- governor of
NY, shutting down
political bosses, thus
bosses push TR into
vice president role
Election of 1900
• Democrats- William
Jennings Bryan
• Republicanism over
Imperialism
– Abe freed 3.5 Africans,
McKinely enslaved 7
million Philippines
Election of 1900
• McKinley wins by
nearly 1 Mill. votes
and 292-155 in the
electoral vote.
Brandishing the Big Stick
• McKinley assassination
leads to Teddy Roosevelt
becoming youngest
president in US history
• Speak softly and carry a
big stick- big stick
diplomacy
• Strong believer in a strong
president
• Roosevelt = reformer,
McKinley was conservative
Building the Panama Canal
• The Spanish-American
War showed need for a
canal somewhere in Central
America.
– Acquisition of Pacific
territories.
– Trade to California and East
• Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
stand in the way
• Hay-Pauncefote TreatyBritain gives US right to
build canal and fortify it-
Building the Panama Canal
• French already failed
building a canal once
• Panama is province of
Columbia
• Columbia rejects US’s first
offer
• Panamanians “revolt”
11/3/1903
• US warship prevents
Columbia from responding
• TR quickly recognizes new
Panamanian gov. and gets
treaty for canal
Roosevelt Corollary
• Latin American deeply in debt to Euro, TR worried
about Euro influence
• Addition to Monroe Doctrine- preventive
intervention, in future financial disputes, the US
would intervene, take over the customs-houses, pay
off the debts
• Uncle Sam is policeman of the Caribbean
• “bad neighbor policy”
• Latin America hates it, feel US is trying to turn the
Caribbean into the Yankee Lake
TR on the World Stage
• 1904 War between Japan and
Russia.
• Japan running out of men and
money.
• Japan secretly approaches TR and
asks him to negotiate a peace
treaty.
• He brings the parties to US and
rams through a treaty
• TR gets Nobel Peace Prize, but
both Japan and Russian grow
hostile to the US.
• Japan starts to emerge as a rival to
US interests in the far east.
Japanese Laborers In California
• Many Japanese moved
to California to farm in
the lush valleys.—
70,000
• Californians were
nervous about “Yellow
Peril.”
• SF school board
ordinance- segregation
of Chinese, Japanese,
and Korean students
Japanese Laborers In California
• Japanese government
protested.
• TR summoned school
board to White House.
– TR got Japanese to
secretly agree to limit
emigration to US
– School board rescinded
their segregation policy
TR back down…yea right
• TR sends the entire navy
battle fleet (The Great
White Fleet) on a tour of
foreign ports, including
Japan
• Root-Takahira agreement
of 1908- respect territorial
possessions in the Pacific,
uphold open door policy in
China