Age of Imperialism
 mid-1800s through the early 1900s
 powerful European nations extended
their political, economic, and military
influence by creating colonies in
Africa and Asia
 The United States and Japan began
considering the benefits and started
implementing similar imperialist
policies
1. Commercial/Business Interests
U.S. Foreign Investments: 1869 – 1908
2. Military/Strategic Interests
 Alfred T. Mahan wrote The Influence of Sea Power on History
(1660-1783):
 argued that many great nations owed their greatness to
naval power
 urged construction of a fleet of steel ships, overseas bases,
and a canal across Central America
 believed future prosperity depended on foreign trade
As a result of Mahan’s book, the U.S. had a large,
powerful navy by the late 1890’s known as the Great
White Fleet.
3. Social
Darwinist
Thinking
The
Hierarchy
Of
Race
Social Darwinism was the
belief that life consists of
competitive struggles in
which only the fittest survive.
Social Darwinists believed
that certain nations and races
were superior to others.
Americans embraced Social
Darwinism because they had
long believed that God had
granted them the right to
settle the frontier, they spoke
of their “Manifest Destiny.”
Rudyard Kipling’s The White Man’s
Burden (1899)
“…take up the White Man’s
burden,
send forth the best ye breed,
go bind your sons to exile,
to serve your captives’ need,
to wait in heavy harness,
on fluttered folk and wild,
your new caught sullen
peoples,
half-devil and half-child…”
• What does he mean by
“the White Man’s
Burden”?
• What does the word
captives indicate?
• What does the final line
tell us about his view of
different cultures?
4. Religious/Missionary Interests
Unlocking Japan
 Fearing the influence of outsiders, Japan chose to
completely isolate itself from other nations in the
1600’s.
“The continuation of…the intention of introducing the Christian religion
having come to our knowledge, it is impossible to look on with indifference.
If in future foreign vessels should come near any port whatsoever, the local
inhabitants shall…drive them away; but should they go away peaceably it is
not necessary to pursue them. Should any foreigners land anywhere, they
must be arrested or killed, and if the ship approaches the shore it must be
destroyed.”
– Japanese policy, 1825
Source: “When Japan was a secret.” The Economist December 22nd 2007 – January 4th 2008: 63.
Why did the U.S. want to establish a
relationship with Japan?
1. Trade: to sell U.S. goods to Japanese
Consumers
2. Sailors: to ensure proper treatment of
shipwrecked U.S. sailors
3. Fuel: to purchase fuel (coal) from the
Japanese for U.S. whaling and fishing ships
Matthew Perry:
 Sent to Japan in 1853 by President Fillmore
 Prior to Perry’s arrival Japan denied the rest
of the world access to its ports
 Set a precedent for expansion across the
Pacific Ocean
Perry arrived with four steam-powered
warships, impressing the Japanese. The
Japanese though the ships were “giant
dragons puffing smoke.”
Alaska:
 Secretary of State William
Seward purchased Alaska
from Russia for $7.2 million
in 1867.
 Critics mocked “Seward’s
Icebox” and “Seward’s
Folly” as a far off and
useless frozen tundra
but…
 valuable resources,
including timber, gold,
and oil, were found
 and Alaska doubled
America’s territory
Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System transports oil, Alaska’s most important export. It
runs 800 miles from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska at Valdez. Residents
share the profits ranging from $1800-$3000
Acquiring Hawaii:
 Hawaii becomes a U.S.
Protector late in 1849 by
virtue of economic treaties
 U.S. recognized the
strategic importance of
Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean
 In 1875, Hawaii agreed to
give the U.S. control of the
seaport Pearl Harbor
Wealthy American planters, such as Sanford Dole,
forced the Hawaiian King, Kalakaua, to adopt a new
constitution, giving more control of the kingdom to the
planters.
• Foreigners had the right to vote, but most native
Hawaiians could not.
Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani:
How does the cartoonist depiction differ from reality?
Queen Liliuokalani
 Becomes the leader of
Hawaii in 1891 and
attempts to restore the
kingdom’s independence
 However, U.S. Marines
forced Queen Liliuokalani
to surrender at gunpoint
“I yield to the superior force of the United
States of America…To avoid any collision of
armed forces and perhaps the loss of life, I do
this under protest, and impelled by said force,
yield my authority.”
-Liliuokalani letter
to the U.S. Government
(1893)
Sanford Dole becomes the temporary
President of the “Republic of Hawaii”
• Hawaii was annexed in
1898 when President
McKinley took office and
it became the 50th state
in 1959.
• “Another Shotgun
Wedding” A woman
(Hawaii) and Uncle Sam
are getting married,
kneeling before the
minister (President
McKinley) who is reading
from a book entitled
“Annexation Policy.” The
bride seems ready to
bolt.
United States Expansion Overseas after 1850
1853
Commodore Matthew Perry’s fleet entered Tokyo Bay,
persuading Japan to trade with the United States.
1867
Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska
from Russia.
1867
The United States obtained Midway Islands in the Pacific.
1898
Congress approved the annexation of Hawaii.
1898
The Spanish-American War gave the U.S. control of the
Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.