Imperialism and America - Mrs. Greene\'s Classes



Imperialism and America

▪ America expands

▪ By late 1800’s, many U.S. leaders believe America should be a colonial power

▪ Imperialism = policy in which stronger nations extend economic, political, or military control over weaker territories

▪ Three factors fuel imperialism

▪ Desire for military strength

▪ U.S. Navy Admiral Alfred T. Mahan stresses importance of naval power to compete with other nations

▪ U.S. begins building steel-hulled cruisers

▪ Thirst for new markets

▪ Rapid industrialization creates needs for raw materials and new markets

▪ Belief in cultural superiority

▪ Many Americans believe in Social Darwinism and superiority of Anglo-Saxons and Christianity

▪ The U.S. gets Alaska and Hawaii

▪ In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward arranges for purchase of Alaska from Russia

▪ Land rich in timber, minerals, and oil

▪ In same year, U.S. takes over uninhabited Midway Islands, 1300 miles north of Hawaii

▪ In 1898, U.S. annexes Hawaii, makes it an American territory

▪ Hawaii already had many American-owned sugar plantations

▪ U.S. built base at Pearl Harbor in 1887

▪ With support from U.S. Marines, Queen Liliuokalani is overthrown

▪ Sanford B. Dole heads up Hawaiian government

The Spanish-American War

▪ By the turn of the 20th century, Spain has lost most of its colonies

▪ U.S. has long-standing interest in Spanish colony of Cuba

▪ In mid-1800’s, American business begins investing millions into sugar plantations on Cuba

▪ In 1895, José Martí launches revolution against Spanish in Cuba

▪ Destroys American property in hopes of achieving U.S. intervention

▪ Public opinion in the U.S. is split

▪ War fever escalates

▪ Spanish send General Valeriano Weyler to crush rebellion

▪ He rounds up 300,000 Cubans into concentration camps

▪ Action in Cuba fill American newspaper headlines

▪ Papers begin printing exaggerated stories of Weyler’s brutality

▪ Yellow journalism = sensational writing that exaggerates the news to lure and enrage readers

▪ President McKinley tries diplomatic measures in Cuba

▪ Spanish recall Weyler, offer Cuba limited self-government

▪ In Feb. 1898, the New York Journal prints a letter by Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, Spanish Minister to the U.S.

▪ De Lôme Letter insulted McKinley

▪ Americans are enraged

▪ In same month, U.S.S. Maine explodes in Havana harbor

▪ 260 American soldiers are killed

▪ U.S. newspapers claim Spanish blew up the ship

▪ War erupts

▪ On April 20, 1898, the U.S. declares war on Spain

▪ First battle is in Philippines

▪ Commodore George Dewey decimates Spanish fleet on April 30

▪ Lands troops on islands

▪ For next two months, American troops and Filipino rebels fight Spanish troops

▪ U.S. Navy blockades Cuba

▪ Seals Spanish fleet harbor of Santiago de Cuba

▪ U.S. forces land in Cuba in June 1898

▪ Includes the young Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, a cavalry unit

▪ Minor land battles culminate in charge on San Juan Hill

▪ Americans take Santiago

▪ Spanish fleet tries to escape, is destroyed by U.S. Navy

▪ Americans also invade Puerto Rico

▪ On August 12, 1898, the U.S. and Spain a cease-fire agreement

▪ U.S. gets Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, Spain frees Cuba in the Treaty of Paris

▪ Arguments over American imperialism arise

Acquiring New Lands

▪ Varied opinions about ruling Puerto Rico

▪ Was temporarily under military rule

▪ In 1900, Congress passes Foraker Act, ending military rule and setting up self-government

▪ U.S. appointed president and upper house, Puerto Ricans elected lower house

▪ Puerto Ricans later gained rights to citizenship and elected both houses

▪ U.S. military remains in Cuba

▪ Many of the same officials stay in place, as Martí feared

▪ Protestors were imprisoned or exiled

▪ U.S. helps

▪ Distributes food and clothing

▪ Helps farmers

▪ Organized schools

▪ Controls disease

▪ In 1900, Cuban government writes a constitution

▪ U.S. insists Cubans add the Platt Amendment

▪ Has four key parts

▪ Cuba’s treaty-making power was limited

▪ U.S. reserves right to intervene

▪ Cuba could not go into debt

▪ U.S. could buy/lease land for naval stations

▪ Cuba adopts amendment in 1903, becomes a U.S. protectorate = a country whose affairs are partially controlled by a stronger power

▪ U.S. military stays in Cuba to protect American businesses

▪ Trouble in the Philippines

▪ Rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo vows that Filipinos will fight for independence from U.S.

▪ In Feb. 1899, Aguinaldo leads a revolt

▪ U.S. spends nearly three years putting down rebellion

▪ Sets up government similar to Puerto Rico in the aftermath

▪ An Open Door to China

▪ Philippines are seen as a gateway to the rest of Asia

▪ U.S. imperialists fear China will be colonized by European powers

▪ In 1899, Secretary of State John Hay issues series of policy statements

▪ Speaks to foreign imperial powers

▪ Proposes that they share trading rights with China

▪ Statements are called the Open Door notes

▪ A rebellion threatens the open door

▪ In August 1900, a secret society called the Boxers lash out at foreigners in China

▪ Kill hundreds of missionaries and foreigners, especially in European-dominated Chinese cities

▪ International coalition puts down the Boxer Rebellion

▪ John Hay issues second set of notes

▪ Restates American desires to keep foreign markets open, intervene in foreign affairs in necessary

America as a World Power

▪ McKinley’s assassination thrusts Theodore Roosevelt into presidency in 1901

▪ Roosevelt wants U.S. to be dominant in the world’s economic and political destiny

▪ Roosevelt the peacemaker

▪ In 1905, he mediates a peace settlement in Russian-Japanese war

▪ The Panama Canal

▪ In 1903, the U.S. backs a Panamanian rebellion against ruling Colombia

▪ Soon after, the U.S. and Panama sign a treaty in which the U.S. buys the Canal Zone

▪ The Panama Canal opens in 1914 after 10 years of construction and 5,600+ worker deaths

▪ Roosevelt’s diplomacy

▪ Roosevelt feels a need to remind European powers of Monroe Doctrine

▪ Many Latin American countries were deeply indebted to European banks

▪ In 1904, he adds the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in an address to Congress

▪ Warns European powers not to interfere in Latin America

▪ Dollar diplomacy

▪ U.S. intervenes in Latin America several times

▪ Dollar diplomacy = using U.S. government to guarantee loans to foreign countries by American businesspeople

▪ Woodrow Wilson’s Missionary Diplomacy

▪ Wilson pressures governments in the Western Hemisphere to establish democracies

▪ “Missionary diplomacy” gives Monroe Doctrine a moral undertone

▪ In 1911, Mexican peasants and workers overthrow Porfirio Diaz, a military dictator

▪ Are led by Francisco Madera, who cannot satisfy revolutionaries' demands

▪ Madera is overthrown in 1913 by General Victoriano Huerta, Madera is executed

▪ Wilson refuses to recognize Huerta’s government

▪ Huerta’s government soon collapses, Venustiano Carranza becomes president in 1915

▪ Wilson recognizes Carranza

▪ Rebels under leadership of Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata oppose Carranza

▪ Villa leads a raid on Columbus, New Mexico

▪ Kills 17 Americans

▪ Wilson orders troops to hunt Villa down, stations National Guard on Mexican border

▪ War is imminent until both sides back down

▪ U.S. is distracted by World War I in Europe

▪ Carranza’s oppressive regime is replaced by moderate leader Alvaro Obregón in 1920

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download