Download CHAPTER 21 TOWARD EMPIRE

Chapter 21
TOWARD EMPIRE
America Past and Present
Eighth Edition
Roosevelt & the Rough Riders

April 1898 ~ Theodore
Roosevelt resigned his position
as Asst Sec of the Navy to
raise his own regiment to fight
in the Spanish American War
–
The 1st US Volunteer Cavalry
was an intriguing mix of Ivy
League athletes & western
frontiersmen

Anxious to set off on a great
adventure
p.601-602
America Looks Outward

Since the first landings in Jamestown &
Plymouth, the country had been expanding,
but expansion in the 1890s was different
–
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This expansion sought to gain possessions, most
already thickly populated
New territories intended not for settlement but
for naval bases, trading outposts, &
commercial operations
The Spirit of Empire ~ Americans abandoning
isolationism in favor of imperialism
–
Military & economic control over other peoples
p.602-603
Reasons for Expansion
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Political leaders began to argue for the vital
importance of foreign markets to continue
economic growth
Others were also interested in empire
building ~ In last third of 19th century, Great
Britain, France & Germany divided up Africa
& were interested in Asia
Darwinist’s used their belief in superiority as
a reason to expand & protect the weak
Missionary spirit expressed in Josiah
Strong's popular Our Country (1885)
–
Christianize the “inferior” races
p.603-604
Foreign Policy Approaches:
1867–1900

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Expansionist foreign policy ~ Wanted
Canada, Mexico, Caribbean & Pacific Islands
1867 ~ Sec of State Seward acquired:
–
Uninhabited “Midway” Islands ~ Guano & Coal

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Alaska ~ Purchased from Russia for $6M
Contested European interests in Latin
America
–
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First territory outside the continental US
Advocated the Monroe Doctrine ~ “Hands off the
western world”
US reciprocity (mutual exchange) w/ Latin Am
p.604-606
The Lure of Hawaii & Samoa

1820 ~ Missionaries arrive in Hawaii
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1875 ~ Hawaiian sugar allowed to enter US
duty free in return for not making any territorial
or economic concessions to other powers
–
–
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Dole Pineapple Company
Hawaii became an American protectorate
New Queen Liliuokalani resented minority rule
–
–

Their children come to dominate political &
economic life
Unhappy Americans revolted ~ US Marines
1893 ~ Hawaii annexed
1898 ~ Hawaii an official US possession
p.606-608
The Lure of Hawaii & Samoa

1872 ~ US very interested in Samoa, 3k mi
south of Hawaii
–
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1889 ~ Situation became tense when ships
from all three nations gathered in a Samoan
harbor
–

1878 ~ Treaty established US naval base
Great Britain & Germany also interested in Samoa
Delegates met in Berlin to negotiate
1899 ~ US & Germany divided up the islands
& compensated Britain w/ lands elsewhere in
the Pacific
p.606-608
Hawaiian Islands
Difficulties:
• Threat of Japanese
military actions
• Washington not in
agreement
• Colonial problems
• Opposition to
annexing non-AngloSaxon people
p.607
NIB
The New Navy

US had powerful fleet during Civil
War but it quickly fell into disrepair
–
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1883 Congress authorized the first modern
steel ships
Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, author of The
Influence of Sea Power upon History,
stressed the importance of a strong navy for
a multitude of reasons
By the end of the 1890s ~ 17 steel
battleships, 6 armored cruisers, & many
p.608-609
smaller craft
War with Spain ~ 1898
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The war increased overseas possessions
It also gained the US recognition as a “world
power”
Americans became convinced they had a
special destiny
p.609
A War for Principle

Cuba & Puerto Rico almost only thing left of
Spain’s once vast empire
–
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"Yellow Journalism" whipped up US
sentiment to favor Cuban independence
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Cuban people treated cruelly
February 1895 ~ Rebellion in Cuba
Wm Randolph Hearst
Joseph Pulitzer
Pres McKinley sent USS Maine to Havana
harbor as a show of force
p.609-612
A War for Principle

McKinley sent aide on fact finding mission
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Feb 15, 1898 ~ Maine “explodes”
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He protested to Spain regarding their “uncivilized
& inhuman” conduct
266 lives lost
“Remember the Maine”
Although he had worked hard to avoid it,
McKinley signed the declaration of war on
April 25, 1898
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Kick the Spanish out & Cuba to be independent
p.609-612
"A Splendid Little War"
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War lasted only ten weeks ~ Relatively few
Americans died
Regular Army was small & ill-prepared
–
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Only 28k officers & men, most experienced only in
quelling Indian uprisings, not large-scale battles
Problems of equipment & supply
–
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Regulars had latest Krag-Jorgensen rifles
NG units had old Civil War Springfield rifles that
used black powder ~ Spanish had modern rifles
Food & illness serious problems

More died of disease than battlefield wounds
p.612
“Smoked Yankees”
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When the invasion force sailed for
Cuba, almost ¼ were Af American
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24th & 25th Infantry & 9th & 10th Cavalry
AL, OH, & MA provided black NG units
Black troops extremely disturbed by
segregation ~ Numerous
fights
Af Am soldiers won 26
Certificates of Merit &
5 Cong Medals of Honor
p.612-614
The Course of the War
Spanish-American War:
Pacific Theater
Naval strategy was simple:
destroy the Spanish Fleet
• May 1, 1898, Commodore
Dewy sailed from Hong
Kong & trapped the Spanish
in Manila Bay ~ “You may
fire when ready, Gridley”
• A quick & unexpected
prize of war
p.614
The Course of the War
Spanish-American War:
Caribbean Theater
McKinley was worried about the main
Spanish fleet which could possibly attack
Florida, but it became bottled up in
Santiago Bay
Marine & Army troops invaded during
June & fought their way toward Santiago
de Cuba
Fleet tried to escape, but was totally
destroyed ~ Spain was helpless
Of 5,500 American deaths only 379 were
from battle ~ Accidents, yellow fever,
malaria, typhoid
p.615
Acquisition of Empire

Fate of the Philippines was the thorniest
issue at the peace negotiations
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A huge chain of islands & very far away
Cuba & Puerto Rice were close
Guam small & unimportant
December, 1898 ~ Treaty of Paris
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Cuba declared independent
U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines
$20M paid to Spain
p.615-617
The Treaty of Paris Debate
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Treaty still had to be ratified by the Senate
Many Anti-Imperialists against it
– Jane Addams, Samuel Gompers, Mark Twain
– Argued that imperialism violated the very ideals
upon which the US was founded
– Wm James, “America is about to puke up its
heritage”
– Andrew Carnegie offered to buy Filipino
independence with a personal check for $20M

February 1899 ~ Ratification made the US a
colonial empire
p.617-618
American Empire ~ 1900
p.617
Guerrilla Warfare in
the Philippines

1898 – 1901~ Emilio Aguinaldo led
Philippine independence movement
–
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Filipinos used guerilla war tactics, US
adopted tactics Spanish used in Cuba
–
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Philippine-American War more costly than the
Spanish-American War
1901 ~ US replaced military with civil rule
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Fought w/ US against the Spanish
Local self-government permitted
Schedule established for independence
July 4, 1946 ~ Philippine independence
p.618-620
World Colonial Empires ~ 1900
p.619
Governing the Empire
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How could/should new territories be governed?
Supreme Court applied selective application of
the Constitution to new territories
Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico organized as
territories, inhabitants later made US citizens
Navy controlled Guam & Samoa
Cuban Constitution ended US occupation
–
Platt Amendment to Cuban Constitution ~ US
given right to intervene in Cuban affairs & lease
Guantanamo Bay
p.620-621
The Open Door

Poised in the Philippines, the US was on the
doorstep of China
–
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US sought more trade, but “no advantages in
the Orient not common to all”
US promoted an "Open Door" policy in China
–
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China was weak from yrs of warfare & unable to
resist foreign influence
No nation should carve out a sphere of influence
in China & exclude others from trading there
US not prepared to militarily defend &
therefore left the opportunity for later
controversy
p.621-624
Outcome of the
War with Spain
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Teddy Roosevelt a war hero
Civil rights for African Americans set back
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Confirmed Republicans as majority party
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Fresh outbreak of segregation & lynching
Dominated politics until 1932
U.S. soldiers stationed outside the country
By 1900, the US had grow from 13 states
along the Atlantic coastline into a major
world power that reached from the
Caribbean to the Pacific
p.624-625
Chapter 21
TOWARD EMPIRE
America Past and Present
Eighth Edition
End