Download Imperialism - Rondout Valley Intermediate School

The American Frontier is CLOSED
• Fredrick Jackson Turner declares the western
frontier “closed” as a result of the 1890 census
The American Frontier is CLOSED
• Fear arose about the
disappearance of natural
resources
•The belief that America needed
to find new areas for these raw
materials
The White Man’s Burden
•Followers of Social Darwinism believed it was
America’s destiny to conquer other lands
•These people saw all nations/races of people like
species and that it was natural for the United States to
take over other peoples
• “take care of them,” like parents taking care of
children
The White Man’s Burden
•Rudyard’s Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden
expressed the “moral” obligation for America to take care of
the rest of the world. This can also be described as
“Imperialism of Righteousness.”
Building the American Empire
• The Good Neighbor Policy : explains the treaties the United
States signed with its Latin American and Caribbean
neighbors which allowed the US to enter their local
economies
•This policy relied on there being peace in Latin America
Building the American Empire
The Navy
•The United States began to pump more money into the
Navy, which increased its size
•Capt. Alfred Thayer Mahan’s the Influence of Sea
Power Upon American History
•Stated that the international strength of the US
depended upon having open markets and control
of colonies
• this helped to define American foreign policy
Building the American Empire
• The Monroe Doctrine: Isolation to Intervention
– Used to get rid of European influence in the
western hemisphere
-This called for the US to
be the only imperial
influence on the
hemisphere
•America’s expansionist
policy focuses on the
western hemisphere
Building the American Empire
The Monroe Doctrine
Remember Me???
Monroe Doctrine
Policy of isolating the W. Hemisphere from European
influence and power
U.S. becomes Dominant Influence
Places on Western hemisphere are now places for
nat. resources & new economies for US businesses
Building the American Empire
Alaska
•William Seward began to increase American influence
in the western hemisphere
- He negotiated the sale of
Alaska from Russia (known as
Seward’s Folly)
- He used the Monroe Doctrine to
force France out of Mexico
Building the American Empire
Hawaii
• The Hawaiian economy is based on sugar
• 1887: Treaty signed with US to open up Pearl Harbor
naval base
•American corporations begin to enter and
buy sugar plantations
•In 1891 Queen Liliuokalani issued a constitution that
gave her more power since she was afraid the US was
becoming too powerful there.
Building the American Empire
Hawaii
•The Americans on the islands overthrew the queen
and in 1898 the United States annexed the islands of
Hawaii.
•Hawaii was seen as the stepping
stones to Asian Markets
Building the American Empire
China
•The Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs
stating that, in principle, all nations should have equal
commercial and industrial trade rights in China
•The Boxer Rebellion took place in China
when Chinese nationalists rebelled against
American and European influence there
Building the American Empire
Japan
•Japan was forced to open up trade with west in 1853 when
Commodore Matthew Perry landed in the country
•The Russo-Japanese War in 1905 was fought over
Manchuria. The Japanese defeated the Russians and
President Roosevelt mediated a peace settlement.
“The Splendid Little War”
• 1896 Election: McKinley campaigns for economic expansion,
which he claims would serve humanitarian and democratic
goals.
•In the 1860’s there is the liberation
movement occurring in Cuba against
Spain called Cuba Libre
•The Spanish are unable to keep peace
in Cuba and Gen. Weyler resort to
savage methods and brutality
Causes of the Spanish American War
USS Maine
Yellow
Journalism
McKinley
Tariff
DeLome
Letter
SpanishAmerica
n War
Monroe
Doctrine
(American
Expansionism)
Causes of the Spanish American War
• The McKinley Tariff raised the taxes on imported goods
almost 50% ( except for raw materials like sugar)
•Why was this done?
Causes of the Spanish American War
Yellow Journalism
•Sensational news reporting that highly
exaggerates incidents
Pulitzer: The World
Hearst: The New York
World
Causes of the Spanish American War
USS Maine
•Jan 15, 1898- The USS Maine explodes near the coast of Cuba
•The cause of the explosion is still debated today
•Hearst and Pulitzer rushed to
publish stories and blamed
the explosion on the Spanish
Causes of the Spanish American War
The DeLôme Letter
•DeLôme was the Spanish Ambassador to the
United States
•His private letter to a friend was intercepted
•He criticized President McKinley by
calling him :
“weak and a bidder for the admiration
of the crowd, besides being a would-be
politician who tries to leave a door
open behind himself while keeping on
good terms with the jingoes of his
party”
Causes of the Spanish American War
• The Monroe Doctrine: Isolation to Intervention
– Used to get rid of European influence in the
western hemisphere
-This called for the US to
be the only imperial
influence on the
hemisphere
•America’s expansionist
policy focuses on the
western hemisphere
The “Splendid Little War”
Theodore Roosevelt resigned as Secretary
of the Navy in order to Fight in Cuba
•He was an imperialist and really
wanted this war
•Emerges as a War Hero as
the leader of the Rough Riders
The “Splendid Little War”
•Admiral George Dewey led the
fight in the Philippines with the
Navy
•He destroyed the Spanish fleet
in Manila
The “Splendid Little War”
•The Spanish surrender and the United
States gain control of Cuba, the Philippines,
Guam, and its influence in Puerto Rico
America’s New Empire
Cuba’s Constitution
•The Platt Amendment
 requires that the US has a base in Cuba
( Guantanamo Bay)
 Cuba must pay back the United States back for
the cost of the war
Cuba cannot sign any foreign treaties without the
consent of the United States
America’s New Empire
The Philippines
•The United States bought the Philippines from
Spain due to the treaty signed from the war
 the islands were hard to
govern due to so many islands
and many ethnic groups
Emilio Aguinaldo
established a revolutionary
government and founded a
resistance against American
imperialism
The Philippines eventually
gained independence in 1946
America’s New Empire
Should the colonies be treated like states?
•The Insular Cases ruled that colonies are not like States
Congress could set tariffs on
their products coming into the US
 Also rules that
constitutional rights
would not be granted to
those living in the
colonies
America’s New Empire
The Panama Canal
• The US wanted to connect the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
•The United States wanted
to build it in Panama, but
Colombia refused the offer
•Roosevelt sent troops to help
the rebels in Panama fight
against the Colombians
•1903: Panama was recognized
as an independent country by
the United states
•Panama allowed for the construction of the
canal which was completed in 1915
Stages of Involvement in Latin America
Monroe Doctrine
States that European influence in the Western
Hemisphere is considered a threat to the US
Roosevelt Corollary “ Big Stick Diplomacy”
Extends the Monroe Doctrine: US can intervene in economic
affairs of unstable countries in the W. Hemisphere
Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy
Encouraged banks and businesses to invest in Latin America as
well as military and diplomatic efforts
Wilson’s Intervention
Intervening in Latin American affairs through military force