Download Ch 27 Questions and VocabEXEMPLAR

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Chapter 27 Questions and Vocab:
1. What reasons were given for the “need” for America to expand overseas?
Farmers and factory owners began to look for markets beyond American shores to handle the surplus in
production. Population growth led to a feeling of crowding that could be alleviated by overseas moves. Yellow
journalists (Hearst and Pulitzer) described foreign adventures as manly. Missionaries looked overseas for new
souls to save. Many believed that in the face of the Scramble for Africa and the division of the Chinese Empire, if
the US didn’t press its own imperial rights, that it wouldn’t remain competitive in the global political and
economical realm. The need for a strong navy compelled many to join the Navy as steel ships are being built to
control the seas.
2. Explain the British Guiana/Venezuela Affair. What happened? How was the conflict resolved? What impact did
this have on the Monroe Doctrine? What impact did this have on American-British relations?
The British and Venezuelans had been fighting over a disputed boundary. When gold was found in this region,
both sides started posturing for war. For years the US had an anti-British sentiment. This combined with a rising
sense of belligerence. When this happened, President Cleveland invoked the Monroe Doctrine and said that if the
British didn’t agree to a boundary determined by experts, that the US would get involved militarily. The country
was swept up in war hysteria. Meanwhile, in Europe, Britain has been challenged by Germany and there is rising
conflict in South Africa. Because of this, the British recognized the importance of cultivating Yankee friendship
and started a period of “patting the Eagle’s head.” This led to a cordial relationship between the two countries.
3. How did the McKinley Tariff set off the scuffle over Hawaii? What happened to US Claims over the island? How
did the annexation debate proceed?
The tariff impacted Hawaiian exports because Hawaii was a foreign country, not part of the US. White American
planters worked hard to get the island nation annexed so that the tariff could be removed. Hawaiian Queen
Liliuokalani blocked these efforts, insisting that Hawaii should be run by Hawaiians. A small minority of whites led
a successful revolt in 1893, openly assisted by American troops. A treaty of annexation is sent to Washington but
President Harrison’s term expired before it could be ratified. President Cleveland suspected that the queen and
her people had been treated badly and he withdrew the treaty. It was ratified in 1898 when the US began its
overseas empire.
4. Describe the development of the conflict in Cuba. How did America eventually come to declare war? How did
war come to the Philippines? How did this affect Hawaii?
Spain still held colonial control over Cuba and did a terrible job of governing. In 1894, the US restored an old tariff
that imposed taxes on the imports of sugar from Cuba. Cubans took advantage of the situation to try and drive
out the Spanish overlords. They used a scorched earth policy of burning fields and processing plants, as well as
bombing passenger trains. American financial interests in Cuba were threatened by these tactics. Yellow
journalists (Hearst and Pulitzer) took stories of Spanish concentration camps for the Cubans, the disrobing and
searching of an American woman, the interception of a letter from a Spanish official that was disrespectful to
President McKinley, and illustrations by Frederick Remington to rile the American people in the another war
hysteria. The president sent the USS Maine to Havana on a “friendly” visit (it was really there to evacuate
Americans if that became necessary). It blew up. American investigations determined that is was a submarine
mine; Spanish investigations said it was a combustion in the ship (they put their coal next to their gunpowder).
This is the last straw. Americans demand war. On April 11, 1898, McKinley urged armed intervention to aid the
Cubans. Congress essentially declares war and adopted the Teller Amendment which gave Cubans their freedom.
It also tied American hands by stipulating that the US would never assume control over Cuba. Roosevelt (who
thought McKinley was moving too slowly) instructs Commodore George Dewey to invade the Philippines even
though he didn’t have the authority to direct this. Dewy takes the harbor at Manilla but has to wait for American
reinforcements to arrive. Hawaii was considered an important fueling and provisioning station and McKinley was
worried that Japan might try to take it. Hawaii is annexed on July 7, 1898, granting US citizenship to Hawaiian
residents.
5. Describe the significance of disease in the Spanish American War.
In Cuba the American army suffered from malaria, typhoid fever, dysentery, and yellow fever, as well as from
poorly packaged meat. Statistics show that 400 died of bullets; over five thousand died to bacteria and other
causes.
6. How did the decision come to keep the Philippines as an American possession? What was the public’s reaction
(on both sides)?
American decision makers were concerned that the Filipinos might fall into anarchy if left to govern themselves, or
that Germany or Japan might try to seize them. It was decided to keep the Philippines and perhaps give them
their freedom later. Wall Street opposed the war originally, but came around when the prospect of profits
became apparent. Spain said that the Philippines shouldn’t be spoils of war because it was captured the day after
an armistice was signed. America paid Spain $20 million in order to break the deadlock. Opponents of
annexation said that pursuing imperialism would destroy American commitment to self-determination and anticolonialism; Supporters declared that annexation just continued a glorious history of expansionism. The antiimperialists argued that the Filipinos wanted freedom, and the to annex them would violate the “consent of the
Governed” philosophy in the DoI & Constitution. They argued that despotism abroad might lead to it at home.
Imperialism is expensive and unlikely to turn a profit, and they didn’t want to get involved with the political and
military mess that was Asia. Expansionists talked about America’s “civilizing mission,” and talked about trade
profits. It was the “white man’s burden” to lift up (and exploit) the underprivileged, underfed, and underclad of
the world.
7. What were the results of the war in Puerto Rico and Cuba?
Puerto Rico was granted a limited form of popular government (but outlawed cockfighting) and was granted
citizenship in 1917, but withheld self-rule. The American government improved education, sanitation, and
transportations, but did not make it clear what the status of the people was. In 1901, the Insular Cases stated
that full rights do not extend to the people of newly acquired lands, even if the rule of government did. An
American military government was established in Cuba and it improved finance, education, agriculture, and public
health. Areas where mosquitoes bred were cleared and drained. The US withdrew from Cuba in 1902, but not
before making Cuba include the Platt Amendment, by which they agreed not to take on treaties that might
compromise their independence, not to take on debt beyond their resources, that the US could intervene with
force, if necessary, and that coaling and naval stations would be established (Guantanamo still exists)
Vocabulary:
Hawaii - an isolated volcanic archipelago in the Central Pacific. Its islands are renowned for their rugged landscapes of
cliffs, waterfalls, tropical foliage and beaches with gold, red, black and even green sands.
Cuban Insurrection -the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain
Yellow Journalism based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration.
U.S.S. Maine - an American naval ship that sank in Havana Harbor during the Cuban revolt against Spain, an event that
became a major political issue in the United States.
President McKinley -n American politician and lawyer who served as the 25th President of the United States from March
4, 1897 until his assassination in September 1901, six months into his second term
Theodore Roosevelt an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th
President of the United States from 1901 to 1909.
The Philippines a Southeast Asian country in the Western Pacific, comprising more than 7,000 islands.
Rough Riders a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised
in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one of the three to see action
Insular Cases series of opinions by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1901, about the status of U.S. territories acquired
in the Spanish–American War. The Supreme Court held that full constitutional rights do not automatically (or ex
proprio vigore—i.e., of its own force) extend to all places under American control.
Platt Amendment stipulated seven conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba at
the end of the Spanish–American War, and an eighth condition that Cuba sign a treaty accepting these seven
conditions.