Download 1 USH Unit 6: Emergence of the U.S. in World Affairs Notes

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USH Unit 6: Emergence of the U.S. in World Affairs Notes- Answers
Objective 6.01: Examine the factors that led to the United States taking an
increasingly active role in world affairs.
 Essential Questions:
 • How did the government’s role in economic and political affairs change as
America became more imperialistic?
 • To what extent did industrialization affect the relationships between
government, business, and the worker?
 • How did technological advancement lead to the United States’ increased
involvement in world affairs?
 • To what extent was the government’s changing role necessary and
beneficial as America became more imperialistic?
Economics and National Defense:
 Imperialism: when a country expands beyond its own borders and takes
control of other territories
 Spheres of Influence: territories over which a nations takes control
 Around the end of the 1800’s (19th Century) many people believed in
imperialism in the United States
Why is it important?
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Most people believed this for economic reasons
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Most business leaders and politicians believed expansion would open
more opportunities for economic markets and the potential for
economic growth (thought we could make money)
 Mercantilism: the belief that a country could keep a favorable balance of
trade by acquiring foreign territories
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 Favorable Balance of Trade: when a country has more exports than
imports
 Many people supported the theory of mercantilism
 They believed the more land and natural resources the United States owned
the less it would have to rely on imports, and could produce our own
products
 Many people also believed the United States needed to expand its territory
to maintain our security
 Alfred T. Mahan wrote the book “The Influence of Sea Power Upon
History”
 The book convinced many people that in order to be secure the United
States should build a powerful navy
 Within 10 years the United States had one of the world’s most powerful
navies
National Spirit and Destiny:
 Many people believed that the United States was great due to the “pioneer
spirit” of the early settlers who were brave enough to explore and settle
new territory in the West
 Many thought to continue to be great the United States should continue to
expand its borders with new territory
 Frederick Jackson Turner gave a famous speech in 1893 proclaiming that
the frontier had played a vital role in forming the American character and
expansion was essential to maintain the U.S. spirit and keep American
strong
 Some people used the belief in Manifest Destiny to support their ideas of
U.S. expansion
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 They saw it as the responsibility and destiny of the United States to civilize
and take democracy to the rest of the world
 Just as many business leaders used Social Darwinism to justify laissez-faire
capitalism, many people used it to justify U.S. imperialism
 Social Darwinism: survival of the fittest
 Many in the U.S. thought it was the role of white Americans to control
“inferior” races and nations
 Anglo Saxon Superiority: the idea that English speaking white people are
biologically superior to other races
 Josiah Strong believed in Anglo-Saxon superiority and believed that
expansion was noble and the nation’s destiny
 British writer Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem “The White Man’s Burden”
in response to the United States’ conquest of the Philippines in the SpanishAmerican War
Why is it important?
 Some thought the poem was a warning for the U.S. about the cost of
imperialism
 Others thought the poem supported the belief that white westerners have a
moral obligation to “civilize” and “help lesser people”
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Objective 6.02: Identify the areas of the United States military, economic,
and political involvement and influence.
 Essential Questions:

• How did America and the world change as the US increased its role in world affairs?

• To what extent have the effects of US actions and policies been beneficial or detrimental
to other countries?

• Why did the United States take an active role in world affairs in the late 19th and early
20th century?
Alaska and Hawaii:
 1867 Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska
from Russia
 Many thought the territory was useless
 They called the purchase “Seward’s Folly”
 Seward didn’t care because he knew Alaska was rich in natural resources
and full of economic potential for the United States
 In the 1850’s U.S. business leaders began to invest in sugar plantations in
Hawaii
 Over time the business leaders gained economic control over the Hawaiian
islands and fought for power with the Hawaiian monarchy
 1893 wealthy white plantation owners rebelled against Queen Liliuokalani
because she opposed their control
Why is it important?
 The United States sent in troops to support the business leaders and helped
overthrow the Hawaiian Queen
 1898 the United States annexed Hawaii and made it a U.S. territory
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The Spanish-American War:
 In the late 1800’s the island of Cuba was still under Spanish control
 1895 the Cuban people rebelled and Spain sent 150,000 troops to Cuba to
restore order
 The Spanish relocated thousands of Cuban citizens into concentration camps
 These camps had terrible conditions and many Cubans died
 Two U.S. newspaper publishers named William Randolph Hurst and Joseph
Pulitzer began printing stories about the Spanish abuses on the Cuban
people
 Unfortunately they were more interested in selling newspapers that
reporting the truth
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Their brand of journalism became known as yellow journalism- meant
to spark emotions, not focused on the truth
Why is it important?
◦
People called for tougher position against Spain and a more aggressive
foreign policy
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Jingoism: the belief that the U.S. should take a more aggressive
foreign policy stance
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The Spanish-American War:
 Theodore Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, called for war with
Spain and a tougher foreign policy
 When the U.S. went to war with Spain Roosevelt became a Lieutenant Colonel
and commanded a group of volunteers called the Rough Riders
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A Splendid Little War:
 February 15, 1898- A U.S. battleship, the USS Maine, exploded while
anchored in a Cuban harbor
 Newspapers blamed Spain and U.S. citizens called for war with Spain
 Later it was determined that the explosion was an accident
 Congress declared war on Spain in April 1898
 Immediately U.S. Commodore George Dewey set sail for the Spanish colony
of the Philippines
 Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet of ships in the Philippines
 Dewey took control of the Philippine Islands
 In Cuba, Roosevelt led the Rough Riders in bold charges up Kettle Hill
and San Juan Hill
Why is it important?
 They became the most famous battles of the war
 The victories in those battles helped the U.S. defeat the Spain
 The U.S. defeated Spain in Cuba and the Philippines in less than 3 months
 It was referred to as “a splendid little war”
After the War:
 Spanish-American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris 1898
 The Treaty of Paris contained the Teller Amendment that stated the U.S.
would allow for Cuban independence by not annexing Cuba
 President William McKinley sent our military to Cuba to help restore
stability and protect our business interests
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 1900 Cuba began to write their own constitution
Why is it important?
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the U.S. insisted it include the Platt Amendment to limit what the
Cuban government could do

Gave the U.S. two naval bases in Cuba

Allowed the U.S. to get involved in the region whenever we felt
it was necessary
 As a result of the Spanish-American war the U.S. gained the territories of
the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam
The Philippines:
 The Philippines caused a lot of controversy during the Spanish-American
War
 People understood our involvement in Cuba because it is so close to America
 People did not understand our involvement in the Philippines because they
felt is was so far away and didn’t have anything to do with the Caribbean
 People opposed to taking over the Philippines felt it went against democracy
and might get us involved in future wars in the Pacific Ocean region
 Anti-Imperialist League- opposed U.S. expansion- financed by Andrew
Carnegie
 Roosevelt and others saw the Philippines as important to protect U.S.
economic interest in Southeast Asia
 Emilio Aguinaldo led Filipinos in a movement against U.S. occupation
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Why is it important?
 Filipinos used guerilla warfare- when a weaker army strikes quickly causing
damage before the stronger army can fight back
 Fought for more than two years and resulted in both sides committing
massacres, violent killing and tortures that were unnecessary against
civilians
 The U.S. won in 1901- and made the Philippines an unorganized territory of
the U.S. in 1902
 1946- Philippines became an independent nation
The Panama Canal:
 1901- President William McKinley was assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt
became president
 Roosevelt wanted to build a canal across Panama to allow U.S. ships to
move more quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
 Ships would no longer have to go around South America to travel
 The Columbian government refused to sell the land necessary to build the
project
Why is it important?
 1903 Panama revolted against Columbia
 Roosevelt sent support and helped Panama win
 In return- Panama allowed the U.S. to lease the land to build the Panama
Canal
 The Panama Canal was completed in 1914
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Trouble With Mexico:
 Mexico was fighting a civil war
 1914 the U.S. helped Venustiano Carranza take over the Mexican government
 1916 Venustiano Carranza’s enemy, Poncho Villa, crossed the Rio Grande and
killed 19 people in New Mexico
 President Wilson sent General John Pershing and 15,000 soldiers to take
Poncho Villa dead or alive
 U.S. troops went 300 miles into Mexico and almost caused a war
 Eventually World War I began and our troops were recalled
 The Poncho Villa raids were never avenged
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Objective 6.03: Describe how the policies and actions of the United States
government impacted the affairs of other countries.
 Essential Questions:

• To what extent have the actions and policies of the US affected other countries in the
world?

• How has the media shaped US foreign policy?

• As the US becomes increasingly involved in world affairs, should its self-perception be
impacted by world opinion.

• How intrusive should a nation be in the affairs of another?
The Western Hemisphere:
 By 1900’s the U.S. was becoming a major player in world affairs
 President Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary- expanded on the
Monroe Doctrine that said the U.S. would not allow European nations to
colonize newly independent nations in the western hemisphere, nor would the
U.S. interfere in those same nations
 Roosevelt Corollary said the U.S. had a right to intervene in the western
hemisphere if a nation had trouble paying its debts
Why is it important?
◦
The policy led to increased U.S. involvement in the Caribbean and
Latin America
◦
The increased involvement was known as Roosevelt’s big stick
diplomacy

From an African proverb that said “speak softly and carry a big
stick; you will go far”

It meant the U.S. wouldn’t cause any problems in the region but
we wouldn’t be bullied either
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 After Roosevelt, William Taft became president
 Taft promoted a policy known as Dollar Diplomacy- “substitute money for
bullets”- the U.S. could maintain order in other nations by increasing U.S.
foreign investments
 Taft encouraged U.S. bankers to invest in Latin America and the Caribbean
and gave money to China to help them build railroads
 Bad News: Taft’s policy sometimes meant the U.S. lost money, and it
angered some Latin American people who opposed U.S. involvement in their
countries and they resented the U.S. for trying to “buy influence”
 1913 Woodrow Wilson became president and ended Dollar Diplomacy
 Wilson began Missionary (moral) Diplomacy: belief that it was the role of
the U.S. to promote democracy and moral progress in the world
 Wilson opposed imperialism and stated the U.S. would not “…seek one
additional foot of territory by conquest.”
 Wilson's beliefs were put to the test by revolutions and assassinations in
Haiti
 Wilson sent troops to protect U.S. property and banking interests
 Haiti responded to U.S. troops violently because they were afraid we were
going to try to make them a U.S. territory
 It ended when Haiti signed a treaty that made Haiti a protectorate of the
U.S., not a territory
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The Pacific and Southeast Asia:
 After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. owned territory all over the area
of the Pacific Ocean
 Trade with China became a concern in the 20th Century because we were
afraid European Imperial powers would try to gain control over Chinese
exports and markets
 To prevent this from having an impact on the U.S. our government insisted
on an Open Door Policy with China
 Open Door Policy: would leave China open to the U.S. and some other
nations for trade and commerce
Why is it important?
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Some Chinese nationalists (aka- Boxers) wanted to end foreign
influence in China
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Boxer Rebellion: Chinese nationalists massacred 300 foreigners and
Chinese Christians in 1900
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The U.S. and other imperial powers sent troops to stop the rebellion
 The U.S. kept its Open Door Policy to prevent other imperialist nations from
taking Chinese territory