Download US History Growth and Expansion 1800s * 1900s

US History
The Turn of the Century
1800s – 1917
Growth
• In the roughly 50 years in between the Civil
War and the US’s entry into World War I…
– The population of the US tripled
– The US became the richest country in the world
– 13 new states were added to the union
Europe
• Up until this point in history, the most powerful
countries in the world had been European countries,
like:
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Britain
France
Germany
Spain
Imperialism
• These rich and powerful
countries would take over
and control smaller and
weaker countries.
• This is called Imperialism when stronger nations hold
control over weaker
territories.
• A country and its collection
of territories was called an
empire
• This had been going on for
hundreds of years before.
Effects of Imperialism
• All colonies and territories
eventually gained
independence and formed
their own countries, but the
world today was shaped by
imperialism, because the
language and culture of the
controlling country was forced
on the places they took over.
• English is the language in
America, Canada, and
Australia, because we were
once controlled by Britain.
• Mexico and most of Latin
America speak Spanish
because they were once
controlled by Spain.
• It had barely been 100 years since the United
States wasn’t a colony anymore, but the country
was now strong and rich enough to believe that it
should create an empire of its own.
US Imperialism
• There were three reasons
the US decided to be
imperialist:
– Economic interests –
colonies were a source of
natural resources and
business ($$$)
– Military interests – gave the
military access to strategic
locations
– Belief in cultural superiority
– Americans believed that
their government, religion,
and race was superior to
those living elsewhere
Spanish-American War
• In 1898, Cuba was a colony trying to gain its
independence from Spain.
• The US sent a navy ship, the USS Maine, to
Cuba, as it had businesses in Cuba and wanted
to protect them from possible war.
Spanish-American War
• On February 15, 1898, the Maine exploded
and sank, killing 266 sailors
• Nobody knows how or why the explosion
happened.
• Regardless, Spain was blamed for the
explosion and the US declared war on them.
Spanish-American War
• The US easily won the Spanish-American war
in less than three months.
• The major takeaway from this war was that
the US was now an empire and started to
have control of other countries.
US Territories acquired through
Imperialism:
• Puerto Rico – still a US territory today – Puerto
Ricans are considered US citizens and often talk
about the possibility of becoming the 51st state.
• Hawaii – became the 50th state in 1959
• The Philippines (granted independence after
WWII)
• Guam (still a US territory)
US Imperialism Today?
• Some would argue that
American imperialism is still
happening today even if it is
not as clear-cut as it used to
be.
• In 2003, the United States
under President George W
Bush invaded Iraq, in the
Middle East region, after being
misled to believe that the
dictator of Iraq, Saddam
Hussein was hiding weapons
of mass destruction (he
wasn’t).
• The U.S. military overthrew
Saddam and helped set up a
government that would be
friendlier to the United States.
US Imperialism Today?
• However, many
Americans protested that
this invasion was more
about controlling Iraq’s
large amounts of oil.
• Saddam might have been
a brutal dictator, but
America did not
necessarily make Iraq a
better place.
• Anger towards America
meant that terrorism
would continue and
groups like ISIS were
formed.
Back at home…
• The huge growth that the country was experiencing
was made possible through the combination of
industrialization and immigration.
• However, many problems created by rapid growth of
cities and industries
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Poverty
Slums
Terrible working conditions
Political corruption
Child labor
• To tackle these issues, people started organizing
themselves politically.
• Those who actively tried to reform society were called
progressives, their movement progressivism.
• Today, this term still refers to people who advocate for
reform and new ideas to solve society’s problems.
• Progressives believed that government should have an
active role in changing society for the better.
Teddy Roosevelt
• The progressive
movement really
picked up steam when
Theodore “Teddy”
Roosevelt became
President in 1904
• He was (and is) the
youngest person to be
President at age 42.
Fun Fact
• The teddy bear gets its
name from Teddy
Roosevelt
• In 1902, Teddy was on
a bear-hunting trip and
refused to kill a bear
that his group had
captured
• He said it would be
“unsportsmanlike” and
the story spread.
Teddy Roosevelt
• Teddy Roosevelt was a
very active President –
some of his
accomplishments
include:
– Overseeing construction
of the Panama Canal
– Breaking up massive
monopolies and unfairly
large corporations
– Increasing quality
standards of food and
medicine
Conservation
• Roosevelt was an
outdoorsman and a big
supporter of conservation
– conserving America’s
natural resources.
• In order to preserve the
natural state of America’s
lands for future
generations, he established
many national parks and
monuments, such as
Yosemite, the Grand
Canyon, and Petrified
Forest.