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Becoming a World Power
(1890–1915)
 What factors led to the growth of imperialism around
the world?
 In what ways did the United States begin to expand its
interests abroad in the late 1800s?
 What arguments were made in favor of United States
expansion in the 1890s?
 Under imperialism, stronger nations attempt to create
empires by dominating weaker nations. The late 1800s
marked the peak of European imperialism, with much of
Africa and Asia under foreign domination.
 Several factors account for the growth of imperialism.
 Economic factors: The growth of industry increased the
need for natural resources.
 Nationalistic factors: Competition among European
nations for large empires was the result of a rise in
nationalism—or devotion to one’s own nation.
 Military factors: Europe had better armies than Africa
and Asia, and it needed bases around the world to refuel
and supply navy ships.
 Humanitarian factors: Europeans believed that they had
a duty to spread the blessings of western civilizations to
other countries.
 By 1890, the United States was eager to join the
competition for new territory. Supporters of
expansion denied that the United States sought to
annex foreign lands. (To annex is to join a new
territory to an existing country.) Yet annexation
did take place.
The Monroe Doctrine
 Originally meant that the United States
declared itself neutral in European wars and
warned other nations to stay out of the
Western Hemisphere.
 Later, the doctrine was interpreted to mean a
more active role to protect the interests of the
United States.
Seward’s Folly
 In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward
bought Alaska from Russia
Midway Islands
 Seward bought the uninhabited Midway
Islands for use as repairing and refueling
stations for navy vessels in the Pacific.
Latin America and Hawaii
 The United States signed a treaty with Hawaii
and took a more active role in protecting Latin
America.
Promoting Economic Growth
 The United States needed to secure new markets
in other countries.
 The United Fruit Company invested and gained
political influence in some Central American
nations. These nations were called banana
republics.
Protecting American Security
 An expanded navy with bases around the world
would protect U.S. Interests. By 1900, the United
States had one of the most powerful navies in the
world.
Preserving American Spirit
 Some leaders of the day believed that
introducing Christianity and modern
civilization to less developed nations around
the world was a noble pursuit.
 How did the activities of the United States in Latin
America set the stage for war with Spain?
 What were the events leading up to and following the
Spanish-American War?
 What challenges did the United States face after the
war?
 Why did the United States seek to gain influence in
the Pacific?
 By demanding that a dispute between Venezuela
and Great Britain be sent to arbitration, the United
States defended the validity of the Monroe
Doctrine. (Arbitration is the settlement of a
dispute by a person or panel chosen to listen to
both sides and come to a decision.) The British
government backed down because it needed to
stay on friendly terms with the United States.
 The United States became involved in the Cuban
rebellion against Spain, to protect American
business interests.
 In competition for readership, two New York
newspapers wrote exaggerated stories about the
Cuban rebellion. This yellow journalism sold a lot
of papers but had other effects as well:
 It whipped up American public opinion in favor
of the Cuban rebels.
 It led to a burst of national pride and the desire
for an aggressive foreign policy, which became
known as jingoism.
Steps to War
 The USS Maine was stationed in Havana
harbor.
 Spanish Ambassador de Lôme insulted
President McKinley.
 The USS Maine exploded, and the American
public blamed Spain.
 Congress recognized Cuban independence and
authorized force against Spain.
“A Splendid Little War”
 May 1, 1898: The United States launched a
surprise attack in Manila Bay and destroyed
Spain’s entire Pacific fleet in seven hours.
 July 1: Roosevelt led the Rough Riders up San
Juan Hill.
 July 3: The United States Navy sank the
remaining Spanish ships.
The Treaty of Paris
 The Spanish government recognized Cuba’s
independence.
 Spain gave up the Philippines, Guam, and
Puerto Rico in return for $20 million. The
island nations then became unincorporated
territories of the United States.
The Philippines
 President McKinley’s arguments for annexation:
 Filipinos were unfit for self-government.
 Independence would bring anarchy.
 European powers would try to seize the islands.
 The Filipinos fought a three-year war for
independence.
 The Philippines did not gain complete
independence until 1946.
Cuba
 President McKinley installed a military government to
protect American business interests.
 Cuba drafted a constitution in 1900 that did not allow
for U.S. involvement.
 The U.S. government only agreed to remove its troops
if Cuba included the Platt Amendment.
 The Platt Amendment remained in place until 1934. It
allowed for U.S. naval bases on the island and
intervention whenever necessary.
 The United States government intervened in other
parts of the Pacific at the same time that events
played out in the Spanish-American War. This
intervention eventually brought about changes in
the relationships of the United States with Hawaii,
Samoa, and China.
 Hawaii became increasingly important to United
States business interests. Hawaii also leased Pearl
Harbor to the United States as a fueling and repair
station for naval vessels. In 1898, Congress
approved the annexation of Hawaii.
 The Polynesian islands of Samoa and their harbor at
Pago Pago were also important to the United States. A
year after the annexation of Hawaii, the United States
acquired the harbor at Pago Pago as well.
 China’s huge population and its vast markets became
very important to American trade. President
McKinley’s Secretary of State, John Hay, wrote notes to
the major European powers trying to persuade them to
keep an “open door” to China. He wanted to ensure
through his Open Door Policy that the United States
would have equal access to China’s millions of
consumers.
 Why did the United States want to build the Panama
Canal?
 What were the goals of Theodore Roosevelt’s “big
stick” diplomacy?
 In what ways did the foreign policies of Presidents Taft
and Wilson differ from those of President Roosevelt?
 Americans needed a shorter route between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans. A French company
had bought a 25-year concession from Colombia to
build a canal across Panama. (A concession is a
grant for a piece of land in exchange for a promise
to use the land for a specific purpose.) Defeated
by yellow fever and mismanagement, the company
abandoned the project and offered its remaining
rights to the United States for $100 million.
“Speak softly and carry a big stick and you will go far.”
Roosevelt used this old African proverb to guide his
foreign policy.
• The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine —
The United States will act as “an international police
power” in the Western Hemisphere and intervene to
prevent intervention by other powers.
• Roosevelt in Latin America — Under Roosevelt, the
United States often intervened in Latin America.
• Roosevelt in Asia — Roosevelt wanted to preserve
an open door to trade with China. He won a Nobel
peace prize for negotiating a peace settlement
between Russia and Japan.
William Howard Taft
 Elected President in 1908
 Taft believed in maintaining influence through
American investments, not military might.
 This policy was called dollar diplomacy.
 The United States reached new heights of
international power under Roosevelt and Taft.
 However, the policies of both Presidents also
created enemies in Latin America and a growing
international resentment of U.S. intervention.
Woodrow Wilson
 Under Wilson, the United States applied more moral
and legalistic standards to foreign policy decisions.
 Wilson’s policy drew the United States into the
complex and bloody Mexican Revolution.
 Wilson’s “moral diplomacy” did not work well in
Mexico. Many lives were lost, and U.S. financial
interests lost ground.
 U.S.–Mexico relations were strained for many years.
 What were the main arguments raised by the anti-
imperialists?
 Why did imperialism appeal to many Americans?
 How was American imperialism viewed from abroad?
Anti-Imperialists
 A moral and political argument: Expansionism was a
rejection of our nation’s founding principle of “liberty
for all.”
 A racial argument: Imperialism was just another form
of racism. (race is the reason for differences in
character and intelligence)
 An economic argument: Expansion involved too many
costs. Maintaining the armed forces required more
taxation, debt, and possibly even compulsory, or
required, military service. In addition, laborers from
other countries would compete for jobs with U.S.
workers.
Pro-Imperialists
 Imperialism offered a new kind of frontier for
American expansion.
 A new international frontier would keep Americans
from losing their competitive edge.
 Access to foreign markets made the economy stronger.
 In 1907, President Roosevelt sent the Great White
Fleet, part of the United States Navy, on a cruise
around the world to demonstrate U.S. naval power to
other nations. American citizens clearly saw the
advantages of having a powerful navy.
 In the Caribbean and Central America, the United
States often had to defend governments that were
unpopular with local inhabitants.
 Many U.S. citizens in Latin America heard the cry
“Yankee, Go Home!”
 Even before the completion of the Panama Canal,
the Panamanians began to complain that they
suffered from discrimination.
 However, many countries also began to turn to the
United States for help.
 The United States was both welcomed and rejected
in other countries.
 The American government still struggles to
reconcile its great power and national interests
with its relationships with other nations.
The World War I Era
(1914–1920)
 What were the main causes of World War I?
 How did the conflict expand to draw in much of
Europe?
 In what ways did the United States respond to the war
in Europe?
 The immediate cause of the Great War, later to be
known as World War I, was the assassination of
Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on
June 28, 1914. However, the main causes of the war
existed long before 1914.
 At the time of his assassination, Francis Ferdinand,
heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
had been visiting Bosnia, a new Austro-Hungarian
province. He was shot by Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old
Bosnian nationalist who believed that AustriaHungary had no right to rule Bosnia.
Militarism
 By the early 1900s, powerful nations in Europe
had adopted policies of militarism, or
aggressively building up armed forces and
giving the military more authority over
government and foreign policy.
Alliances
 In a complicated system of alliances, different
groups of European nations had pledged to
come to one another’s aid in the event of
attack.
Imperialism
 Competition for colonial lands in Africa and
elsewhere led to conflict among the major
European powers.
Nationalism
 One type of nationalism inspired the great
powers of Europe to act in their own interests.
Another emerged as ethnic minorities within
larger nations sought self-government.
 Convinced that Serbia was behind the Archduke’s
assassination, Austria-Hungary declared war on
Serbia on July 28, 1914.
 Russia, as Serbia’s protector, began mobilization,
or the readying of troops for war.
 France, Russia’s ally, and Germany, AustriaHungary’s ally, also began mobilization.
 Germany, located between France and Russia,
wanted to conquer France quickly to avoid the
need to fight on two fronts. To get to France,
German forces had to pass through neutral
Belgium; the invasion of Belgium brought Britain
into the conflict as well.
 One week after the war started, all the great
powers of Europe had been drawn into it.
Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the Central
Powers, while Russia, France, Serbia, and Great
Britain were called the Allies.
The War in
Europe, 1914–1918
When Austria-
Hungary declared
war on Serbia, the
complex alliance
system in Europe
drew much of the
continent into the
conflict.
Stalemate
 By September 1914, the war had reached a
stalemate, a situation in which neither side is able
to gain an advantage.
 When a French and British force stopped a
German advance near Paris, both sides holed up in
trenches separated by an empty “no man’s land.”
Small gains in land resulted in huge numbers of
human casualties.
 Both sides continued to add new allies, hoping to
gain an advantage.
Modern Warfare
 Neither soldiers nor officers were prepared for the
new, highly efficient killing machines used in
World War I.
 Machine guns, hand grenades, artillery shells, and
poison gas killed thousands of soldiers who left
their trenches to attack the enemy.
 As morale fell, the lines between soldiers and
civilians began to blur. The armies began to burn
fields, kill livestock, and poison wells.
 Because many Americans were European immigrants
or the children of European immigrants, many felt
personally involved in the escalating war. Although
some had sympathies for the Central Powers, most
Americans supported the Allies.
 Support for the Allies was partially caused by
Germany’s rule by an autocrat, a ruler with unlimited
power. In addition, anti-German propaganda, or
information intended to sway public opinion, turned
many Americans against the Central Powers.
 To protect American investments overseas , President
Wilson officially proclaimed the United States a
neutral country on August 4, 1914.
The Preparedness Movement
 Americans with business ties to Great Britain
wanted their country to be prepared to come to
Britain’s aid if necessary.
 In an effort to promote “preparedness,” the
movement’s leaders persuaded the government to
set up military training camps and increase
funding for the armed forces.
The Peace Movement
 Other Americans, including women, former
Populists, Midwest progressives, and social
reformers, advocated peace.
 Peace activists in Congress insisted on paying for
preparedness by increasing taxes. Although they
had hoped that a tax increase would decrease
support for preparedness, the movement remained
strong.
 How did Germany’s use of submarines affect the war?
 What moves did the United States take toward war in
early 1917?
 To break a stalemate at sea, Germany began to employ
U-boats, short for Unterseeboot, the German word for
submarine. U-boats, traveling under water, could sink
British supply ships with no warning.
 When the British cut the transatlantic cable, which
connected Germany and the United States, only news
with a pro-Allied bias was able to reach America.
American public opinion was therefore swayed against
Germany’s U-boat tactics.
The Sinking of the Lusitania
 On May 7,1915, a German U-boat sank the British
passenger liner Lusitania, which had been carrying
both passengers and weapons for the Allies.
 Since 128 American passengers had been on board,
the sinking of the Lusitania brought the United
States closer to involvement in the war.
The Sussex Pledge
 More Americans were killed when Germany sank
the Sussex, a French passenger steamship, on
March 24,1916.
 In what came to be known as the Sussex pledge,
the German government promised that U-boats
would warn ships before attacking, a promise it
had made and broken before.
Unrestricted Submarine Warfare
 On January 31, 1917, Germany announced its intent
to end the Sussex pledge and return to
unrestricted submarine warfare.
 This action caused the United States to break off
diplomatic relations with Germany.
 Despite this announcement, the German navy did
not attack any American ships in February, causing
the United States to continue to hope for peace.
The Zimmermann Note
 During this time, Britain revealed an intercepted
telegram to the government of Mexico from
Germany’s foreign minister, Arthur Zimmermann.
 In this telegram, known as the Zimmermann note,
Germany offered to return American lands to
Mexico if Mexico declared war on the United
States.
 Neither Mexico nor President Wilson took the
Zimmermann note seriously, but it brought
America closer to entering the war.
 When the Russian Revolution replaced Russia’s
autocratic czar with a republican government in March
1917, the United States no longer needed to be
concerned about allying itself with an autocratic
nation. This removed one more stumbling block to an
American declaration of war.
 As Germany continued to sink American ships in
March, President Wilson’s patience for neutrality wore
out. On April 6, 1917, the President signed Congress’s
war resolution, officially bringing the United States
into the war.
 How did the United States prepare to fight in World
War I?
 In what ways did American troops help turn the tide of
war?
 What were conditions like in Europe and in the United
States at the end of the war?
Building an Army
 Despite the preparedness movement, the United
States lacked a large and available military force.
Congress therefore passed a Selective Service Act
in May 1917, drafting many young men into the
military.
 Draftees, volunteers, and National Guardsmen
made up what was called the American
Expeditionary Force (AEF), led by General John J.
Pershing.
Training for War
 New recruits were trained in the weapons and
tactics of the war by American and British
lecturers at new and expanded training camps
around the country.
 Ideally, the military planned to give new soldiers
several months of training. However, the need to
send forces to Europe quickly sometimes cut
training time short
The Convoy System
 To transport troops across the Atlantic, the United
States employed convoys, or groups of unarmed
ships surrounded by armed naval vessels equipped
to track and destroy submarines.
 Due to the convoy system, German submarines did
not sink a single ship carrying American troops.
American Soldiers in Europe
 By 1918, European nations had begun to run out of
men to recruit. Energetic American soldiers,
nicknamed doughboys, helped replace the tired
fighters of Europe.
 Many African Americans volunteered or were
drafted for service. However, these men served in
segregated units and were often relegated to
noncombat roles.
 New methods of military transportation, including
tanks, airplanes, and German zeppelins, or
floating airships, influenced the manner in which
the war was fought.
 In the spring of 1918, Germany provided safe
passage for Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Russian
Bolsheviks, from Switzerland to Russia. The
Bolsheviks successfully overthrew the Russian
republican government and made peace with
Germany.
 The resulting truce ceded valuable Russian land to
Germany and also meant that the German military
could concentrate exclusively on the Western
front. Before the arrival of American troops,
Germany was able to gain ground in France,
coming within 50 miles of Paris.
 General Pershing’s troops, however, pushed back
the Germans in a series of attacks. Finally, the
German army was driven to full retreat in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive begun on September 26,
1918.
 In the face of Allied attacks and domestic revolutions,
the Central Powers collapsed one by one. AustriaHungary splintered into smaller nations of ethnic
groups, and German soldiers mutinied, feeling that
defeat was inevitable.
 When the Kaiser of Germany fled to Holland, a
civilian representative of the new German republic
signed an armistice, or cease-fire, in a French railroad
car at 5am on November 11, 1918.
 Although guns fell silent six hours later, many more
deaths were to follow. The influenza epidemic of 1918
killed more people, both in the United States and
Europe, than all of the wartime battles.
Dead and Wounded
 The estimated death toll of World War I was 8
million soldiers and civilians, including tens
of thousands of Americans. Many more had
lost limbs or been blinded by poison gas.
However, the efforts of the Red Cross and
other agencies had helped save many lives.
Loss of Young Men
 Many sensed that the war had destroyed an
entire generation of young men and grieved
for the loss of their talents and abilities.
Genocide
 In an act of genocide, or organized killing of
an entire people, the Ottoman Empire had
murdered hundreds of thousands of
Armenians suspected of disloyalty to the
government.
 What steps did the government take to finance the war
and manage the economy?
 How did the government enforce loyalty to the war
effort?
 How did the war change the lives of Americans on the
home front?
 Modern warfare required huge amounts of money and
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personnel.
Many sacrifices within the United States were needed
to meet these demands.
The government raised money for the war in part by
selling Liberty Bonds, special war bonds to support the
Allied cause.
Like all bonds, these could be redeemed later for their
original value plus interest.
Many patriotic Americans bought liberty bonds,
raising more than $20 billion for the war effort.
 United States entry into the war caused many
industries to switch from commercial to military
production. A newly created War Industries Board
oversaw this production. New labor-related
agencies helped ensure that labor disputes did not
disrupt the war effort.
 Using the slogan, “Food will win the war,” Herbert
Hoover, head of the Food Administration and
future President, began to manage how much food
people bought.
 Although he had the power to impose price
controls, a system of pricing determined by the
government, and rationing, or distributing goods
to customers in a fixed amount, Hoover preferred
to rely on voluntary restraint and increased
efficiency.
 Daylight savings time was created to save on fuel
use and increase the number of daylight hours
available for work. This involved turning clocks
back one hour for the summer, creating one more
hour of daylight.
Fear of Foreigners
 Fear of espionage, or spying, was widespread;
restrictions on immigration were called for
and achieved.
“Hate the Hun”
 The war spurred a general hostility toward
Germans, often referred to as Huns in
reference to European invaders of the fourth
and fifth centuries. German music, literature,
language, and cuisine became banned or
unpopular.
Repression of Civil Liberties
 Despite Wilson’s claim that the United States
fought for liberty and democracy, freedom of
speech was reduced during the war. Sedition, or
any speech or action that encourages rebellion,
became a crime.
Political Radicals
 Socialists, who argued that workers had no stake
in the war, won popular support in some states.
 The radical labor organization Industrial Workers
of the World (IWW) tried to interfere with war
production; vigilantes took the law into their own
hands.
African Americans and Other Minorities
• With much of the work force in the military, factory
owners and managers who had once discriminated against
minorities began actively recruiting them.
• The flood of African Americans leaving the South to work
in northern factories became known as the Great
Migration.
New Roles for Women
 The diminished male work force also created new
opportunities for women.
 Many women joined the work force for the first time during
the war. Some found work on farms with the Woman’s
Land Army; others took jobs traditionally reserved for
men.
 What expectations did Wilson and the Allies bring to
the Paris Peace Conference?
 What were the important provisions of the peace
treaty?
 How did the federal government and ordinary
Americans react to the end of war?
 As the war neared an end, President Wilson
developed a program for peace around the world
known as the Fourteen Points, named for the
number of provisions it contained.
 One of Wilson’s Fourteen Points called for an end
to entangling alliances; another involved a
reduction of military forces. Another dealt with
the right of Austria-Hungary’s ethnic groups to
self-determination, or the power to make decisions
about their own future.
 Although both Wilson and the German
government assumed that the Fourteen Points
would form the basis of peace negotiations, the
Allies disagreed. During peace negotiations,
Wilson’s Fourteen Points were discarded one by
one.
Wilson Forced to Compromise
 Although Wilson claimed that he was not
interested in the spoils, or rewards, of war, his
Allied colleagues were interested in making the
Central Powers pay for war damages.
 Wilson was forced to compromise on his views,
especially concerning self-determination for
former German colonies.
The League of Nations
 One of Wilson’s ideas, the formation of a League
of Nations, was agreed upon at the Paris Peace
Conference. The League of Nations was designed
to bring the nations of the world together to
ensure peace and security.
 Republicans in Congress, however, were concerned
about Article 10 of the League’s charter, which
contained a provision that they claimed might
draw the United States into unpopular foreign
wars.
 The treaty which was negotiated at the Paris Peace
Conference redrew the map of Europe to the Allies’
advantage.
 Nine new nations were created from territory
taken from Austria-Hungary, Russia, and
Germany. Although most borders were drawn with
the division of ethnic minorities in mind, the
redivisions created new ethnic minorities in
several countries.
 France insisted that Germany be humiliated and
financially crippled. The peace treaty required
Germany to pay billions of dollars in reparations,
or payment for economic injury suffered during
the war. Wilson, however, opposed this plan,
claiming that these demands would lead to future
wars.
 On June 28, 1919, the peace treaty, which came to
be known as the Versailles Treaty, was signed at
Versailles, outside of Paris.
Redrawing the
Map of Europe
At the Paris Peace
Conference,
Britain, France, and
the United States
redrew the map of
Europe.
Congress and the Treaty of Versailles
• Despite Wilson’s intensive campaign in favor of the
Versailles Treaty, Congress voted against ratifying it in
November 1919.
• The United States declared the war officially over on
May 20, 1920. It ratified separate peace treaties with
Germany, Austria, and Hungary. However, the United
States did not join the newly formed League of
Nations.
Difficult Postwar Adjustments
 The war had given a large boost to the American
economy, making the United States the world’s largest
creditor nation.
 Soldiers returned home to a hero’s welcome but found
that jobs were scarce.
 African American soldiers, despite their service to
their country, returned to find continued
discrimination.
 Many American artists entered the postwar years with
a sense of gloom and disillusionment.