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Imperialism
Beginning in the late 1800s, Americans wanted
the United States to become a world power.
Imperialism is the economic and political
domination of a strong nation over weaker
nations.
Some colonies became protectorates, or an
area where imperial power is allocated to local
rulers to remain in control.
– Local rulers were given “advice” by the imperial power
Americans wanted to develop overseas markets
to keep the economy strong.
Expansion in the Pacific
Americans expanded across the Pacific
Ocean and toward East Asia looking for
overseas markets.
Japan only allowed trade with the Dutch
and Chinese.
In 1852, President Pierce had ordered
Commodore Matthew C. Perry to travel to
Japan to negotiate a trade treaty. In 1854
the Japanese opened two ports to the U.S.
Expansion in the Pacific
During an 1872 recession in Hawaii, the United States
exempted Hawaiian sugar from tariffs.
– When the treaty expired the US wanted a naval base in Hawaii
The McKinley Tariff in 1890 gave subsidies (economic
aide) to sugar producers in the United States, causing
the sale of Hawaiian sugar to decline. This resulted in a
decline in the Hawaiian economy.
In 1891 Queen Liliuokalani became the queen of Hawaii.
She disliked the influence of American settlers.
In 1893 a group of planters, supported by the U.S.
Marines, forced the queen to give up her power after she
unsuccessfully tried to impose a new constitution that
reasserted her authority as ruler of Hawaiian people.
Trade and Diplomacy in Latin America
In the 1800s the United States wanted to
increase its influence in Latin America by
increasing the sale of American products
in the region.
Pan-Americanism, an idea that the U.S.
and Latin America work together, was
proposed by Secretary of State James G.
Blaine.
In 1889 the first Pan-American conference
was held in Washington, D.C.
Building a Modern Navy
Americans were willing to risk war to defend
American interests overseas. This led to
support for the construction of a large modern
navy.
Captain Alfred T. Mahan of the United States
Navy published a book, The Influence of
Seapower Upon History, which suggested that
a nation needed a large navy to protect its
merchant ships and defend its rights to trade
with other countries.
Henry Cabot Lodge and Albert Beveridge, two
powerful senators, pushed for the construction of
a new navy.
Coming of War
In the spring of 1898, Spain and the United
States went to war.
Cuba, a Spanish colony, provided wealth for
Spain with sugarcane plantations.
In 1868, Cuban rebels declared independence
and began a guerilla attack against Spanish
authorities.
– The attack failed
– Cuban rebels fled to the U.S. to plan a new
revolution
Writer and poet Jose Marti, an exiled leader of
Cuba’s revolution, fled to New York City. He
raised money from Americans and began
purchasing weapons and training troops.
Coming of War
Marti and his followers returned and seized
control of eastern Cuba
– declared its independence
– set up the Republic of Cuba in September of 1895
At the start of the Cuban revolution, Americans
were neutral; however, newspapers began using
yellow journalism to get Americans to side with
the Cubans. Yellow journalism is the printing of
exaggerated stories of Spanish attacks on
Cubans.
The Cubans rebels attacked and destroyed
American property, hoping for American
intervention in the war.
In February 1898, the U.S.S. Maine, anchored in
Havana exploded
– 266 American officers and sailors killed
Destruction
of the U.S.S.
Maine led
Congress to
declare war
on Spain
War on Two Fronts
The United States Navy’s Atlantic Squadron blockaded
Cuba.
An American fleet in British Hong Kong was ordered to
attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines – a Spanish
colony.
In May 1898, Commodore George Dewey led a
squadron that destroyed Spanish warships in Manila Bay
in the Philippines. McKinley sent 20,000 American
troops to the Philippines and, along the way, seized the
island of Guam.
The American army was untrained and unequipped.
Poor conditions in training camps resulted in more
Americans dying in training than in battle.
War on Two Fronts
In June 1898, American troops advanced toward
Santiago Harbor in Cuba.
One group attacked the village of El Caney, and another
group attacked San Juan Heights.
Among the American troops were the “Rough Riders” led
by Colonel Leonard Wood, with Theodore Roosevelt as
second in command. Both attacks were American
victories.
Along with the Rough Riders were the all-black 9th and
10th Cavalry Regiments. One-fourth of the American
troops fighting in Cuba were African American.
Spanish resistance ended with the surrender of
Santiago. On August 12, 1898, Spain and the United
States agreed to a cease-fire.
The American Empire is Born
On December 10, 1898, the United States and
Spain signed the Treaty of Paris.
Cuba became an independent country.
The U.S. acquired Puerto Rico and Guam and
paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines.
In 1900 Congress passed the Foraker Act,
making Puerto Rico an unicorporated territory.
Congress gradually allowed the people a degree
of self-government. In 1917 Puerto Ricans were
made citizens of the United States.
Cuba After the War
The United States set up a military government in Cuba.
Steps were taken to ensure that Cuba would remain tied
to the U.S.
The Platt Amendment specified that
– Cuba could not make a treaty with another country that would
weaken its power or allow another foreign power to gain territory
in Cuba
– Cuba had to allow the U.S. to buy or lease a naval stations in
Cuba
– Cuba’s debts had to be kept low to prevent foreign countries
from landing troops to enforce payment
– The U.S. would have the right to intervene to protect Cuban
independence and keep order. The amendment was repealed in
1934.
American Diplomacy in Asia
In 1899 the U.S. was a major power in Asia.
In 1894 war began between China and Japan over what
is now Korea. This ended in a Japanese victory.
Japan’s rising power worried Russia. They forced Japan
to give back the part of Manchuria to China and later
made China lease the territory to Russia. The leasehold
became a center of a sphere of influence, an area where
a foreign nation controlled economic development such
as railroad and mining.
President McKinley supported an Open Door policy in
China. They believed all countries should be allowed to
trade with China.
Secret Chinese societies were formed to end foreign
control. Members of the Boxers started the Boxer
Rebellion. Group members invaded foreign embassies
in Beijing and killed more than 200 foreigners and took
others prisoner.
A Growing Presence in the Caribbean
In 1901 the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty signed by
the U.S. and Great Britain gave the United
States exclusive rights to build and control any
proposed canal through Central America.
A French company that had begun to build a
canal through Panama offered to sell its rights
and property in Panama to the U.S.
In 1903 Panama was still a part of Colombia,
which refused John Hay’s offer to purchase the
land and gain rights to build the canal.
Panamanians decided to declare their
independence from Colombia and make their
own deal with the U.S. to build the canal.
A Growing Presence in the Caribbean
The short uprising against Colombia was supported by
the United States, which sent ships to Panama to
prevent Colombia from interfering.
It took ten years to build the 50 mile canal. It shortened
the distance from Atlantic to the Pacific by about 8,000
nautical miles.
The 1904 Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
stated that the United States would intervene in Latin
American affairs when necessary to maintain economic
and political stability in the Western Hemisphere.
The new President of the United States, William Howard
Taft, continued Roosevelt’s policies. He changed it to
dollar diplomacy, that is getting business leaders to
invest in Latin America and Asian development.