Download The Spanish-American War and the Growth of US

The Spanish-American War
and the Growth of US
Imperialism
TRADITIONAL UNITED STATES FOREIGN
POLICY WAS ISOLATIONIST
“It is our true policy
to steer clear of
permanent
alliances with any
portion of the
foreign world”
PRESIDENT GEORGE
WASHINGTON, 1796

FOREIGN
ENTANGLEMENTS:
GEORGE WASHINGTON IN
1796 CAUTIONED THE
NATION TO STAY OUT OF
WORLD (EUROPEAN)
AFFAIRS AND NOT GET
INVOLVED IN THEIR WARS.
IT WAS US FOREIGN
POLICY TO AVOID THESE
ENTANGLEMENTS AFTER WW
I. US POLICY.
Most of the 19th century was spent exploring and
settling the western frontier of the United States,
this changed the perception of American boundaries
Manifest Destiny Idea
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Manifest Destiny was the idea
that White Americans were a
superior people and had a
right/destiny to control the North
American continent
By 1890, the dream of the Manifest
Destiny was complete. US Census
Bureau announced the frontier was
gone and US was now settled.
Many Americans believed growth and
expansion (Manifest Destiny) should
now go beyond the continent into the
rest of the world.
“Manifest destiny” extended beyond
the borders of the united states
DEFINITION OF IMPERIALISM
The foreign policy of
extending a nation's
authority by territorial
acquisition or by the
establishment of economic
and political power and
control over other
nations.
Why Expand the American Empire
into other countries (imperialism?
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To sell American
manufactured goods
overseas
Increase American glory and
prestige in the world-gain
respect
To spread democracy and
Christianity to foreign lands“The White Man’s Burden”
To stay in competition with
the Imperialistic European
countries
The Spanish-American
War
“I should welcome
almost any war for
I think this country
needs one.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“It has been a splendid
little war; begun with the
highest motives, carried
on with magnificent
intelligence and spirit,
favored by that fortune
which loves the brave.”
John Hay, US Secretary of State
Going to war with Spain
was “like robbing an old
gypsy woman in a vacant
lot at night after a fair.”
Sherwood Anderson, American author
“The truth is, I didn't want the Philippines
and when they came to us as a gift from the gods, I did not
know what to do with them . . . sought counsel from all
sides-- Democrats as well as Republicans—but got little help.
I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down
on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance
. . . And one night late it came to me this way: (1) that we
could not give them back to Spain—that would be cowardly
and dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to
France or Germany—our commercial rivals in the Orient-that would be bad business and discreditable; (3) that we
could not leave them to themselves—they were unfit for selfgovernment—and they would soon have anarchy and misrule
over there worse than Spain's was; and (4) that there was
nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate
the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them,
and by God's grace do the very best we could by them . . .
And then I went to bed, and went to sleep and slept
soundly.”
President William McKinley
PROBLEMS BETWEEN CUBA AND THEIR SPANISH
RULERS DOMINATE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AT
THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY
CUBA
Cuban Revolution 1895
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Jose Marti
Maximo Gomez
Antonio Maceo
The Cuban Revolution and
the Maine Incident
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1894-Cubans revolted against
repressive Spanish rule
Spaniards had placed Cubans in
“reconcentration” camps
America had much invested in
Cuban sugar plantations
The USS Maine Explosion- (Feb
1898) US battleship rocked by an
explosion killing 250 American
Naval officers and crew
Most Americans believed the
Spanish had blown up the Maine,
but there was no evidence to
prove responsibility.
Most Americans blamed Spain“Remember the Maine! To War
with Spain!”
Yellow Journalism-journalists
provoke war with Spain
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Yellow Journalist promoters:
William Randolph Hurstpublisher of the New York
Journal and Joseph Pulitzerpublisher of The World
Yellow Journalism is the use
of sensational, half-true
headlines in order to steer
public opinion in favor of war
against Spain
YELLOW JOURNALISM
CARTOON
WHERE THE
TERM “YELLOW
JOURNALISM”
CAME FROM
IN 1898 NEWSPAPERS PROVIDED THE
PUBLIC WITH INFORMATION. PEOPLE
LACKED THE ABILITY TO VERIFY IF
THE STORIES WERE BIASED OR
INACCURATE AND THEREFORE
RELIED UPON NEWSPAPERS TO TELL
THE TRUTH. PULITZER AND HEARST
TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE PUBLIC’S
IGNORANCE BY TWISTING THE TRUTH
TO SELL MORE NEWSPAPERS.
SENSATIONALIZED STORIES WERE
FEATURED HEAVILY IN THEIR
NEWSPAPERS SINCE EXCITING
HEADLINES INCREASED
CIRCULATION.
Yellow journalists were quick to blame the
Spanish
The Early weeks of the war
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The US demanded Spain
grant independence to the
Cubans and explain the
Maine incident
Negotiations failed and the
US declared war on Spain
on April 25, 1898
By August, The US Navy
defeated Spain in the
Philippines
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June 1898- 17,000 US
troops arrived in Cuba
US GATLING GUNS: AN EARLY TYPE OF
MACHINE GUN
The Defeat of Spain and
American Casualties
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The Rough Riders-
cowboys led by Vice
President Theodore
Roosevelt took
strategic San Juan
Hill in Santiago,
Cuba (July 1st)
By July 3rd, the
Spanish were
defeated in all of
Cuba
BATTLE SCENE WITH TEDDY
ROOSEVELT ON THE HORSE
The Defeat of Spain and
American Casualties (con’td)
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July 4th- US took
Puerto Rico from Spain
August 12th- Spain
surrendered
385 Americans killed
in action, another
5,000 soldiers died of
malaria, yellow fever
and food poisoning
from tainted meat
Aftermath of the War and the
Emergence of the US Imperialism in
the Early 1900s
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“A Splendid Little War”
Treaty of Paris of 1898- Cuba gets
independence (but US controlled). The US
gets Puerto Rico, the Philippines and
Guam for $20 million dollars (10 million
people, 100,000 sq. miles) paid to Spain
Anti-Imperialist League-some Americans
felt it was wrong for the US to control
other people and their lands for financial
gain
US FORCES CONQUER THE PHILIPPINES
US OCCUPIES TWO MORE SPANISH
COLONIAL POSSESSIONS
THE US BECOMES AN IMPERIAL
POWER
HAWAII: 1898
MIDWAY ISLAND: 1867
WAKE ISLAND: 1898
GUAM: 1898
JOHNSTON ISLAND: 1898
PALMYRA ISLAND: 1898
SAMOA ISLAND: 1899
PHILIPPINES: 1898
PUERTO RICO: 1898
What is happening in this cartoon?
Early 1900’s Presidents’
Imperialistic Policies
Theodore Roosevelt- “The
Big Stick Policy”
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“Speak softly and carry
a big stick”- make
peace with other
nations, but build a
strong international
presence that would
ensure American
economic prosperity
Roosevelt Corollary-
gave the US the right
to act as a police
power in Latin America
to “protect American
interests”
WHAT INTERNATIONAL ROLE DID ROOSEVELT
ENVISION FOR THE UNITED STATES?
US INTERESTS TURNED TOWARD CENTRAL AMERICA AND A
QUICKER WAY OF MOVING SHIPS BETWEEN THE EAST AND
WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA
15,000 MILES
ADVANTAGE OF AN ISTHMIAN CANAL
00 miles
PANAMA, A PROVINCE OF COLOMBIA, WAS CHOSEN
FOR THE SITE OF THE PROPOSED CANAL
TWO POLITICAL CARTOONS ON COLOMBIA’S
REFUSAL TO ACCEPT TR’S PURCHASE
OFFER PRICE OF $40 MILLION
IN 2002 $40 MILLION WOULD BE $830 MILLION
Construction of the canal
PRESIDENT
ROOSEVELT VISITS
THE CANAL
CONSTRUCTION
SITE IN 1906
1914 Opening of the Panama
Canal
Panama canal today
Theodore Roosevelt- “The
Open Door Policy”
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To keep the “door
open” for all
nations to trade
with Chinaespecially America
OPEN DOOR POLICY
William Howard Taft“Dollar Diplomacy”
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Taft ordered US troops to
Haiti, the Dominican
Republic and Mexico in
order to force, e-hem
“encourage” foreign
countries to do business
with the USA
Some people saw this as
us bullying other
countries
President
William
Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson- “Moral
Diplomacy”
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The US should
champion Democracy
(freedom) and selfdetermination for all
nations even by
interfering in other
nations’ affairs
President
Woodrow Wilson