us foreign policy: 1877- 1914 american imperialism

US Foreign Policy: 1877-1914

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM

Imperialism is a policy in which stronger nations extend their political or military control over weaker territories.

IMPERIALISM

Other nations around the world were establishing a global military presence.

Admiral Alfred T. Mahan urged government offi cials to build American naval power in order to compete. Led to the construction of the Great White Fleet (Modern US

Navy) Required refueling stations & naval bases:

Hawaii Cuba

DESIRE FOR MILITARY STRENGTH

THE GREAT WHITE FLEET

The US needed raw materials for its factories & new markets for its agricultural & manufactured goods.

THIRST FOR NEW MARKETS

Some Americans combined Social Darwinism with a belief in the racial superiority of Western Europeans.

They argued that the US had a responsibility to spread Christianity & “civilize” the world’s “inferior” people.

BELIEF IN CULTURAL SUPERIORITY

WHITE MAN’S BURDEN

Hawaii had been economically important to the US since the 1790s.

By the mid-1800s, American-owned sugar plantations made up about 75% of the islands’ wealth.

In 1887, the US built a naval base at Pearl Harbor.

THE US TAKES HAWAII

In 1891, a new nationalist queen named Liliuokalani took the throne.

American business groups, led by Sanford B. Dole & supported by an unauthorized battalion of US troops, led a revolt.

They demanded assistance from the United States.

THE US TAKES HAWAII

By the time President Grover Cleveland found out about the plot, a treaty to annex the islands had already reached Congress.

Cleveland refused to sign the treaty & demanded the reseating of the queen & the withdrawal of US troops.

In 1894, Dole & his followers declared Hawaii an independent republic.

Four years later, it was made an American territory.

THE US TAKES HAWAII

Beginning in 1868, Cubans launched a series of unsuccessful revolts against Spain.

Spain responded by exiling the revolutionary leaders, including Jose Marti who continued to agitate for independence from New York.

THE FIGHT FOR CUBA

In February 1895, Jose Marti returned to Cuba to lead a second struggle for independence. Deliberately destroyed

property, especially American-owned mills & plantations.

Hoped to provoke American intervention.

Died in the struggle, becoming an instant hero.

THE FIGHT FOR CUBA

Spanish general Valeriano Weyler tried to crush the rebellion by moving the Cuban population into concentration camps. 300,000 Cubans were

moved & thousands died from hunger & disease.

Convinced many Americans to support the rebel cause.

THE FIGHT FOR CUBA

Weyler’s actions fueled a headline war between William Randolph Hearst & Joseph Pulitzer. They printed

exaggerated accounts of events that came to be known as yellow journalism.

Hearst is quoted as saying, “You furnish the pictures, I’ll furnish the war!”

THE FIGHT FOR CUBA

A letter written by Spanish minister Enrique Dupuy de Lome that ridiculed President McKinley was published in the New York Times.

Days later, the battleship USS Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, killing 260 American soldiers.Although there was no proof, the explosion was blamed the Spanish & Hearst offered a $50,000 reward for the capture of the man responsible.

The US formally declared war on April 11, 1898.

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

The first battle of the Spanish American War took place in the Philippines. WHY? Within hours,

Commodore George Dewey had destroyed every Spanish ship.

Two months later, Spain surrendered the islands.

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

The US War Department was unprepared for war in Cuba.

The American strategy was to control the port city of Santiago.

Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders helped gain control of the city at the Battle of San Juan Hill .

The US Navy sank the entire Spanish fleet off the coast of Cuba.

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

Spain gave up all claims to Cuba.

The United States gained territory in Puerto Rico & Guam.

Spain turned over the Philippines for $20 million.

Territorial gains strengthened the military & economic position of the United States.

RESULTS OF THE WAR: TREATY OF PARIS (1898)

A QUIET LITTLE GAME

US imperialism became a key issue in the 1900 presidential campaign between William McKinley & William Jennings Bryan. Bryan was endorsed by the

Anti-Imperialist League. Opposed imperialism on

commercial, constitutional, religious, & humanitarian grounds.

Why is there a silver coin on his campaign poster?

PROBLEMS WITH EXPANSION

ELECTION OF 1900

Citizens living in newly conquered territories brought cases regarding their constitutional rights to the US Supreme Court. In 1901, the Court ruled in the Insular Cases that the Constitution & its protections did not follow the flag. A citizen in a conquered territory did not

necessarily have the protections of the US Constitution.

Instead, Congress decided their rights.

PROBLEMS WITH EXPANSION

In the same year, the Foraker Act, established a limited popular government Puerto Rico:Gave Puerto Ricans US citizenship.

Allowed Puerto Ricans to be drafted into the US military.

Puerto Rico is a protectorate of the US still today

PROBLEMS WITH EXPANSION

In 1901, the US Senate agreed to the Platt Amendment:Replaced the earlier Teller Amendment (1898) which had left the control of Cuba up to its people.

Allowed the US to intervene in Cuban affairs when it believed its own interests were threatened.

Leased the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to the US.

Effectively made Cuba a US protectorate until the 1934 Treaty of Relations.

PROBLEMS WITH EXPANSION

Fighting began when Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence then declared war on the US (1899).Led to horrible guerrilla warfare between the Filipino revolutionaries & the Americans (

Ended in 1902 following Aguinaldo’s capture

THE PHILIPPINE-AMERICAN WAR

At the turn of the century, American businessmen saw China as vast market for US goods.Feared Japanese & European spheres of influence in the region

Led to Secretary of State John Hay’s Open Door Policy – a nonbinding international agreement that kept the Chinese market open to all foreign nations

Influenced the Boxer Rebellion – a nationalist movement that sought to remove all foreigners from China by force

THE OPEN DOOR IN CHINA

The US – supported by President Theodore Roosevelt – hoped to use a canal through Central America to expand trade & strengthen its defenses.Offered Columbia $10 million for the rights to control the project indefinitely – rejected

Supported the Panama RevolutionSigned the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty (1903) for perpetual control over the canal zone for $10 million + $250,000 in annual rent

Critics branded Roosevelt’s actions as “gunboat diplomacy”

THE PANAMA CANAL

THE PANAMA CANAL

To prevent European military incursions into the Western Hemisphere, Roosevelt announced a corollary (1904) to the Monroe Doctrine:Stated that the US would come to the aid of any Latin American nation experiencing financial trouble

Exempted Argentina, Brazil, & Chile as civilized nations capable of running their own affairs

THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY

THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY

The Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) threatened to topple the careful balance of power the US was trying to maintain in China.Roosevelt offered to negotiate a peace settlement

The Treaty of Portsmouth signaled the emergence of Japan as a world power & the US as a force in world diplomacy

Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906

THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR

In 1906, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to send Chinese, Japanese, & Korean children to segregated schools.Roosevelt intervened to control the damage to US-Japanese relations California revoked the segregation order Japan agreed to deny passports to Japanese

workers intending to immigrate to the US

THE GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT

President Taft encouraged US investment in Latin America in order to ensure US economic domination over the region. Sent US forces to

protect American interests in the region Supported a 1911 revolt

in Nicaragua Led to US involvement

in the country until 1933

TAFT’S DOLLAR DIPLOMACY

Wilson thought that the US had a moral duty to spread democracy & protect nations under threat of totalitarianism. Introduced the concept of self-determination

Invaded Haiti & the Dominican Republic & purchased the Virgin Islands

Intervened in the Mexican Revolution to capture Pancho Villa after he killed Americans in several border towns

WILSON’S MORAL DIPLOMACY