becoming a world power mr. leasure december 2013 harrison career center
TRANSCRIPT
Becoming a World Power
Mr. Leasure
December 2013
Harrison Career Center
Becoming a World Power Student Objective
• The student will understand the growing expansionism that shaped United States foreign policy and led to the acquisition of new territories during the late 1800s and 1900s.
The United States Continues to ExpandThe United States expanded its interest in world affairs and acquired new territories. During this period, the United States acquired Alaska and Hawaii.
The United States Continues to Expand
The United States Continues to Expand
The United States Continues to Expand
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• Americans had always sought to expand the size of their nation. Throughout the 19th century, they extended their control toward the Pacific Ocean.
• By the 1880’s, many leaders became convinced the U.S. should join the imperialist powers of Europe and establish colonies overseas.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• Imperialism – the policy by which stronger nations extend their economic, political, or militarily control over weaker territories – was a trend around the world.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• European nations had been establishing colonies throughout Africa since the 1800’s and it was the major area of European colonization.
• By the start of the 1900s, only two African nations remained independent – Ethiopia and Liberia.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• Imperialist countries also competed for territory in Asia, especially in China.
• European nations had to compete with Japan, which had also become a world power by the end of the 1800s.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• Most Americans gradually came to approve the idea of expansion overseas.
• Three factors helped to fuel the development of American Imperialism.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• ECONOMIC INTEREST – Leaders argued the expansion would increase the U.S. economy.
• New colonies could mean cheaper raw materials for American industries and new markets for American companies.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• MILITARY INTEREST – Leaders argued economic interest and military interest went hand in hand.
• U.S. leaders argued the U.S. should follow the European example and establish a large military presence overseas.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• BELIEF IN CULTURAL SUPERIORITY – Many Americans believed that their government, religion, and even race were superior to those of other societies.
• Some people hoped to spread democratic ideals and Christianity overseas.
• Racist ideas about the inferiority of the nonwhite populations in many foreign countries were also used to justify American Imperialism.
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
Reasons for U.S. Expansion
• Each of these developments – economic interests, military interest, and a belief in cultural superiority led the United States to a larger role on the world stage.
Seward and Alaska
• A strong backer of expansion was William Seward, Secretary of State under both Presidents Lincoln (16th) and Andrew Johnson (17th).
• Seward made his biggest move in 1867 when he purchased Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million dollars.
Seward and Alaska
Seward and Alaska
• At the time, not everyone was pleased by Seward’s purchase.
• Even so, the purchase of the resource-rich territory turned out to be a great bargain for the United States.
Seward and Alaska
• Throughout is career, Seward continued to pursue the acquisition of new territory.
• Before he retired in 1869, Seward considered acquired the Hawaiian Islands, a group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean.
• This would NOT happen for almost 30 more years.
Seward and Alaska
The Annexation of Hawaii
• In the early 1800s, Christian missionaries from the U.S had moved to the Kingdom of Hawaii to cover the local population.
• Some of the missionaries descendants started sugar plantations and by the late 1800s, the wealthy planters dominated Hawaii’s economy.
The Annexation of Hawaii
• In 1891, Queen Liliuokalani became the leader of Hawaii. Believing that planters had too much influence, she wanted to limit their power.
• Around the same time, U.S. trade laws changed to favor sugar grown exclusively in American states.
The Annexation of Hawaii
• American planters in Hawaii were upset by these threats to their political and economic interests.
• In January of 1893, they staged a revolt...
The Annexation of Hawaii
• With the help of the U.S. Marines, they overthrew the queen and set up their own government. Then they asked to be annexed by the United States.
• In 1887, the U.S. already pressured Hawaii to allow a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, the kingdom’s best port.
The Annexation of Hawaii
The Annexation of Hawaii
• The base became an important refueling station for the U.S. and their ships bound for Asia.
• Thus, when President Benjamin Harrison (23rd) received the planters request for annexation and in 1893 he gave his approval and sent the treaty to the Senate for approval.
The Annexation of Hawaii
• Before the Senate could act, Grover Cleveland was elected POTUS and did not approve of the planters actions.
• He withdrew the treaty and Hawaii would not be annexed until 1898, during the Spanish – American War.
The Spanish American WarIndependence movements in Spanish colonies led to the Spanish-American War in 1898. U.S. involvement in Latin America and Asia expanded greatly after the Spanish-American War.
Rebellion Against Spain
• The Spanish Empire was crumbling at the end of the 19th century. By the 1890’s, it only had a few colonies.
• Among them were the Philippine Islands in the Pacific and the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Rebellion Against Spain
• Many of the inhabitants of these colonies had started to demand independence.
• Cubans had revolted against Spain several times in the second half of the 19th century. Each time, Spanish soldiers defeated the rebels.
Rebellion Against Spain
• In 1895, another Cuban revolt started and the Spanish retaliated by forcing many Cubans from their homes and placing them in camps guarded by Spanish Troops.
• Thousands died of starvation and disease in the camps.
Rebellion Against Spain
• The revolt in Cuba caused alarm in the United States.
• Business leaders were concerned because the fighting disrupted U.S. trade with Cuba.
Rebellion Against Spain
• Most Americans became outraged when the press started to describe the brutality of Spanish officials.
• The two New York newspapers ere able to attract readers by bringing stories that described – and often exaggerated – news about Spanish cruelty.
Rebellion Against Spain
• The two New York Newspapers were the New York Journal and The World.
• This sensation style of writing is known as yellow journalism.
The United States Goes to War
• President McKinley, the POTUS in 1898, did not want war.
• Even so, public opinion – stirred by sensational newspaper reports – forced McKinley to take action.
The United States Goes to War
• In January 1898, McKinley sent the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba. Riots had broken out in the capital and the battleship was dispatched to protect U.S. citizens.
• The following month, the U.S.S. Maine exploded and sank in Havana's harbor killing 260 sailors.
The United States Goes to War
• No one knows what caused the explosion. Most historians today argue it was an accident.
• Even so, the U.S. blamed Spain.
• “To hell with Spain, Remember the Maine!” became a call to arms.
The United States Goes to War
• On April 20, 1898, McKinley signed a resolution that called for Cuban independence and demanded the withdraw of Spanish forces from the island within three days.
• Spain refused and the Spanish-American War started.
The War in the Philippines
• The U.S. went to war to fight for Cuban independence but the first major battle of the war took place on the other side of the world – the Philippine Islands.
• Many Filipinos, as the inhabitants of the island were called, had also revolted against Spanish rule in 1890.
The War in the Philippines
• The Battle in Manila Bay began early on the morning of May 1, 1898.
• By a little past noon, the American naval forces had destroyed the Spanish fleet.
The War in the Philippines
• About 380 Spanish sailors were dead or wounded.
• No American sailors had died.
• Aided by Filipino rebels, the U.S. took control of Manila in August.
The War in the Caribbean
• When the war started, the U.S. Army had only 28,000 soldiers.
• Within four months of the start of the war, the U.S. Army had more than 200,000 soldiers.
• Among the new recruits was future POTUS, Teddy Roosevelt.
The War in the Caribbean
• Roosevelt helped to organize the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry nicknamed the Rough Riders.
• It’s recruits included miners, college students, New York policemen, athletes, and Native Americans.
The War in the Caribbean
• The Rough Riders set out for Santiago, a Spanish stronghold in southern Cuba.
• In order to gain control of Santiago's port, the American troops had to capture San Juan Hill.
• They attacked the Spanish on July 1 and captured the hill.
The War in the Caribbean
• Two days later, American ships destroyed Spain’s naval fleet as it tried to escape Santiago harbor.
• A week later, U.S. forces captured Puerto Rico.
• On August 12, 1898, Spain signed a truce. For Spain, four centuries of glory had come to an end.
Results of the War
• Although the war had been fought over Cuba, U.S. leaders demanded that Spain gave up other colonies after the war – including Puerto Rico, the island of Guam, and the Philippines.
• Spain had no choice but to agree. The final peace treaty was signed on August 12, 1898.
Results of the War
• The Philippines became an American colony and the Filipinos were angry because they believed they would achieve independence after the war.
• The U.S. was reluctant to grant full independence to Cuba.
Results of the War
• First, Cuba had to add the Platt Amendment to its constitution. This gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs any time there was a threat to “life, property, and individual liberty”.
Results of the War
• Cuba also had to allow a U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
• Puerto Rico became an American territory. The U.S. set up a government and appointed the top officials. Puerto Ricans had little to say in their on affairs until 1917.
U.S. Involvement Overseas
In the early 1900s, the U.S. sexpanded its involvement in Asia and Latin America. The U.S. still trades extensively with Asian and Latin American countries.