Imperialism or…

The Beginning of Us Ruling the World

XXXXXX Manifest Destiny!

Performance Indicators • Describe the causes of and major events associated with the United States becoming an imperial power in the late 19th century • Analyze the scope and evolution of various United States foreign policies in the early part of the 20th century (Compare Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy, William Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy, and Woodrow Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy)

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Major UnderstandingsThere were a variety of both domestic and foreign reasons why the US in the late 19th century sought to become an imperial powerAs a result, the US acquired overseas territories such as the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Puerto Rico and oversight of Cuba as a result of the Spanish American War; and annexed the Hawaiian Islands.The US’s new role in the world was interpreted differently by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft and Woodrow Wilson: Roosevelt’s was much more aggressive (Big Stick), Taft’s relied on the US’s economic power(Dollar Diplomacy) and Wilson tried to repair the negative image abroad with “Moral Diplomacy” Each had its successes and limitations.X

Essential Questions

Why and how did the US become an imperial power in the late 19th Century?

How did this new status influence the foreign policies of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson?

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ContentImperialism, Spanish-American War, Treaty of Paris, Annexation of Hawaii, Big Stick, Dollar Diplomacy, Moral Diplomacy, Panama Canal, Open Door, Boxer Rebellion,X

SkillsExplain why and how the US became an imperialist power in the late 19th Century

Discuss the differences between the foreignpolicies of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson

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What is Imperialism?

Stronger nations attempt to create empires bydominating weaker nations - economically, politically, culturally or militarily.

The White Man’s Burden

Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem about howWhites were responsible to give the “savages’The benefit of their knowledge and culture

“Take up the white man’s burdenSend forth the best ye breed”

“Your new-caught sullen peoples,Half devil and half child.”

“The English race was destined to dominate the globein the institutions, traditions, language and blood of theworld’s people”

John Fiske, historian and popular lecturer

“The Anglo-Saxon was designed to be his brother’s keeper.”

Josiah Strong, Congregationalist Minister

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1904 World’s Fair • Saint Louis ExpositionShipped in “natives” from many countries around theworld and set up “villages” so the white folks could

view them and observe their customs

Planted the idea thatwhites were better andmore advanced than other races and cultures

Plan to ExpandU.S. became too successful - producing too much, needed more places to sell

Wanted to sell U.S. products to other countriesand carry democratic values and Christianity to others around the world.

Great Britain, France and Russia were alreadytaking over countries all over the world for thesame reasons.

1867 - we annexed Midway Islands

1875 - signed deal with Hawaii - they could sellthe U.S. sugar with no tax, as long as they didn’tsell any land to other countries

American businessman provided financial servicesto Costa Rica and got use of land there. Exported50 million bunches of bananas back to U.S. dominated governments of Costa Rica, Guatemalaand Honduras; known as Banana Republics

By 1900, the U.S. had the most powerful Navy in the world, so they could back uptheir dominance with power.

Was Imperialism a new form of Manifest Destiny?

Others believed in Social Darwinism - we werea superior people, survival of the fittest, baby!

Spanish American WarCuba was under Spain’s control. Cubans rebelled,Over 200,000 Cubans were killed.

President McKinley moved U.S. battleship Maineinto Havana Harbor to protect American citizensand property. Ship was blown up, killed 250 sailors. Most likely an accident, but many blamedSpain.

Spain also controlled the Philippines. We declaredwar against Spain.

Yellow JournalismWilliam Randolph Hearst, a wealthy Newspaper owner, wrote sensational stories so more people would buy his paper. He printed many stories about Spain’s badtreatment of the Cubans, and blamed theSpanish for the explosion of the Maine.

He convinced many Americans it was right to goto war and put a lot of pressure on the president! “You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war!”

Hearst was trying to compete with Pulitzer’s paper, The World, to see who could sell the most newspapers.

They came up with a lot of sensational headlines that weren’t always true to try to get people to buy their papers.

Joe Pulitzer

Pulitzer’s newspaper dug up a lot of corruption amongpoliticians--at one point Teddy Roosevelt and JP Morganindicted Pulitzer for libel for writing about a $40 million deal they made with Panama for the Panama Canal.

Pulitzer also helped raise money to make the base in New York Harbor so the Statue of Liberty (a gift from France) could be put on it

U.S.S. Maine

U.S.S. Maine after the explosion.

We were never sure why the Maine blew up

• Attacked by the Spanish?• Hit a mine in Havana Harbor?• The two tons of explosives on the ship were ignited bya coal explosion on the ship?

But the Yellow Journalism back in the U.S. alwayspinned the “attack” on the Spanish

Teddy Roosevelt (who later became President) led hisCavalry (the Rough Riders) up San Juan Hill in Cubaas part of the attack. Several of the units wereBlack Cavalry units that really made the attack successful.

Battle Cry “Remember the Maine!”

2,500 Americans died in the short war, mostly fromfood poisoning, yellow fever, malaria, and poor medical care.

Spoils of War

We signed Treaty of Paris in 1898 with Spain.Since we won, we got the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Many Americans argued that people in thesecountries deserved liberty and not to be dominated by the U.S.

The Philippines had been dominated by Spain, when theU.S. took over the Filipinos thought they would be free.

But the U.S. took over the Philippines.

At first the Filipinos flew their flag proudly to show theirindependence. In July, 1898, when the U.S. troops landed:

“I knew the moment of truth was near. The Americanoshad come wither to free us or to enslave us. I was ready to greet them with an embrace or a bullet.”

Philippine rebels fought against the U.S. for years and gained their independence in 1946. The U.S. had killed over 200,000 Filipinos.

Senator Hoar says Imperialism sucks (1905)

“You chose war instead of peace. You talked of the wealthof the Phillipine Islands and about our advantage in trade.What have we accomplished? You have wasted 600 milliondollars and sacrificed thousands of American lives. Youhave slain uncounted thousands of Filipinos. You have succeeded in converting a people into sullen and irreconcilable enemies, possessed of a hatred which many decades cannot eradicate.”

Senator Hoar also said:

“We crushed the Philippines, deprived them of their independence and established an American power against their will. No man, I think, will seriously question that that action was contrary to the Declaration of Independence.”

Why did McKinley decide to take the Philippines?

“We could not give them back to Spain, that would be cowardly and dishonorable. We could not let France or Germany take them over. We could not let them govern themselves, they were unfit for self government. We had to take them all and to educate them, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them and do the best we could by them. Did we need their consent o perform a great act of humanity? It is just to use every legitimate means for the enlargement of American trade.”

Cuba

• U.S. installed a military government in Cuba• Tried to get Cubans to write their own Constitution, but wanted U.S. to have twoNaval bases there and not let Cuba ally itselfwith another country.• Eventually the Cubans totally split from the U.S. and became a communist country undertheir leader Fidel Castro.

That’s why we still have Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba--leftover from the Spanish American War.

Today Guantanamo Bay is our prison for suspected terrorists, although Obama says he’ll close it. Will we give that land back to Cuba?

Funky Fidel Castro

Che Guevara

Fidel’s LittleFriend, helpedFidel overthrowthe Cuban gov.put in by the U.S.

Annexation of Hawaii• Hawaii was important geographically to U.S.• Hawaii leased Pearl Harbor to the U.S.• Hawaiian-born planters forced King Kalakauato hand over control of the government• President McKinley said it was Manifest Destiny that the U.S. take over• If the U.S. didn’t take control of Hawaiiwould the Russians, British or French?

Hawaiians signed a petitionasking the U.S. to not take them over

Queen Liliuokalani

Was imprisonedin Iolani Palace fora year when theoverthrow happened in 1893

Panama Canal• Needed a shorter route between Atlantic and Pacific• Panama belonged to Columbia• U.S. didn’t want to pay the price• Encouraged Panama to revolt against Columbia, gave U.S. naval support offshore.• Panama wins their independence• U.S. bought strip of land from Panama for $10 million

Was the U.S. a Big Bully?• Many criticized President Roosevelt for interfering in another country’s business.

• Left a long heritage of ill will among Latin Americans toward the U.S. - they werebecoming haters!

• After Teddy Roosevelt died, Congress votedin 1921 to pay Columbia $25 million for thePanama Canal

Open Door Policy

We realized China was important--they had a lotof customers for our businesses. Other countries were also interested in China - Russia, Germany,Britain and France also wanted some control or influence over China

U.S. started to promote the Open Door Policy tothose other countries, so they all could have accessX

Boxer Rebellion

Chinese resented other countries trying to dominate them.

The Righteous and Harmonious Fists, or Boxers, started a rebellion in 1900. 300 foreigners and Christian Chinese people were killed. European powers eventually defeated the Boxers

The U.S. stood strong that China should not be overtaken by any other country. X

Teddy Roosevelt’s Big Stick Policy“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”

He said the U.S. only wanted to see neighborcountries stable, orderly and prosperous. If theydid harmful things or if their government fell apart, the U.S. would exercise “an international police power”

We were keeping our neighborhood safe!

TeddyRoosevelt

President Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy• He was Roosevelt’s Secretary of War• He believed in “substituting dollars for bullets”or investing American dollars in weaker countries rather than overtaking them• So U.S. would loan other countries money, thenexpect some control over that country• Dollar diplomacy was not that successful, manycountries resented U.S. influence

Woodrow Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy

Would seek trading partners around the world while avoiding getting politically involved. Wantedpeople to start liking the U.S. again.

He hoped that the world could “be made safefor every peace-loving nation which, like ourown, wishes to live its own life, determineits own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression.”

Woodrow Wilson

Anti Imperialists argue

• Imperialism goes against ”Liberty for All”• We should work on our own problems in US• Imperialism seemed racist - we’re better• Cost the U.S. too much money

Pro Imperialists argue

• Offered new frontiers for us to conquer• Helped us grow stronger financially, couldsell our products to more countries• It’s important to have stable countries around us

Imperialism arguments still continue today