Reasons for American Imperialism

1. Reasons for American Imperialism

2. “New Imperialism” • Colony: direct rule by a foreign power, backed with military force • Protectorate: indirect rule by a foreign power; local rulers left in place but must answer to foreign power • Sphere of influence (“economic imperialism”): no direct political control by foreign power, only interest of foreign power is in control of access to trade

3. Reasons for US to Grow an Empire • Need to develop new markets for US agricultural & manufactured goods: US producing more than it can use • Need new opportunities for capital investment • Mercantilism: belief that nations need to export more than they import to grow and maintain wealth • No more frontier: US had expanded as much as it could in North America • Manifest Destiny: Americans still believed that God favored their way of life and wanted them to spread elsewhere

4. Frederick Jackson Turner • 1861 – 1932 • Historian / Professor • 1893: Proposed his “Frontier Thesis” which argued that American society had evolved as a result of always having a Western frontier; now that the frontier was closed, US was at risk of stagnation • Many interpreted this as meaning that the US needed to find new frontiers in order to maintain our position

5. Social Darwinism • Political, economic, and military competition between nations leads to the failure of the weak and the “survival of the fittest” • Small, “inferior” states will be overpowered by “superior” states

6. Anglo-Saxonism • Belief that English speaking nations were destined to rule due to superior character, ideas, and systems of government • Popular in Britain and the US • Fit well with American idea of “Manifest Destiny”

7. John Fiske • 1842 – 1901 • Writer / Historian • Argued that physical evolution of man had ended due to social developments • As a result, the society which is superior will be the dominant force in social evolution

8. Josiah Strong • 1847 – 1916 • Protestant minister • Americans should support imperialism because it spreads Christianity • The Anglo-Saxon race have a responsibility to “civilize and Christianize” the rest of the world • Identified 7 “perils” for American society: Catholicism, Mormonism, Socialism, intemperance, wealth, urbanization, & immigration

9. Capt. Alfred T. Mahan • 1840 – 1914 • 1890: Wrote The Influence of Sea Power Upon History • Argued that powerful nations have powerful navies • Powerful navies require naval bases worldwide • His ideas won widespread political support in both Congress and the White House

10. The Great White Fleet • Fleet of 16 US battleships sent out on a world tour to demonstrate American naval might between 1907 and 1909 on orders of President Theodore Roosevelt • Greatly enhanced American prestige

11. US Expansion

12. Purchase of Alaska • “Seward’s Folly” • Purchased from Russia by Sec. of State William Seward for $7.2 million in 1867 • US wanted Russian competition out of North America • Turned out, Alaska was loaded with gold & oil!

13. Americans in Hawaii • First Americans arrived in 1819 (Christian missionaries) • Thousands of Americans soon flooded the islands to create sugar plantations, coming to dominate the islands’ economy and present a threat to the native monarchy • Americans forced the “Bayonet Constitution” on Hawaiian king in 1887 which gave whites the vote & limited the monarch’s power

14. Queen Liliuokalani • 1838 – 1917 • Queen 1891 – 1893 • Lydia Kamaka’ehaKaolaMali’iLili’uokalani • Attempted to throw out the Bayonet Constitution and extend suffrage to native Hawaiians and Asians • This angered Americans in Hawaii, and they began to plot an overthrow of the queen

15. Economic Pressure • American sugar planters in Hawaii were also upset that the McKinley Tariff had placed a high tariff on Hawaiian sugar; if they could convince US to annex Hawaii, they would be part of the US and not subject to the tariff

16. Overthrow of the Queen • 1893: Americans staged a coup, then reported to the American consulate that American lives and property were in danger due to the coup! • US consulate called Marines ashore from the US naval base at Pearl Harbor • Hawaiians interpreted this as US support for the coup and surrendered

17. Annexation of Hawaii • American sugar planters established a temporary government, believing that the US would annex Hawaii immediately • Pres. Cleveland was furious with the way the sugar planters had manipulated the coup to look like it was US backed and blocked attempts to annex Hawaii • The independent Republic of Hawaii existed from 1893 - 1898 • US finally annexed Hawaii in 1898 under Pres. McKinley

18. Rebellion in Cuba • Cuba was a Spanish colony, but wanted to become independent and rebelled from 1868-78, 1879-80, & 1895-98 • Jose Marti was the symbolic leader of the revolutionary movement, but he was killed in battle in 1895 • Spanish put down rebellions cruelly and with little regard to human rights

19. Spanish Atrocities in Cuba • Spanish governor General Valeriano “El Carnicero” Weyler began to relocate rebellious Cuban natives to “reconcentration camps” where they could be monitored by the military; thousands died of disease or starvation

20. Yellow Journalism • US newspapers began to carry sensationalized stories about the actions of the Spanish in Cuba, causing many Americans to sympathize with the Cuban desire for independence • The term “yellow journalism” describes the use of eye-catching headlines (but usually with little factual support, and sometimes simply made-up stories) to sell newspapers; the “yellow” part comes from a newspaper comic-strip called The Yellow Kid which was popular at the time

21. Joseph Pulitzer • 1847 – 1911 • Publisher of New York World newspaper • Sold his papers cheap: $0.02/issue • Filled papers with crime stories, sensationalized news, but also with some serious news and calls for social reform • Later established the Pulitzer Prizes for journalism

22. William Randolph Hearst • 1863 – 1951 • Publisher of New York Journal newspaper • Sold his paper even cheaper – just $0.01/issue; offset his costs by being one of the first publishers to sell large amounts of advertising to department stores • Hearst and Pulitzer became bitter rivals, each trying to best the other

23. McKinley Tries Negotiations • US business interests in Cuba were threatened by the unrest • McKinley threatened to recognize Cuba as an independent state if Spain did not establish some stability there; Spain agreed to give Cuba autonomy (but not independence) • This led Spanish loyalists to riot in Havana, forcing McKinley to dispatch the USS Maine to protect US interests in Cuba and to evacuate Americans if things got too violent

24. The Enrique Dupuy de Lôme Letter • February, 1898 • A private letter written by Spanish Ambassador to the US Enrique Dupuy de Lôme was stolen and published in Pulitzer’s papers • The letter described Pres. McKinley as “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd” and as someone unwilling to go to war over Cuba • Americans were enraged

25. The USS Maine • Feb. 15, 1898 • USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 266 sailors • US investigation concluded that the ship had been deliberately blown up by a Spanish mine • Angry US citizens began calling for war with Spain

26. Jingoism • McKinley was reluctant to go to war and hoped for peace • Many Republicans (including a young Theodore Roosevelt) grew angry with McKinley’s reluctance for war; they believed in a form of nationalism called “jingoism” – a blind willingness to use force against other nations to protect the best interests of the US • McKinley caved to the pressure in April 1898 and asked Congress to authorize the use of force against Spain

27. The Spanish-American War • April 1898: US demanded that Spain withdraw from Cuba or face US force; Spain responded by declaring war on US • The war would be short and one-sided, ended in August

28. The Philippines & Guam • US Asiatic fleet attacked Spanish colony of the Philippines, crushing Spain’s navy in a matter of hours with only nine wounded US sailors • US soldiers on their way to occupy the Philippines also seized the Spanish colony of Guam in the Central Pacific

29. War in Cuba • US Navy blockaded Cuban ports and destroyed the Spanish fleet sent to protect Cuba • 17,000 US ground forces fought in Cuba between June 14 and August 12, winning several major battles, such as the Battle of San Juan Hill before the Spanish agreed to a cease-fire

30. Puerto Rico • Also saw fighting between US and Spanish forces during the war • 1900: Foraker Act made Puerto Rico a territory of the US under the direct control of Congress, but did not make Puerto Ricans US citizens or give them constitutional rights • Today, Puerto Rico remains part of the US

31. US Soldiers • The “Rough Riders”: volunteer regiment of which Theodore Roosevelt was 2nd in command • Buffalo Soldiers: about 25% of US soldiers who fought in the war were black • 345 Americans died in the war (mostly from disease) although hundreds more died from disease epidemics in training camps in the US

32. Treaty of Paris (1898) • Dec. 10, 1898 • Ended the war • Cuba became independent • US gains control of Guam and Puerto Rico • US purchases Philippines from Spain for $20 million

33. The Teller Amendment • Passed prior to the war, the Amendment stated that the US would not attempt to annex Cuba; instead, the US vowed to support Cuban independence

34. The Platt Amendment • US military occupied Cuba until a new, US-approved constitution could be written • Platt Amendment was forced on Cuba by the US: • Cuba could not enter into alliances that might threaten its independence • Could not allow foreign powers (except the US, who gained control of a naval base at Guantanamo Bay) to control territory in Cuba • Could not go into debt to foreign nations • US would have the right to intervene at any time to protect Cuban independence or to maintain order