Age of Imperialism

1865-1913

US Expansion

Isolationism Having little to do with other nations Expansionism Extending national boundaries US looks to Pacific 1853 President Millard Fillmore sends

Matthew Perry to Japan Treaty of Kanagawa Agreeing to help shipwrecked sailors and

open up two ports to trade

US Expands to Pacific

Sec. of State William Seward Persuaded congress to annex Midway Island Also bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2

million Seward’s Folly

Age of Imperialism

1870-1914 Policy of countries seeking to control the

economic and political affairs of weaker countries

Reasons for Growth of Imperialism

Need for raw materials and new markets Those markets found in Africa and Asia Racism Many Europeans believe it was their duty to

spread their culture and religion to other parts of the world. They felt it was superior.

Competition between nations One country might take over a region just to

make sure another didn’t get it.

US Imperialism

Imperialism started in Europe Many believed that the US market would collapse if it

did not expand to other markets Some said we had a duty to spread western culture No new land to settle-so we must go overseas Alfred Mahan-Naval Captain The History of Sea

Power upon History-The US needs a bigger Navy to protect its ships

1900 new steam powered, steel hulled ships-Great White Fleet

Samoa

Germany, US and Great Britain competed for Samoa a chain of Islands in the Pacific

A military clash looked imminent Then a storm sank the ships of all countries Then Germany and the US divided Samoa G. Britain got other territories

Hawaii

1820- American Missionaries arrive-become advisors Mid 1800’s- Americans set up plantations import workers from

Asia 1887-Wealthy American planters force King Kalakua to sign a

new constitution that limited his power 1891- Kalakua died and Lilliluokalani becomes Queen and

rejects the constitution and planters power 1893- American planters rebel against Lilliluokalani. The

American Ambassador sent marines to stand by the Americans. The American planters set up a Republic and asked the US to annex it.

1898- Congress annexed Hawaii 1900- Hawaii becomes a US territory 1959- Hawaii becomes the 50th State

China

China was once most advanced empire in the world Britain, Germany, Japan and others were seeking to gain

colonies in Asia China had weakened by years of Civil War and a refusal to

industrialize Late 1800’s Britain, France, Russia, Germany and Japan carved

out spheres of influence in China A sphere of influence was an area usually near a seaport,

where a nation had special trading privileges. John Hay, US Secretary of State, fearing that US would be shut

out of China, wrote a letter to all the nations asking them to keep an Open Door in the spheres allowing any nation to trade in any sphere

The powers reluctantly accepted this Open Door Policy

China

Many Chinese rejected foreign influence Righteous Fists of Harmony “Boxers” They attacked all westerners Foreign Governments joined together to

combat the Boxer Rebellion Several Nations thought this rebellion meant

they could take more land, but Hay’s letter stopped them.

Rebellion in Cuba

1868 Cubans rebelled against Spain, it was crushed and some rebels fled to NYC

In New York, Puerto Rican-born Lola Rodríguez de Tió wrote poems, and José Martí raised funds, gave speeches, and published a newspaper in support of Cuban independence

1895 Martí returns to Cuba, new rebellion. Rebels take most of island. New governor sent in, strict, crushes revolt with reconcentration which takes 500,000 Cubans and keeps them together under close watch to make sure they can’t aide the rebels

Americans had a ton invested economically with Cuba

Should the US step in?

Businessmen say no, it might hurt trade. Americans feel sympathy The press whipped up American sympathies for the

people of Cuba. Joseph Pulitzer’s World and William Randolph

Hearst’s Journal competed to print the most grisly stories about Spanish atrocities

They used Yellow Journalism, which used sensationalism to make the stories sound better

Sometimes this might entail doctoring the truth or outright lying

“you supply the pictures, I’ll supply the war

Going to War

President Grover Cleveland and his successor William McKinley, tried to keep us out of war

In 1898 fighting broke out and McKinley sent in the Battleship USS Maine to protect American citizens and property

Feb. 15 as the Maine lay in harbor in Havana it exploded. 260 Americans lost their lives

The cause to this day is not known. Pulitzer and Hearst used this as an excuse to go to

war. They believed the Spanish did it. “Remember the Maine” In April McKinley gave in and declared war

War Begins

As soon as war was declared the assistant secretary of the navy Theodore Roosevelt, ordered the commander of the Pacific fleet, Commodore George Dewey to sail to Manila bay.

Once there Dewey caught the Spanish off guard They destroyed the Spanish fleet by noon the next

day By July American ground forces landed in the

Philippines, and helped by the support of Filipino rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo, they quickly took the city of Manila

War in Cuba

At first the campaign was very poorly organized Then Theodore Roosevelt rounded up a unit of

volunteers called the Rough Riders and went to join in the fighting in Cuba

They helped to take control of the Battle of San Juan Heights above the city of Santiago

They were also helped by the Buffalo Soldiers, who were African-American soldiers.

Two days after this battle the US Navy came in and destroyed the Spanish Fleet in Santiago Bay

In Separate action the US took Puerto Rico Fighting ended in August

Treaty of Paris

Spain agreed to give the US Guam and Puerto Rico

Spain sold the Philippines to the US for $20 million

Cuba was given it’s freedom

Cuba

The US let Cuba create it’s own constitution. However they needed to have the Platt

Amendment added to it The Platt amendment gave the US the ability

to intervene in the affairs of Cuba Also it gave them a permanent naval base at

Guantanamo Bay This established Cuba as a protectorate of

the US, a country whose power is limited by that of a more powerful one

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico had a government set up under the Foraker Act of 1900

Under this act Puerto Ricans were given a limited say in their affairs

In 1917 Puerto Ricans were made US Citizens

Philippines

The people felt betrayed They thought they would get independence, but

instead they just had a new colonial power Emilio Aguinaldo now led a rebellion against the US Finally in 1901 he was captured and in 1902 The

Philippines was given a government with a very limited say

In 1946 Filipinos were given control of their own affairs

A Canal Across Panama

When T. Roosevelt became President, he was determined to build a canal through the isthmus of Panama

This would improve American Commerce by shortening the trip from NYC to San Francisco by 8,000 miles

The French had tried to build a canal but had failed We had to deal with Columbia though because

Panama was in Columbia at the time He sent John Hay to offer Columbia $10 million up

front and $250,000 a year after to lease the strip of land to build the canal.

Problems with Columbia

Columbia refused the offer Roosevelt knew that the Panamanians wanted to

break away He sent the USS Nashville to the port of Colon in

1903 The next day the Panamanians rebelled with the US

stopping the Columbians from crushing it. Panama declared itself an independent republic The US recognized their statehood and Panama

agreed to the terms to build the canal Canal building was tough, especially battling

mosquitoes

Presidents Intervening in Latin America 1902 when several European nations sent warships

to Venezuela to make them repay a debt, Roosevelt announced a corollary or addition to the Monroe Doctrine

Big Stick – Speak softly, but carry a big stick To keep Europe out of Latin America he claimed that

the US had a right to intervene using “International Police Power” to preserve law and order

For the next 20 years Presidents would use the Roosevelt Corollary to intervene

Presidents intervening in Latin America William Howard Taft wanted to substitute

dollars for bullets This was called dollar diplomacy He invested a ton of US money into Latin

America to build up their infrastructure He helped railroads, highways, bridges, dams

etc. to be built But American investors often meddled in the

affairs of the foreign nations causing military support to be used.

Presidents intervening in Latin America Woodrow Wilson wanted to spread the moral

principle In his moral diplomacy, he wanted to

condemn imperialism, spread democracy and promote peace

Still, he often had to send troops to Latin America to settle affairs

Struggle with Mexico

Americans had huge investments in Mexico 1910 Mexicans rebelled against their

President Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero the new leader promised democratic reform

1913 General Victor Huerta overthrew and killed Madero, Wilson refused to recognize Huerta’s government and gave weapons and money to Huerta’s rival Venustiano Carranza

Struggle with Mexico 1914 Huerta’s troops arrested some American sailors, they

were quickly released but Wilson ordered the Navy to occupy the port of Veracruz. Carranza’s forces drove Huerta from power and the US withdrew

General Fransisco “Pancho” Villa hoped to overthrow Carranza He pulled 17American citizens from a train in Mexico and killed

them, he also raided a town in New Mexico killing 18 He hoped that these actions would somehow be linked to

Carranza Wilson sent General John J. Pershing “Blackjack” to Mexico to

try to catch Villa Carranza did not like that he wasn’t consulted and ordered the

troops out, Wilson refused 1917 After 11 months Pershing’s troops returned to the US

without Villa, they now turned their attention to the European War that had been raging in Europe

The US becomes a world powerC

ause

s

• Western frontier closes

• Businesses seek raw materials and new markets

• European nations compete for resources and markets

Ove

rsea

s E

xpan

sio

n

Eff

ects

• United States develops strong navy

• Open Door Policy protects trade with China

• United States governs lands in Caribbean and Pacific

• United States builds Panama Canal

• United States sends troops to Latin American nations to protect its interests

Eff

ects

To

day

• United States is global superpower

• Alaska and Hawaii are 49th and 50th states

• Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands remain United States territories

• United States has close economic ties with Latin America and nations along the Pacific Ocean.