Reasons for American Imperialism

America: What is different?

By George, I think something’s changed?

Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality

• Neutrality!!!• Wanted the US to stay out of foreign conflicts.

And what did Monroe say??

• Monroe Doctrine – United States would stay out of foreign affairs (in the Eastern Hemisphere)– East stay in East, West stay

in West

• Europe should not be involved in the Western Hemisphere at all!

And we pushed West…

• Manifest Destiny – believed that they had the divine right to gain Western Lands.– Indian Wars– Homestead Act– Railroads

So, how did Alaska and Hawaii become part of the U.S.?

Imperialism!!

• The policy in which stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories

Causes of Imperialism

Cause #1: Economics

• Raw materials for use in industry• Access to new markets: 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

Cause #2: Military Strength

• Alfred T Mahan argued for a powerful navy

• 1890: Wrote The Influence of Sea Power Upon History

• Powerful navies require naval bases worldwide

The Great White Fleet• Fleet of 16 US

battleships sent out on a world tour to demonstrate American naval power between 1907 and 1909 on orders of President Theodore Roosevelt

• Greatly enhanced American prestige

Cause #3: Nationalism and Social Darwinism

• Social Darwinism– Used ideas of racial, national, and cultural

superiority to justify imperialism• Manifest Destiny

– “White Man’s Burden”• White man is burdened with the task of “civilizing”

minority races• Anglo-Saxonism– Belief that English speaking nations were destined

to rule due to superior character, ideas, and systems of government

• Europe is imperialist, why not U.S.?

John Fiske• 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

Josiah Strong• Americans should

support imperialism because it spreads Christianity

• The Anglo-Saxon race have a responsibility to “civilize and Christianize” the rest of the world

Cause #4: No More Frontier • US had expanded as much as it could in North

America• Frederick Jackson Turner proposed his “Frontier

Thesis” – 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• What is stagnation?

• Many interpreted this as meaning that the US needed to find new frontiers in order to maintain our position

Purchase of Alaska• U.S. bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million

dollars• At first, people thought it was a waste of money• Seward’s Folly – Secretary of State Seward was ridiculed for the

purchase

Resources in Alaska

• Timber• Minerals• Oil

What about Hawaii?

"We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did

California. It is manifest destiny." -President McKinley

Hawaii

• U.S. missionaries had moved there• Sugar plantations soon dominated the islands’

economy• Sugar was sold to the U.S.

Sugar Planters Got Rich!!!

• By mid-1800s—sugar accounted for ¾ of islands’ wealth

• Imported labor from Japan, Portugal, and China

• Sold sugar tax free to the U.S.

McKinley Tariff is Passed

• Largest tariff passed in the U.S. at that point in history

How would the sugar plantation owners feel about that tariff?

(Remember: What’s a protective tariff?)

Plantation Owners Opposed Tariff

• Planters called for the U.S. to annex Hawaii– ANNEX = Become part of another country (US)

• Wanted to avoid the tariff

They even built a military base

• Pearl Harbor

Hawaiians Opposed Annexation• Queen Liliuokalani

• Attempted to:– Throw out the Bayonet

Constitution• Gave whites the vote and

limited monarch’s power– Extend suffrage to native

Hawaiians and Asians

• What do you think white Americans in Hawaii did?

Revolt and Overthrow of Queen

• Led by Sanford B. Dole• Had the help of the U.S. Marines

Overthrow of the Queen• 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 surrendered

Hawaii Became a U.S. Territory

• Hawaiians never got a chance to vote• Hawaii became a state in 1959

Should the US Expand Its Territory?

• You are going to write an argument for or against the expansion of the US.

• This is your LEFT SIDE • Argument must include: – Brief explanation of US involvement in foreign affairs– Explanation of Imperialism (causes) – Explain why the US wants to annex Alaska/Hawaii

• 2 reasons

– Explain your view regarding annexation • 2 reasons