Major Themes:
- Expansionism beyond North America
- Causes of, nature of, and consequences of the Spanish-American War
- A new foreign policy: imperialism instead of isolationism
- Conflicting beliefs: the imperialist debate
- What is the role of the executive in determining foreign policy?
Major Questions:
- Compare/contrast “imperialism” of the 1890s with earlier periods of American expansion. Instead of Imperialism involving other countries, the United States was more focused on what was going on internally instead of others. During this time, many small businesses became large businesses, and many other businesses as well started to rise up into the great sale competition. By this time, the true meaning of imperialism began to change as competition arose, leaving weaker company's and products in peril.
- In what ways were the US and European brands of imperialism during this period similar and different?
- How was the Spanish-American War justified and how did it reflect American politics and culture?
- Has America always been an expansionist nation?
- What are the roots of imperialism?
Pre-Reading
- Identify and briefly characterize at least two periods of expansion prior to the Civil War:
- Following the Civil War, what was the one area of expansion described in the text prior to ch. 27?
- Attitudes toward foreign regions are not likely formed overnight. Describe the typical white American attitude toward “others” expressed in the late 19th century – Afr.Americans, N. Americans, immigrants.
- Restate the aims and goals of the Monroe Doctrine.
Outline
America Turns Outward
- Farmers and Factory owners began to look for markets beyond American shores as agricultural and industrial production boomed. Many Americans believed that the United States had to expand or explode. Their country was bursting with a new sense of power generated by the robust growth in population, wealth, and productive capacity and it was trembling from the hammer blows of labor violence and agrarian unrest.
- Other forces also whetted the popular appetite for overseas involvement. the lurid yellow press of Joseph's Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst described foreign exploits as manly adventures the kind of dashing derring do that was the stuff of young boys dreams.
Dewey's May Day Victory at Manila
- The American People plunged into the war lightheartedly, like schoolchildren off to a picnic. Bands blared incessantly "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight and Hail, Hail, the gangs all here. leading some foreigners to believed that those were national anthems. The war got off to a giddy start for American forces. Even before the declaration of war, on February 25th, 1898, wile navy secretary john d long was a way from the office, his hot blooded assistant secretary Theodore Roosevelt took matters into his own hands. Roosevelt commanded the American Asiatic Squadron at Hong Kong to descend upon Spain's Philippines in the event of war. Mckinley confirmed these instructions.
- May 1, 1898: George Dwey carried out his orders sailing boldly with 6 warships into the harbor of Manila, trained his guns the next morning on the 10 ship Spanish fleet. Nearly 4,000 Spaniards killed and wounded, no loss of a single life in Dewey's fleet
Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba
- Many inhabitants in Puerto Rico lived in poverty, population grew faster than economy
- Foraker Act of 1900, Congress accorded Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government and in 1917, granted them U.S. citizenship
- However, many inhabitants still wanted independence, no matter what America did for them
- 1901: Insular Cases decreed that the flag did not outrun the Constitution and that the outdistanced document did not necessarily extend with full force to the new windfalls-->Filipinos and Puerto Ricans subject to American rule but not all American rights
- An American military government set up in cuba under General Leonard Wood wrought miracles in gov't, finance, education, agriculture, and public health; frontal attack on yellow fever
- U.S. honored Teller Amendment of 1898 withdrew from cuba in 1902
- Americans afraid of power of countries like germany forced cuba to write into their own constitution of 1901 the Platt Amendment
- Platt Amendment: bound themselves not to impair their independence by treaty or by contracting a debt beyond their resources, agreed that the U.S. might intervene with troops to restore order and to provide mutual protection, promised to sell or lease needed coaling or naval stations to U.S.
Imperialism or Bryanism in 1900?
- President McKinley's renomination by the Republicans in 1900 was a foregone conclusion. He had won a war and acquired rich, though burdensome, real estate and he had safeguarded the gold standard and he had brought the promised prosperity of the full dinner pail. An irresistible vice presidential boom developed for Theodore Teddy Roosevelt.
- After putting Roosevelt into the vice presidency, he sported a western style cowboy hat that made him stand out sstick a white crow at the republican convention. To cries of We want teddy, he was handily nominated. A wary mark hanna reportedly moaned that there would now be only one heartbeat between him and the presidency of the united states
Building the Panama Canal
- After the Spanish-American war, American began to see the benefits of canal across the American isthmus.
- Legal means were blocking the Americans from building there canal because of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty stating that the Americans could not secure exclusive control over an isthmian route.
- British yielded ground and consented to the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty in 1901 that allowed the Americans to build and fortify a canal.
- June 1902 the Panama Canal was decided to be built, but the Panama senate refused to give up any land to the Americans.
- November 3, 1903, the Panamanians revolted thinking that the building of the canal would bring prosperity, the US navy prevented Columbian troops from crossing the isthmus to quell the rebellion.
- Roosevelts "SHaking of the big stick" worsened relations with Latin America.
- 1914, the Canal was finished just as WW1 was beginning
TR's Perversion of the Monroe Doctrine
- Latin American debt defaults prompted further Rooseveltian involvement in affairs south of the border. Nations such as Venezuela and the Dominican Republic were chronically in arrears in their payments to European creditors. Germany actually bombarded a town in delinquent Venezuela in 1903.
- Roosevelt feared that if the Germans or British got their foot in the door as bill collectors, they might remain in Latin America, in flagrant violation of the Monroe Doctrine. He therefore declared a brazen policy of preventive intervention. better known as teh Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. He announced that in the event of future financial malfeasance by the Latin American nations, the United States itself would intervene, take over the customs houses, pay off the debts, and keep the troublesome Europeans on the other side of the Atlantic.
- This new brandishing of the big stick in the Caribbean became effective in 1905 when U.S. took over management of tariff collections in the Dominican Republic
- TR's rewriting of the Monroe Doctrine promoted the "Bad Neighbor" Policy
- new corollary used to justify wholesale interventions and repeated landings of the marines
- shadow of big stick fell on cuba in1906, revolutionary disorders brought an appeal from the cuban president U.S. marines landed-->police forces withdrawn temporarily in 1909, but in Latin American eyes the episode was another example of the power of the Colossus of the North
Varying Viewpoints:Why Did America Become a World Power
Other countries around America were expanding and becoming larger and more industrialized. Therefore the United States had an obligation to do so as well or it could fall to other world powers.
Increased industrial output required more raw materials and overseas markets
Race and gender: conquest of "inferior" peoples seemed natural, needed to restore nation's masculine virility, race fueled militarism
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