US Imperialism

U.S. Imperialism

Building a Modern Navy

• Americans became

increasingly willing to risk war
to defend American interests
overseas

• Lead to a desire for a

stronger navy to protect
those interests

• Captain Alfred T. Mahan

wrote The Influence of Sea
Power Upon History,
1660-1783
– Argued that European nations

with powerful navies became
prosperous and strong

– Two senators, Henry Cabot

Lodge and Albert J. Beveridge
pushed for constructing a new
navy

Multiple Choice

According to Alfred Mahan, what did nations need to become powerful and prosperous?

• strong armies

• strong navies

• many factories

• huge population

Perry Opens Japan

• The Japanese initially believed

that they would only benefit
from trade with China and the
Dutch

• Commodore Matthew C. Perry

was ordered to negotiate a
trade treaty with Japan in 1852

• Impressed with western

technology, the Japanese
agreed to sign the Treaty of
Kanagawa
– Opened two ports in Japan
– Peace between the two nations
– Help to any American sailor

shipwrecked off the coast of
Japan

– Americans had permission to

buy supplies like food, water,
and coal

Annexing Hawaii

• US needed ports in the Pacific

to refuel to and from Japan

• Pago Pago, in the Samoan

Islands allowed a US naval
base in 1878

• A severe recession struck

Hawaii in 1872, so the US
signed a treaty with Hawaii
exempting Hawaiian sugars
from the tariffs

• In 1890, the US increased the

tariff on Hawaiian sugar,
making it near impossible to
sell
– Planters determined that the only

way to sell to the US was to join
the nation

Multiple Choice

Why did businessmen want Hawaii to become a territory of the US?

• They wanted to be able to use Hawaii as an American only vacation spot.

• They wanted to be able to have sole access to the natural resources found in Hawaii.

• They wanted to be able to expand the US economy by exploiting the labor of Hawaiian citizens.

• They wanted to be able to sell sugar without the high tariff

Annexing Hawaii

• 1891 - Queen Liliuokalani

gained the throne of Hawaii
– She disliked the influence of

America on Hawaii

• January 1893 - she

attempted to assert her
control over Hawaii
– Planters responded with a US

Marine backed overthrow of
the government

• President Cleveland did not

like imperialism, so the
provisional government in
Hawaii waited until he was
out of office to officially join
the United States

Multiple Choice

How did Hawaii become a part of the US?

• The businessmen overthrew the Queen with the help of the Marines.

• Hawaii was annexed by the US through a treaty.

• Hawaii was purchased by the US from a foreign country.

• Hawaii was granted statehood by the US Congress.

Diplomacy in Latin America

• Pan-Americanism - the idea that the United

States and Latin America should work together

• October 2, 1889 - First pan-American

conference held in Washington DC
– Created the Commercial Bureau of American

Republics to promote cooperation between nations
in the Western Hemisphere

Cuban Rebellion Begins

•Until Cuba abolished slavery in 1886,
1/3 of the population was enslaved and
forced to work for wealthy landowners

•1868 - Cuban rebels declared
independence and launched a guerilla
war against Spain
– Rebellion failed and many fled to United

States

•Jośe Martí - brought Cuban exiles
together in NYC and raised funds,
purchased weapons, and trained troops
in preparation for an invasion of Cuba

•Economic crisis in 1894 prompted Martí
to invade Cuba again
– Rebels successfully seized eastern

Cuba and established the Republic of
Cuba in September 1895

Multiple Choice

Cuba was trying to get their independence from which country?

• USA

• Great Britain

• Spain

• France

America Supports Cuba

• Americans began to support the Cuban

rebels after hearing tales of Spanish
atrocities in the major newspapers

• William Randolph Hearst and Joseph

Pulitzer (owners of rival newspapers in
NYC) competed to come up with the most
sensational stories

• Yellow Journalism - sensational stories in

which the authors often exaggerated and
even made up stories to attract readers

Multiple Choice

What is yellow journalism?

• A form of whistleblowing on fake news

• A type of informative reporting

• A think piece about foreign policies

• Creating sensational stories to attract readers

Calls for War

• William McKinley did not want to

intervene but warned the Spanish
that if the war did not end soon,
the United States might have to
become involved

• Spanish removed their

government and offered Cubans
autonomy (the right to their own
government) if Cuba agreed to
remain part of the Spanish empire
– Cuba refused

• January 1898 - Spanish loyalists

rioted in Havana, so McKinley sent
in the USS Maine in case
Americans need to be evacuated

Calls for War

• Newspaper printed an

intercepted letter from the
Spanish ambassador that
called McKinley “ weak
and a bidder for the
admiration of the crowd”

• February 15, 1898 - The

USS Maine exploded in
Havana Harbor and sank
– No one saw it explode
– Americans believed that

Spanish agents sabotaged
the Maine

– “Remember the Maine”

Multiple Choice

What happened to the USS Maine?

• The USS Maine was sunk by a German U-Boat

• The USS Maine exploded

• The USS Maine was hijacked by Somali pirates

• The USS Maine was decommissioned and sold to a private owner

Calls for War

• McKinley called for $50

million in war preparations

• Jingoism - aggressive

nationalism

• April 11, 1898 - McKinley

asked Congress to
authorize the use of force

• April 19 - Congress

proclaimed Cuba
independent

• April 25 - Spain declared

war on the United States

The Battle of Manila Bay

• May 1, 1898 - Commodore

Dewey’s fleet entered Manila
Bay in the Philippines

• Four American ships opened

fire and destroyed the eight
Spanish warships

• Americans assembled 20,000

troops and shipped them from
San Francisco to the
Philippines

• US troops seized Guam,

another Spanish colony, on
the way

The Battle of Manila Bay

• Emilio Aguinaldo -

Filipino revolutionary
leader who had staged an
unsuccessful uprising
against the Spanish

• Aguinaldo launched a

second rebellion against
the Spanish
– Rebels took most of the

islands, but Americans
took Manila, the capital of
the Philippines

Multiple Choice

The Philippines were able to successful fight for their independence

• True

• False

American Forces in Cuba

• The US army relied on volunteers to increase the size

of the troops
– Unable to supply and train them
– Conditions were horrible in the training camps

• June 14, 1898 - 17,000 American troops landed

outside of Santiago
– Theodore Roosevelt’s troop, known as the “Rough Riders”

were included (made up of cowboys, miners, and law
officers)

• July 1 - The charging of San Juan Hill

– Spanish ordered the retreat of their troops to the bay, and

American troops sank the ships

• Two weeks later, the Spanish surrendered

– Shortly afterwards, the Americans occupied Puerto Rico

Multiple Choice

What were the Rough Riders?

• A type of motorcycle

• A type of wild horse

• An old-timey carnival ride

• US troops led by Teddy Roosevelt

Debate Over Annexation

• Benefits of annexing the Philippines

– Military bases on the islands, stopover on the way to

China, large market for American goods

– “Civilize” the native people

• Anti-imperialists argued that America does not

need to own people to trade with them and that
the cost of an empire out-weighed the benefits

• December 10, 1898 - American and Spain

signed the Treaty of Paris
– Cuba became an independent nation
– US acquired Puerto Rico and Guam
– US paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines

Multiple Select

What territories did the US gain from winning the Spanish-American war?

• Puerto Rico

• Guam

• Cuba

• Philippines

Platt Amendment

• Allowed Cubans to create a

constitution, but under certain
conditions

• Platt Amendment:

– Cuba could not make any treaty with

another nation that would weaken its
independence

– Cuba had to allow America to buy or

lease naval stations in Cuba

– Cuba’s debts had to be kept low to

prevent foreign countries from landing
troops to enforce payment

– US would have the right to intervene to

protect Cuban independence and keep
order

• Made Cuba an American

protectorate until 1934

Multiple Choice

Cuba was a fully independent country after the Spanish-American war

• True

• False

Governing Puerto Rico

• Foraker Act (1900) - established a civil government

for the island

• Provided for an elected legislature, governor, and

executive council

• 1917 - Puerto Ricans were granted American

citizenship

• Puerto Rico continues today as a self-governing

commonwealth of the US

Multiple Choice

Puerto Rico is still a territory of the US today

• True

• False

Rebellion in the Philippines

• Aguinaldo called the annexation of

the Philippines a “violent and
aggressive seizure” and ordered
troops to attack American soldiers

• Philippine-American War, or the

Philippine Insurrection lasted more
than 3 years

• US adopted many of the policies that

they had condemned the Spanish for
previously

• March 1901 - American troops

captured Aguinaldo and he ordered a
surrender of his troops

• July 4, 1902 - US declared war over
• 1946 - United States granted the

Philippines their independence

Multiple Choice

The Philippines gained their independence in 1946

• True

• False