Imperialism

1. Imperialism • Beginning in the late 1800s, Americans wanted the United States to become a world power. • Imperialism isthe economic and political domination of a strong nation over weaker nations. • Some colonies became protectorates, or an area where imperial power is allocated to local rulers to remain in control. • Local rulers were given “advice” by the imperial power • Americans wanted to develop overseas markets to keep the economy strong.

2. Expansion in the Pacific • Americans expanded across the Pacific Ocean and toward East Asia looking for overseas markets. • Japan only allowed trade with the Dutch and Chinese. • In 1852, President Pierce had ordered Commodore Matthew C. Perry to travel to Japan to negotiate a trade treaty. In 1854 the Japanese opened two ports to the U.S.

3. Expansion in the Pacific • During an 1872 recession in Hawaii, the United States exempted Hawaiian sugar from tariffs. • When the treaty expired the US wanted a naval base in Hawaii • The McKinley Tariff in 1890 gave subsidies (economic aide) to sugar producers in the United States, causing the sale of Hawaiian sugar to decline. This resulted in a decline in the Hawaiian economy. • In 1891 Queen Liliuokalani became the queen of Hawaii. She disliked the influence of American settlers. • In 1893 a group of planters, supported by the U.S. Marines, forced the queen to give up her power after she unsuccessfully tried to impose a new constitution that reasserted her authority as ruler of Hawaiian people.

4. Trade and Diplomacy in Latin America • In the 1800s the United States wanted to increase its influence in Latin America by increasing the sale of American products in the region. • Pan-Americanism, an idea that the U.S. and Latin America work together, was proposed by Secretary of State James G. Blaine. • In 1889 the first Pan-American conference was held in Washington, D.C.

5. Building a Modern Navy • Americans were willing to risk war to defend American interests overseas. This led to support for the construction of a large modern navy. • Captain Alfred T. Mahan of the United States Navy published a book, The Influence of Seapower Upon History, which suggested that a nation needed a large navy to protect its merchant ships and defend its rights to trade with other countries. • Henry Cabot Lodge and Albert Beveridge, two powerful senators, pushed for the construction of a new navy.

6. Coming of War • In the spring of 1898, Spain and the United States went to war. • Cuba, a Spanish colony, provided wealth for Spain with sugarcane plantations. • In 1868, Cuban rebels declared independence and began a guerilla attack against Spanish authorities. • The attack failed • Cuban rebels fled to the U.S. to plan a new revolution • Writer and poet Jose Marti, an exiled leader of Cuba’s revolution, fled to New York City. He raised money from Americans and began purchasing weapons and training troops.

7. Coming of War • Marti and his followers returned and seized control of eastern Cuba • declared its independence • set up the Republic of Cuba in September of 1895 • At the start of the Cuban revolution, Americans were neutral; however, newspapers began using yellow journalism to get Americans to side with the Cubans. Yellow journalism is the printing of exaggerated stories of Spanish attacks on Cubans. • The Cubans rebels attacked and destroyed American property, hoping for American intervention in the war. • In February 1898, the U.S.S. Maine, anchored in Havana exploded • 266 American officers and sailors killed

8. Destruction of the U.S.S. MaineledCongress to declare war on Spain

9. War on Two Fronts • The United States Navy’s Atlantic Squadron blockaded Cuba. • An American fleet in British Hong Kong was ordered to attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines – a Spanish colony. • In May 1898, Commodore George Dewey led a squadron that destroyed Spanish warships in Manila Bay in the Philippines. McKinley sent 20,000 American troops to the Philippines and, along the way, seized the island of Guam. • The American army was untrained and unequipped. Poor conditions in training camps resulted in more Americans dying in training than in battle.

10. War on Two Fronts • In June 1898, American troops advanced toward Santiago Harbor in Cuba. • One group attacked the village of El Caney, and another group attacked San Juan Heights. • Among the American troops were the “Rough Riders” led by Colonel Leonard Wood, with Theodore Roosevelt as second in command. Both attacks were American victories. • Along with the Rough Riders were the all-black 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. One-fourth of the American troops fighting in Cuba were African American. • Spanish resistance ended with the surrender of Santiago. On August 12, 1898, Spain and the United States agreed to a cease-fire.

12. The American Empire is Born • On December 10, 1898, the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris. • Cuba became an independent country. • The U.S. acquired Puerto Rico and Guam and paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines. • In 1900 Congress passed the Foraker Act, making Puerto Rico an unicorporated territory. Congress gradually allowed the people a degree of self-government. In 1917 Puerto Ricans were made citizens of the United States.

14. Cuba After the War • The United States set up a military government in Cuba. • Steps were taken to ensure that Cuba would remain tied to the U.S. • The Platt Amendment specified that • Cuba could not make a treaty with another country that would weaken its power or allow another foreign power to gain territory in Cuba • Cuba had to allow the U.S. to buy or lease a naval stations in Cuba • Cuba’s debts had to be kept low to prevent foreign countries from landing troops to enforce payment • The U.S. would have the right to intervene to protect Cuban independence and keep order. The amendment was repealed in 1934.

15. American Diplomacy in Asia • In 1899 the U.S. was a major power in Asia. • In 1894 war began between China and Japan over what is now Korea. This ended in a Japanese victory. • Japan’s rising power worried Russia. They forced Japan to give back the part of Manchuria to China and later made China lease the territory to Russia. The leasehold became a center of a sphere of influence, an area where a foreign nation controlled economic development such as railroad and mining. • President McKinley supported an Open Door policy in China. They believed all countries should be allowed to trade with China. • Secret Chinese societies were formed to end foreign control. Members of the Boxers started the Boxer Rebellion. Group members invaded foreign embassies in Beijing and killed more than 200 foreigners and took others prisoner.

16. A Growing Presence in the Caribbean • In 1901 the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty signed by the U.S. and Great Britain gave the United States exclusive rights to build and control any proposed canal through Central America. • A French company that had begun to build a canal through Panama offered to sell its rights and property in Panama to the U.S. • In 1903 Panama was still a part of Colombia, which refused John Hay’s offer to purchase the land and gain rights to build the canal. • Panamanians decided to declare their independence from Colombia and make their own deal with the U.S. to build the canal.

17. A Growing Presence in the Caribbean • The short uprising against Colombia was supported by the United States, which sent ships to Panama to prevent Colombia from interfering. • It took ten years to build the 50 mile canal. It shortened the distance from Atlantic to the Pacific by about 8,000 nautical miles. • The 1904 Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine stated that the United States would intervene in Latin American affairs when necessary to maintain economic and political stability in the Western Hemisphere. • The new President of the United States, William Howard Taft, continued Roosevelt’s policies. He changed it to dollar diplomacy, that is getting business leaders to invest in Latin America and Asian development.