American Imperialism

Sandeep Arakali
APUSH
January 16, 2010
Imperialism

Definition of imperialism
6 dsof Imperialism
Colonialism
Latin america
Samoa
Hawaii
alaska
Early Imperialism

Definition of Imperialism
Imperialism: the process by which one state possessing superior military strength and more advanced technology imposes its control over the land, resources, and population of a less developed region

6 Ds of Imperialism
Dollars
US started to produce more than it could consume; new colonial markets were needed to expand economy
Businessmen upset about Panic of ‘93 began to invest overseas increasing total national exports from $392 million in 1870 to $1.4 billion in 1900
Defense
Naval bases needed to defend national interests
Pacific islands made excellent naval bases
Democracy
US believed political ideals should be spread to countries with unstable or oppressive governments
Colonized in the name of freedom and liberty
Darwinism
Extended Social Darwinism to nations, saying the strongest nations should colonize and dominate weaker ones
Believed in supremacy of whites over all other races
Destiny
Taking the concept of Manifest Destiny outside the continent
Divinely ordained right of the US to annex other territories
Deity
Spreading Christianity to “savages”
Missionary work in foreign territories

Colonization
Strong navy needed for colonization to protect colonies from foreign nations
US needed market for goods
Britain established itself as number one superpower by colonizing India and huge portions of Africa
France and Russia were also gaining land
United States fell behind when it came to power and world influence because of lack of colonies
Navy eventually became third most powerful by 1900
Colonial divisions of each continent by European powers in 1900

Latin America
In October 1889, James Blaine founded the Pan-American Union
Pan-American Union was very weak and disconnected but it helped unite the stronger countries of North America to some extent
America actively intervened in Latin American affairs and upheld Monroe Doctrine
Almost went to war with Britain over boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana
Roosevelt Corollary amended Monroe Doctrine saying that US could pay off debts of poorer Latin American countries on their behalf

Samoa
Samoa became one of the first targets for American imperialists because of the strategic harbor at Pago Pago
For ten years, US, Germany, and Great Britain eyed Samoa almost going to war over it
In 1899, US and Germany split Samoa and gave Britain other islands in the Pacific

Hawaii
American planters and missionaries first arrive in 1820
Planters establish sugar trade with China under King Kamehameha I
Pearl Harbor opened in 1887
Queen Liluokalani, a powerful nationalist elected in 1891, revolted against American control
Planters appeal to US government which sends Marines to peacefully overthrow the queen
After Liluokalani abdicates, Republic of Hawaii is set up in 1893 and later annexed by President McKinley in 1898
A portrait of the regal Queen Liluokalani; her character was greatly admired by all including President Cleveland who called her overthrow “despicable”

Japanese family living on a Hawaiian sugar plantation
The conditions on plantations in Hawaii were horrible. The vast labor force required planters to hire labor from China and Japan in addition to the native Hawaiians. Disease, liquor, and firearms brought by white settlers eroded the traditions of Hawaiian society along with missionaries who undermined native beliefs and replaced them with Christianity.

Alaska
Secretary of State Seward convinces the Senate to purchase Alaska from Russia in 1867 for 2 cents per acre
Critics ridiculed Alaska calling it Seward’s Folly
Eventually, rich deposits of gold, timber, and fish were found in Alaska sparking several gold rushes; Seward had the last laugh

China
Open door policy
Japan
The Orient

China
At the time, China was a country only by name
In reality, European powers and Japan had split up China into “spheres of influence”
Each sphere could only trade with its parent country and any crimes committed by civilians in the sphere had to be prosecuted by the parent country’s court or appointed judge
Spheres of Influence

Open Door Policy
United States wanted to destroy spheres of influence and open up free trade in China
Open Door Policy failed initially because it was rejected by European powers who wanted to keep their supremacy in their respective sphere
US helped put down Boxer Rebellion to win the favor of the European powers
Finally, Britain and Germany accepted the Open Door Policy the second time around causing the other to follow suit
Subsequently, the US retained its lucrative trade with China

The Boxer Rebellion was instigated by a covert Chinese martial arts group called the Fists of Righteous Harmony. They were strongly nationalist and sought to drive out foreign influence. In 1900, they attacked foreign embassies capturing or killing diplomats. A strong coalition force led by Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States crushed the rebellion. The assistance of the US gained them favor with the European nations causing them to accept the Open Door Policy.
Boxer Rebellion

Japan
Japan was an isolationistcountry
US wanted to trade with Japan
In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry entered Tokyo harbor with powerful battleships to intimidate the Japanese with might and coerce them to open up trade
Japanese had never seen steam powered ships before—they were very afraid
Perry says he will return in 1 year to sign a treaty
In 1854 Japan signs Treaty of Kanagawa granting US trading rights in Japan
Commodore Matthew Perry meeting the Imperial Commissioners at Yokohama

Cuba
Destruction of the Maine
Yellow journalism
“Splendid little war”
Racial tensions
Puerto rico
Spanish-American War

Cuban Revolution
Revolts in Cuba helped spark the Spanish-American War
Cuba was a colony of Spain
Cuban colonists were angry at Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 which had devastated the economy
Spanish General Weyler fought against rebels in 1895 confining many to concentration camps where they were killed
American press exaggerated brutality and blamed all atrocities on Spain to incite the public
Hopes for peace disappeared when a Cuban revolutionary intercepted a letter from Spanish foreign minister Dupuy Lome; the letter dismissed President McKinley as a weak president
Despite the fact that McKinley was actually pretty weak and that Lome resigned a few days later, Americans still wanted war

“The Duty of the Hour”
This cartoon by Louis Dalrymple shows how American intervention is mandatory in Cuba. If the Spanish win, the mass oppression and murder continues; if the rebels win, the country will descend into a state of anarchy. In other words, Cuban civilians will go from the frying pan into the fire. Only the United States can stop Spain and secure Cuba so that it does not dissolve.

Destruction of the Maine
The USS Maine was a ship docked in the harbor at Havana
On Feb. 15, 1898, the Maine blew up spectacularly killing 260 Americans
The American public blamed the Spanish for the explosion in retaliation for the protests against their treatment of Cubans
The blowing up of the Maine was the main cause of the Spanish-American War
When the US Army engaged the Spanish, their battle cry was “Remember the Maine”
It was later found that the Maine actually exploded because of an accident in the boiler room, not by a bomb or torpedo
The Maine blowing up

Yellow Journalism
“Yellow Journalism” referred to the sensational newspapers produced in the late 1800s. These newspapers tried to sway the American public by lavishly exaggerating stories to provide drama and controversy. Advent of color printing helped journalists create more stunning illustrations and comics. Naturally, the cheap prices and exciting stories made the papers sell very well. Pulitzer and Hearst were the biggest “yellow journalists” of the time. They sensationalized the Maine explosion by blaming it on Spanish saboteurs when it was really an accident. They also dramatized the atrocities in Cuba by blaming it all on the Spanish when really, the rebels had a part in it as well.

“Splendid Little War”
The Maine incident and the continued atrocities in Cuba forced President McKinley to go to war
Secretary of State John Hay called the Spanish-American war a “splendid little war” because it lasted only five months but resulted in huge gains for the US
Despite massive inefficiency and disorganization, the American fleet crushed the Spanish fleet at San Juan, Santiago, and Manila
Theodore Roosevelt led a famous charge up Kettle Hill at the Battle of San Juan which won him the Medal of Honor
460 Americans died in battle while 5200 died from disease and bad food
Roosevelt, who was a strong imperialist, ordered General Dewey to invade the Philippines and capture it for the Americans
Cuban rebels had severely weakened the Spanish so it was easy for American troops to crush them
The war officially ended in December with the Treaty of Paris; Spain ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the US
A famous painting of Colonel Roosevelt leading the Rough Riders cavalry unit up Kettle Hill

Racial Tensions
African-Americans were determined to prove their loyalty by fighting the Spanish
They were unaccustomed to the rigid segregation in Florida causing riots
In Cuba itself, whites took credit for heroic black regiments on the battlefront
Blacks were fully integrated into the Cuban rebel army causing American blacks to realize the injustice being done to them

philippines
Debate over Philippines
Philippine war
Puerto rico
Cuba
Postwar Period

Philippines
Imperialists and Anti-Imperialists were split over whether to annex the Philippines
The US paid $20 million to Spain in order to add the Philippines to the ceded territories in the Treaty of Paris
Election of 1900 saw McKinley win over Bryan again
Bryan was a fervent anti-imperialist, but since he lost, McKinley decided to go ahead and annex the Philippines

Annexation
Returning Philippines to Spain
Imperialists such as Roosevelt believed colonies reinvigorate nations
Very easy to annex because military was already positioned on the island
US could dominate Oriental trade with a base in the Philippines
Spread Christianity to natives
US was the only power that did not possess colonies
Returning the islands to Spain would be “cowardly and dishonorable”
Granting Filipinos independence would be irresponsible because the natives were unfit to govern themselves
Believed imperialism was immoral
Fear of introducing “inferior” Asian foreigners to America
Fear that outsourcing would steal jobs from American workers
Sugar growers feared unwelcome competition
Large standing army and aggressive foreign policy required to hold Philippines might undermine democracy
Powerful magnates such as Carnegie opposed annexation
Debate Over Philippines

Philippine War
The conflict was one of the least remembered American wars
Filipinos accused America of hypocrisy and revolted under the strong leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo
Brutal guerilla warfare and massacres by both sides left 220,000 Filipinos and 4300 American Marines dead
Soldiers often killed unarmed POVs en masse and stormed villages killing men, women, and children
Fighting ended four years later in 1901 with the capture of Aguinaldo who peacefully surrendered and retired
Philippines became stable and increasingly autonomous until their independence granted by the US in 1946

Puerto Rico
Annexed by Spain in 1521
Diseases soon killed off most of the natives; the rest became slaves to coffee and sugar planters
Lares Rebellion of 1868 was the first revolt but it was crushed
After war, US made Puerto Rico a commonwealth with American governor and bicameral legislature with Foraker Act of 1900
Jones Act of 1917 made all Puerto Ricans citizens
To this day, Puerto Ricans are split on whether to accept statehood or fight for independence

Cuba
Cuba was the hardest colony to govern
Constant revolts against “Yankee imperialism” required a standing army
Platt Amendment passed by Congress in 1901 attempted to force more restrictions on Cuba by banning it from making treaties and giving the US permission to build a naval base at Guantanamo
However, after a few years, Cuba stabilized and became an extremely prosperous and wealthy territory until the Revolution of 1958

THE END

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American Imperialism

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