2. RULING PUERTO RICO
• Military Rule:
• US military occupied the island during the Spanish-American
War to protect them.
• Return to civil government:
• Congress passed the Foraker Act (1900) ending military rule
and set up a civil government
• Gave president the power to choose governor and member of
upper legislature
• 1901 insular cases- the Supreme court ruled the constitution
did not automatically apply to people in acquired
territories.
• They were extended the right to citizenship and the ability to
vote for elect both houses of their legislature.
3. CUBA AND THE U.S.
• American Soldiers:
• Cuba was officially independent, but was occupied by U.S.
troops.
• Allowed Spanish officials to remain in office
• Provided food and clothing for thousands of
families, helped farmers put land back into cultivation, and
organized elementary schools
• Improved sanitation and medical research eliminating
yellow fever
4. PLATT AMENDMENT
• In 1900 the new Cuban government wrote a
constitution for an independent Cuba.
• Did not specify a relationship between Cuba and the U.S.
• U.S. insisted Cuba add the Platt Amendment or they would
not withdraw
• Cuba could not make treaties that might limit its independence
or permit a foreign power to control any part of its territory
• The U.S. reserved the right to intervene in Cuba
• Cuba was not to go into debt
• The U.S. could buy or lease land on the island for naval stations
and refueling stations
• Cuba became a U.S. protectorate
5. FILIPINOS REBEL
• Philippine-American War:
• 1899 Filipinos lead by Emilio Aguinaldo revolted
• U.S. forced them to live in designated zones where poor
sanitation and starvation killed thousands
• Filipinos were seen as inferior- as a result many of the African
American soldiers who did not wish to spread prejudice
deserted to the Filipinos side.
• Took 3 years to put down rebellion- 20,000 Filipino rebels
died
• U.S. set up a government similar to that in Puerto
Rico and the Philippines moved toward
independence in 1946
6. FOREIGN INFLUENCE IN CHINA
• Open Door Policy:
• Secretary of State John Hay proposed policy in 1899
• Proposed that imperialist leaders share their trading rights
with the U.S. creating an “open door”
• Boxer Rebellion:
• Boxers wanted to get rid of foreigners in China
• Boxers killed hundreds of missionaries and Chinese converts
• Troops from Britain, France, Germany and Japan joined U.S.
in putting down the rebellion
7. PROTECTING U.S. RIGHTS
• The U.S. feared that European nations would use success
of the boxer defeat to take control of China.
• Hay issued a second set of open door notes announcing
that the U.S. would “safeguard for the world the principle
of equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese
Empire”
• Reflected 3 American beliefs about the U.S. economy
• Growth of the economy depended on exports
• U.S. had a right to intervene abroad to keep foreign markets
open
• Feared that the closing of an area to American products,
citizens, or ideas threatened U.S. survival
8. IMPACT OF U.S. TERRITORIAL GAINS
• McKinley was re-elected as president showing U.S.
support for his imperialist policies
• Anti-Imperialist League was formed with some of
the most prominent people in the U.S.
• Believed it was wrong to rule over other people without their
consent
