Becoming a World Power, 1898 1917 (Part II)

1. Chapter 3
BECOMING A
WORLD POWER,
1898-1917 (PART II)

2. CHINA AND THE “OPEN DOOR”
 Except for the Philippines and Guam, the United States
made no effor t to take control of Asian lands.
 Such a policy could have caused a war with other world powers
already established in the area.
 Additionally, Americans were not prepared to accept the financial
and political costs of Asian conquest.
 The United States chose a diplomatic rather than a
military strategy to achieve its foreign policy objectives.
 For China, in 1899 and 1900, it proposed the policy of
the “open door.”
 The United States was concerned that the actions of other world
powers in China would block its own efforts to open up China’s
markets to American goods.

3. CHINA AND THE “OPEN DOOR”
 Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia, and France each desired
their own piece of China, where they could monopolize
trade, exploit cheap labor, and establish military bases.
 By the 1890s, each of these powers was building a sphere
of inf luence.
 A sphere of influence is any area in which one nation wields
dominant power over another or others.
 To prevent China’s breakup and to preser ve American
economic access to the whole of China, McKinley’s
secretar y of state, John Hay, sent “open door” notes to
the major world powers.

4. THE
GREAT
POWERS
This French
pol i t ical
car toon
depicts China
as a pie about
to be car ved
up by Queen
Victor ia (Great
Br i tain) ,
Kaiser Wi lhelm
I I (Germany) ,
Tsar Nicholas
I I (Rus s ia) ,
Mar ianne
(France) , and a
samurai
( Japan) whi le a
Chinese
mandar in
helples s ly
looks on.

6. CHINA AND THE “OPEN DOOR”
 The notes asked each power to open its Chinese sphere
of inf luence to the merchants of other nations and to
grant them reasonable harbor fees and railroad rates.
 Additionally, Hay asked each power to respect China’s
sovereignty by enforcing Chinese tariff duties in the
ter ritory it controlled.
 Each world power indicated their support for the Open Door policy
but refused to implement it until all of the other powers had done.
 Hay took the optimistic approach by declaring that all of
the world powers had agreed to observe his Open Door
principles.
 He regarded their approval as “final and definitive.”

7. CHINA AND THE “OPEN DOOR”
 T he first challenge to Hay’s policy came from the
Chinese.
 In May 1900, a Chinese organization, commonly refer red
to as the “Boxers,” sparked an uprising to rid China of
all “foreign devils” and foreign inf luences.
 Hundreds of Europeans were killed, as were many Chinese men and
women who had converted to Christianity.
 In response, the imperial powers raised an expeditionary
forces to rescue international diplomats and to punish the
Chinese rebels.
 The force, which included 5,000 American soldiers, rushed over
from the Philippines, broke the Beijing siege in August, and ended
the Boxer Rebellion soon thereafter.

8. CHINA AND THE “OPEN DOOR”
 Fearing that other major powers would use the rebellion
as a reason to demand greater control over Chinese
ter ritory, Hay sent out a second round of notes.
 The second notes asked each power to respect China’s political
independence and territorial integrity, in addition to guaranteeing
unrestricted access to its market.
 Additionally, the world powers requested that the Chinese
government pay them reparations for their property and
personnel losses during the Boxer Rebellion.
 Hay convinced them to accept payment in cash rather than in
territory.
 By keeping China intact and open to free trade, the
United States had achieved a major foreign policy victory.
 Americans began to see themselves as China’s savior as well .

9. A DAY AT THE FAIR
On September 5, William McKinley and First Lady Ida
McKinley rode a train to Niagara Falls and attended an
evening fireworks display at the Pan-American
Exposition.
 McKinley delivered a very well received speech, the last of which he
would ever give.
 In the late afternoon of September 6, 1901, President
McKinley attended a public reception held in the Temple
of Music at the Exposition fair grounds.
 McKinley would be greeting a crowd of thousands of adoring
citizens.
 He insisted on shaking the hands of as many citizens as humanly
possible for the time.

12. A DAY AT THE FAIR
 The President was well guarded by Secret Service agents,
Buffalo police officers, and Exposition security; yet, in
the reception receiving line was a major concern:
 McKinley’s wide exposure to such a large crowd.
 Standing to either side of the President was his personal
secretary George B. Cor telyou and President of the
Exposition, John G. Milburn.
 Cortelyou and Milburn were assisting in introducing the President to
the citizens eager to shake the hand of their beloved and revered
President.
 Ten minutes into the reception, McKinley was approached
by a man spor ting what was observed by security and
onlookers to be a harmless bandage over his right hand.

13. A DAY AT THE FAIR
McKinley offered a greeting with his left hand, which was
slapped aside by twenty-eight year old laborer and
professed anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who shot twice into
the President’s body from a revolver hidden beneath the
handkerchief.
 The assassin’s weapon of choice was a snub nose .32 caliber Iver -
Johnson revolver.
 Attempting to fire a third shot, Czolgosz was knocked to
the ground by James B. Parker, who pummeled Czolgosz
and broke his nose.
 Czolgosz was secured immediately and ar rested.
 When the crowd understood the magnitude of events, cr y’s roared to
“lynch him!” while he was drag ged away by authorities.

15. LEON
CZOLGOSZ
• Czolgosz wa s
g r ea t l y
inf luenced by
ana r chi s t
Emma
Goldman.
• Wi th an
increa s ing
appet i te for
r adical i sm,
Czolgosz
intended to
ful f i l l hi s new
vi s ion by
emul a t ing
Ga etano
Br es ci , the
a s s a s s in of
King Umber to
I of I ta l y.

17. A DAY AT THE FAIR
Weak and bleeding profusely from the abdomen,
McKinley’s only thoughts were that of his wife Ida.
 As Cortelyou held the President in his arms he whispered, “My
wife… be careful, Cortelyou, how you tell her. Oh, be careful.”
McKinley was then rushed to the Exposition emergency
room by way of an electric ambulance and treated for his
wounds.
 Unfor tunately, the hospital was not properly equipped for
such a surgery and the most experienced surgeon was
away performing an operation in another town.
 Surgery was performed by Dr. Matthew Mann at 5:20 p.m., who
operated with little light and without the use of modern technology.

19. DR.
MATTHEW
MANN
For many yea r s,
cont rover s y
sur rounded the
qua l i ty of ca r e
given to
Pr es ident
McKinley,
pa r t i cula r ly
wi th r espect to
hi s deci s ion to
per form
immedi ate
surg er y on the
Expos i t ion
g rounds r a ther
than
t r anspor t ing
him to the new
oper at ing
amphi thea ter a t
Buf fa lo Gener a l
Hospi tal .

21. A DAY AT THE FAIR
One bullet hit McKinley’s right sternum and the other
was embedded deep in his abdomen.
 The bullet resting at the surface was extracted with little effort.
 The other bullet, which tore portions of McKinley’s stomach,
pancreas, and kidney, could not be found.
Wor ried that a continued search would strain the
President’s body too much, Dr. Mann and his team of
surgeons decided to discontinue the search and sewed up
what they could.
 McKinley was moved to Milbur n’s house where he seemed
to be recovering well.
 After the shock of the shooting, the nation was excited to hear the
good news about the president's well -being.

23. A DAY AT THE FAIR
 It was thought by all of the President’s care-givers that
McKinley was doing well and would make a complete and
timely recovery.
 With such optimistic predictions for McKinley’s full recover y, Vice -
President Theodore Roosevelt left for the remote Adirondack
mountains with his wife Edith and children.
 Roosevelt was hundreds of miles away, deep in the
wilderness, when McKinley took an unexpected turn for
the worse on Friday, September 13.
 Hand delivered telegrams were brought up the mountains to
Roosevelt informing him of the President’s day -to-day declining
health.

24. A DAY AT THE FAIR
 The final telegram to reach Roosevelt read:
 "THE PRESIDENT APPEARS TO BE DYING AND MEMBERS
OF THE CABINET IN BUFFALO THINK YOU SHOULD LOSE
NO TIME COMING."
Wasting no time as requested, Roosevelt left the mountain
cabin around midnight.
 Forced to leave his family behind, Roosevelt swiftly began the
sixteen mile trek down the mountain by horse and buggy through
heavy mud, rain, and darkness.
 Roosevelt was still hours away from reaching the train
station when his presidential aspirations came to fruition.

25. A DAY AT THE FAIR
 Having done everything medically possible, President
William McKinley died at 2:15 a.m. on September 14,
1901, of gangrene.
 As the shocking news spread over the wires, a great sadness befell
the entire nation.
 Roosevelt lear ned of McKinley’s death upon ar riving at
the train station at 5:22 a.m.
 His personal secretary, William Loeb, Jr., handed him a
telegram sent by Secretary of State John Hay that read:
 “THE PRESIDENT DIED AT TWO-FIFTEEN THIS MORNING.”

26. A DAY AT THE FAIR
 Roosevelt boarded the train, headed to the Milburn house
in Buffalo to pay his respects to the President and meet
with the Cabinet.
 Roosevelt left the Milburn home to go to the home of his
personal friend, Ansley Wilcox, where the emergency
inauguration was being ar ranged.
 A little more than twenty-four hours after McKinley’s death,
Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office and became the
youngest President of the United States at the age of forty -two.
 On September 15, the President’s funeral train traveled
from Buffalo, New York to Washington D.C., then
Canton, Ohio where he was buried at the Westlawn
Cemetery.

27. A DAY AT THE FAIR
 On September 23, Czolg osz’s trial beg an.
 The assassination of President James Garfield and trial of his
assassin Charles Guiteau was examined extensively for guidance.
 The prosecution won the insanity debate and proved
within three days that Czolgosz was of sound mind when
he shot the President.
 In his written confession, Czolgosz stated:
 “I killed President McKinley because I done my duty. I didn’t believe
one man should have so much service and another man should have
none.”
 The jury deliberated for a mere thir ty minutes, convicted
him of first degree murder and sentenced him to death.

30. A DAY AT THE FAIR
On October 29, 1901, at 7:12 a.m. Leon Czolgosz was
electrocuted at Auburn State Prison.
 His last words were:
 “I am not sorr y. I did this for the working people. My only regret is
that I haven’t been able to see my father.”
 Having vehemently denounced the church, no religious
service was performed.
 For security pur poses, Czolg osz’s remains were not given
to the family for burial.
 He instead was buried on the Auburn, New York prison grounds.

32. THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY
 Ensuring American dominance in the Western
Hemisphere ranked high on Roosevelt’s list of foreign
policy objectives.
 In 1904, he issued a “corollar y” to the Monroe Doctrine,
which had asser ted the right of the United States to keep
European powers from meddling in hemispheric affairs.
 In mathematics, a corollary is an addition to a theorem.
 In his corollary, Roosevelt declared that the United States
possessed a fur ther right:
 The right to intervene in the domestic affairs of nations in the
Western Hemisphere to suppress disorder and prevent European
intervention.

33. THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY
 The Roosevelt corollary formalized a policy that the
United States had already deployed against Cuba and
Puer to Rico in 1900 and 1901.
 Subsequent events in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic had
further convinced Roosevelt of the need to expand the scope of
American intervention in hemispheric affairs.
 Both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic were
controlled by cor rupt dictators and had defaulted on
debts owed to European banks.
 Their delinquency prompted a German-led naval blockade and
bombardment of Venezuela in 1902.
 Additionally, Italy and France threatened an invasion of the
Dominican Republic in 1903.

34. THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY
 The United States, under Roosevelt, did not hesitate to
intervene to make sure that loans were repaid and social
stability was restored.
 By 1903, the United States had forced the German navy to retreat
from the Venezuelan coast.
 By 1905, the United States had assumed control of the Dominican
Republic’s nation collections and refinanced their national debt
through American bankers.
 Rarely in Roosevelt’s tenure did the United States show
such a willingness to help people establish democratic
institutions or achieve social justice.
 When the Cubans rebelled against their puppet government in 1906,
the United States sent in the Marines to silence them.

35. ROOSEVELT
COROLLARY
This pol it ical
car toon
depicts
Theodore
Roosevel t
using the
Monroe
Doct rine to
keep
European
powers out
of the
Dominican
Republ ic.

36. THE PANAMA CANAL
 Roosevelt’s varied interests in Latin America embraced
the building of a canal across Central America.
 The president had long believed that the nation needed a way of
moving ships quickly from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean,
and back again.
 Central America’s nar row width, especially in its souther n
half, made it the logical place to build a canal.
 In fact, a French company had obtained land rights and had begun
construction of a canal across the Colombian province of Panama in
the 1880s.
 By 1901, however, the French Panama Company had gone bankrupt.
 Roosevelt was not deter red by the French failure.

38. THE PANAMA CANAL
 Roosevelt instructed his advisors to develop plans for a
canal across Nicaragua.
 The Panamanian route chosen by the French was much shorter and
was nearly forty percent complete but the French company
demanded $109 million for its rights.
 In 1902, however, the company reduced the price to $40
million, a sum that Congress considered appropriate.
 The agreement, formalized in the Hay-Her ran Treaty,
gave the United States a six-mile-wide strip across
Panama on which to build the canal.
 Colombia would receive a one-time $10 million payment and yearly
fee of $250,000.

39. THE PANAMA CANAL
 The Colombian legislature rejected the proposed payment
as insufficient and began to stall negotiations.
 The solution presented to Roosevelt was simple:
 If Colombia stood in the way, just make a new country that would
be more agreeable.
 Led by a former director of the French canal company
with U.S. Army assistance, Panamanians revolted against
Colombia in November 1903.
 The U.S.S. Nashville steamed south and pointed its guns in
Colombia’s direction and Panama was born with the U.S. Navy as its
midwife.

40. THE PANAMA CANAL
 Recognized faster than any new government had ever bee,
Panama’s regime received:
 $10 million, a yearly fee of $250,000, and guarantees of
independence.
 In return the United States got the rights to a ten-mile
strip across the country – the Canal Zone.
 Since the zone comprised most of Panama and would be
guarded by American troops, the United States effectively
controlled the country.
 By 1904, the first wave of Americans were in Panama.
 From day one, the work was plagued by the same
problems the French had encountered:
 tropical heat, the jungle, and the mosquitoes.

41. THE PANAMA CANAL
 One of the few positive results of America’s Cuban
experience was the discovery that mosquitoes spread
yellow fever.
 The disease had been eliminated from Havana during the American
occupation.
 There were still plenty of people who thought the idea
that mosquitoes car ried disease was nonsense and they
kept U.S. Army doctor, William Gorgas, from car rying
out his plan of effective mosquito control.
 John Stevens, who came to the project in 1905, gave the
dig the organization that it desperately needed and Dr.
Gorgas a free hand to eliminate yellow fever and malaria.

42. DR.
WILLIAM
GORGAS
• Bor n ne a r
Mobi le, AL,
Gorg a s
cont r a ct ed
y e l low f eve r a t
For t Brown,
Texa s.
• Hi s r e cove r y
made him
immune to i t s
e f f e ct s, whi ch
made him the
l ike l y choi c e to
s o l v e P a n a m a ’s
outbre ak.
• Hi s a c t ions
a l lowed for hi s
promot ion to
Surg eon
Gene r a l of the
Army.

43. THE PANAMA CANAL
 Unfor tunately, Jim Crow came to Panama as well.
 The name Jim Crow is often used to describe the segregation laws,
rules, and customs which arose after Reconstruction (1877) and
continued until the mid-1960s.
Most of the laborers were blacks from the Caribbean.
 They were housed and fed separately, and paid in silver while the
whites were paid in gold.
 Additionally, the death rate by accident and disease for blacks was
five times that of whites in Panama.
Without explanation, Stevens left the dig, and was
replaced by army engineer George W. Goethals.
 Taking over in 1907, Goethals completed the canal ahead of
schedule and under budget, despite all challenge that the canal
posed.

44. GEORGE W.
GOETHALS
• Pr ior to hi s
work in
Panama ,
Goetha l s wa s
pl a ced in
cha rg e of the
Mus cl e Shoa l s
cana l
cons t r uct ion
on the
Tennes see
River.
• Addi t ional ly,
he bui l t cana l s
nea r
Cha t tanoog a ,
Tennes see and
a t Colber t
Shoal s,
Al abama .

49. THE PANAMA CANAL
 First planned under William McKinley, aggressively begun
by Theodore Roosevelt, car ried out by William Howard
Taft, the Panama Canal was completed in 1914 by
Woodrow Wilson.
 Ironically, the grand plans for a gala opening were canceled.
 War in Europe was looming and the news of the canal’s
completion was lost in preparations for the coming
hostilities.