6. A “NEW” FRONTIER
Frederick Jackson
Turner’s Frontier Thesis
The Frontier
• alleviated overpopulation
• provided cheap or free
land
• offered new economic
opportunities
Many asked:
What should be done
when the West is gone?
7. BUILDING A
MODERN NAVY
Alfred Thayer Mahan wrote The Influence
of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783
• prosperous people of the past had built
large fleets for trade
• a Navy to protect merchant ships and
defend trade with other countries is crucial
for development
Mahan’s book was a best seller and built
public support for a Navy. Two
senators, Lodge and Beveridge, pushed
the cause in the Senate.
By the 1890’s, business leaders wanted
new markets overseas and many thought it
was America’s destiny to dominate the
world.
MAHAN
8. AMERICAN EXPANSION
IN THE PACIFIC
America sought out
new places to trade,
and the Pacific
offered a great
market.
Japan resisted trade
with America, but
gave in after
Commodore Matthew
Perry's naval
expedition in 1853.
THIS INLUENCED
JAPAN. By the
1890’s Japan had a
Navy and were
building their own
empire in Asia.
10. “AN AREA WHERE A FOREIGN NATION CONTROLS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUCH AS RAILROAD
CONSTRUCTION AND MINING” (APPLEBY
2008, PAGE 504)
SPHERES
OF
INFLUENCE
11. YOU RECEIVED A LETTER
It’s time to role play!
• You’re going to be put in groups.
• Each person in your group will have a
different country to play.
• LISTEN POLITELY
• TOLERATE and COMPROMISE
• You will have questions to answer on
your own first and a reflection to
complete at the end of class.
• Each member of your group will fill out
a worksheet for a grade.
• Be polite, flexible, and malleable in
thought. You have a role to play, but HAY
compromise is important!
12. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU
WANT….NOW TRY TO GET IT
IT’S TIME FOR A
MEETING OF THE MINDS!
I will monitor the time and
let you know when to
move on.
• About 1 minute for
each country to
present it points and
goals.
• About 3 minutes to
come up with a plan
together and write it
down.
14. OPEN DOOR POLICY
1. Within its sphere of influence, each
power agreed not to interfere with any
existing business interests or port
treaties of other powers.
2. Existing Chinese tariffs would remain
unchanged in all spheres of influence
and would be collected by the Chinese
government.
3. Within each sphere of influence, harbor
fees and railroad charges would be the
same for all countries, giving no special
rates to the countries whose businesses
owned and operated the harbors and
railroads.
What is this? Flag with 51 StarsWhat’s been up in Puerto Rico?Puerto Ricans voted Tuesday to adjust the relationship between the territory and the United States and pursue statehood, advancing the quest of many on the island to become the nation's 51st state. In a two-part referendum, voters supported abandoning the status quo and embracing statehood — the first time such an effort has received a majority. President Barack Obama pledged in 2011 to respect “a clear decision” of the people of Puerto Rico on statehood. It is unclear if the 60 percent margin on Tuesday meets that test. Under Article IV the Constitution, Congress would have to approve statehood for the territory — though it is not clear where congressional leaders stand on the issue. A White House spokesperson, in addition to spokespeople for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House John Boehner, did not respond to a request for comment early Wednesday.HOW IS THIS LIKE OR NOT LIKE HAWAII?THINK IN YOUR HEAD…if you were Hawaiian in 1898 would you have wanted to be annexed? (THUMBS UP OR DOWN) WHY?THINK IN YOUR HEAD…if you were a Puerto Rican right now would you want to become a state? (THUMBS UP OR DOWN) WHY?What does a larger country provide? protectionWhat does a larger country need to provide protection? A NAVY AND A SYSTEM TO TRADE PEACEFULLY
Lead into today….Wednesdays Note Sheet…let’s brainstorm some pros and cons quicklyPROSincreased our influence in world affairsincreased our economy with new markets and resources spread sense of democracyCONSEXPENSIVE!IntrusivePotential for war
Process this cartoon. We are really looking at 1899 here.Who is represented in this cartoon?What are some symbols?What do they represent?What do you suppose is the illustrators view on America’s growth?What do those hands mean?What do you suppose “America” would look like now? (I think I’m going to have this be an exit ticket of sorts, students could describe or draw an Uncle Sam of 2012)
Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier ThesisThe Frontier Thesis was a factor that accounted for the course of American imperialism because it showed the many of the hopes and desires that Americans possessed during the last decade of the nineteenth century. In 1892, Frederick Jackson Turner, a prominent historian of the American West – FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, stated that frontier and westward expansion served many purposes. (LIST PURPOSES)Turner left unanswered the question of what the United States would do with the closure of the frontier. (WE HAVE ALL THIS LAND….but where do we move on)American actions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century provided a new framework for meeting this challenge. HOW DOES A NATION ABLE TO DO THIS? WHAT DO THEY NEED? A NAVY
From the start, America has always expanded…continually moving west. When all the land west is gone, where should we turn? ASIA! SOUTH AMERICA! European Imperialism threatened America’s security.Alfred Thayer Mahan and Naval TheoryAMERICA NEEDS MODERN SHIPS AND NAVAL BASES TO SUCCEED IN THE WORLD – domestic trade will not cut it anymoreCongress approved the building of three warships with more to follow…..as we will seeHAS AMERICA STOPPED THIS SPENDING? NO – In 2012 the US spent 711 Billion Dollars on its military The next closest country was China at 143 Billion…..AMERICA SPENDS A LOT! TODAY - 41% of what the entire worlds military spending is AMERICAS THIS SPENDING AND OBSESSION WITH THE MILITARY AND ITS ADVANTAGES STARTED HERE…..
Even before imperialist ideas became popular, American businesses had begun sending ships to trade in East Asia.Japan’s rulers felt that continued trade with the West would ruin their culture. America forced trade with Japan in the 1850’s after Matthew Perry should them our naval power. THIS INFLUENCED JAPAN. By the 1890’s, the Japanese had a powerful Navy and had begun building their own empire in Asia.
The pacific was not the only place America focused it’s interests. – ITS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT “THE AMERICAS” SINGLED ITSELF OUT…..”TOGETHER”The US bought raw materials from Latin America, but most of the machines used to extract the raw materials came from Europe. Business leaders wanted to increase the sale of American products in the region and wanted the Europeans to understand that the US was the dominant power in the region.Growing Interest in Latin AmericaDuring the 1890s, American foreign policy came to include a growing interest in Latin America. The Cleveland administration interpreted the Monroe Doctrine strictly, using it to justify limitations on American expansion in Hawaii while at the same time establishing the United States’s hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. In 1895, the president threw American support behind Venezuela in a dispute between it and the English colony of British Guinea. The Venezuelan government insisted that the disagreement be submitted to an arbitration board. President Cleveland, invoking the Monroe Doctrine, insisted that Great Britain submit to such an arrangement. This action built international and domestic goodwill for the United States because it appeared that the U.S. supported Venezuela’s rights against a great Western power, but the British prime minister and foreign secretary rejected any calls for arbitration and alleged the Monroe Doctrine was not applicable under international law. The Cleveland Administration voiced outrage at the Prime Minister’s response, insisting that Great Britain submit to arbitration.
SO YOU HAVE SHIPS…and SOME INFLUENCE ABROAD…but not as much as every one else…AND YOU WANT MORE….CHINA WAS AMERICAS GREATEST WANT!THIS WILL BE THE SIMULATIONDEFINITION - THIS WAS WHAT WAS GOING ON IN CHINA – pass out sheet…..China emerged as a major foreign policy concern for the McKinley administration, especially as Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan, among others, scrambled throughout the 1890s to establish their own "spheres of influence" in that nation. Fearful that the Europeans and Japanese might close Chinese ports to U.S. commerce, McKinley authorized Secretary of State John Hay to issue an "Open Door" note on China. T
YOU ARE GOING TO PLAY THE ROLE OF A COUNTRY WHO HAD A SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IN CHINA……and in a group you will try to come to a solution as to how to deal with trade in China – HAND OUT ROLESTHE OPEN DOOR NOTE expressed the American desire to place all commercial nations on an equal footing in China. The letter declared U.S. support for a non-colonized and independent China – but really a China that it could trade in.TEACH THE SOCIAL SKILLS – listening posture and tolerating differing opinionsYOU ARE ALL GOING TO FILL OUT A WORKSHEET…and it will be gradedANSWER FIRST QUESTIONS – raise your hand if you have a question or concern….read your role…do it….and look at the map…..
EXPLAIN.
If we have to end here…that should be OK….The others countries didn’t act…and America saw that not saying anything was saying yes.First, Hay sought the approval of the British and Japanese Governments, both of which considered the American suggestion to be in their interests, although both conditioned their acceptance of the terms on the agreement of all the powers involved. France followed the British and Japanese example. This British, Japanese, and French endorsement of Hay’s suggestion pressured Germany and Russia to adhere to the terms of the note.Nevertheless, Hay declared that all the powers had accepted the ideas with responses that were “final and definitive.”ONLY IF THERE IS AMBLE TIME:In 1900, however, internal events in China threatened the idea of the Open Door. An anti-foreign movement known as the Boxer Rebellion, named for the martial artists that led the movement, gathered strength, and began attacking foreign missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity. With the backing of Empress Dowager Cixi (Tz’uHsi) and the imperial army, the Boxer Rebellion turned into a violent conflict that claimed the lives of hundreds of foreign missionaries and thousands of Chinese nationals. As the Boxers descended upon Beijing, foreign nationals living in that city--including embassy staff--clustered together in the besieged foreign legations, and called upon their home governments for assistance.With foreign armies fighting their way from the Chinese coast to rescue their citizens in the capital, in some cases securing their own concessions and areas of special interest along the way, the principle of the Open Door seemed to be in grave danger. On July 3, 1900, Hay circulated another message to the foreign powers involved in China, this time noting the importance of respecting the “territorial and administrative integrity” of China. Although the goal was to prevent the powers from using the Boxer Rebellion as an excuse to carve China into individual colonies, the Open Door Circular requested no formal agreement or assurances from the other powers.Together, the Open Door Notes served the important purpose of outlining U.S. policy toward China and expressing U.S. hopes for cooperation with the other foreign powers with a stake in the region. They were of lasting importance in U.S.-East Asian relations, and contributed to the idea of a Sino-American “special relationship.” However, because they were non-binding, the Notes did not prevent the United States--or any other power--from one day seeking Chinese territory, or acting in any way that was preferential to their own interests, even at the expense of the Chinese Government. Hay himself even briefly considered a seizure of Chinese territory, although he quickly rejected the idea. Although the Notes were not binding, Hay’s successors nonetheless adhered to the policy of maintaining the Open Door in China. The articulation of the Open Door policy represented the growing American interest and involvement in East Asia at the turn of the century.Ironically, Hay articulated the Open Door policy at a time when the U.S. Government was doing everything in its power to close the door on Chinese immigration to the United States. This effectively stifled opportunities for Chinese merchants and workers in the United States. (See Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts.)
