Causes of American Imperialism

• Search for new markets

• Nationalism and European competition

• Naval ports

• Missionaries

• A belief in cultural superiority

• Manifest Destiny/closing of the frontier

• Jingoists

Justifications for Imperialism• Economic Benefits - opened new markets

for U.S. goods• Expansive Military - national “greatness”

demanded expansion– Mahan advocated strong Navy

• National Superiority - duty to “uplift” those “lesser” peoples, Social Darwinism– Ethnocentric

Yellow Journalism• Sensationalizing NYC Newspapers• Randolph Heart’s Journal• Joseph Pulitzer’s World• Based on a comic strip “The Yellow Kid”• Faced circulation battle• Exploited the Cuban crisis:

– detailed Spanish atrocities such as “Butcher” Weyler – The explosion of the Maine– The exploits of the Rough Riders

TR’s Resume

• Harvard StudentHarvard Student• Author Author The Naval War of 1812The Naval War of 1812• NY State AssemblyNY State Assembly• Deputy sheriff, hunter in DakotasDeputy sheriff, hunter in Dakotas• Civil Service CommissionerCivil Service Commissioner• NYC Police commissioner board presidentNYC Police commissioner board president• Assistant Secretary of the Navy - 1897-1898• Col. Of “Rough Riders”Col. Of “Rough Riders”• Governor of NY• US Vice President• US President• Bull Moose Candidate 1912• Expeditionary leader

“Or was it Assistant TO the Secretary of the Navy?”

San Juan Hill, 1898

TR and San Juan Hill• For his actions, Roosevelt was nominated for the Medal of Honor, which was

later disapproved. As historian wrote, "In later years Roosevelt would describe the Battle of San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898, as 'the great day of my life' and 'my crowded hour.'.... (but) Malaria and other diseases now killed more troops than had died in battle. In August, Roosevelt and other officers demanded that the soldiers be returned home.“

After return to civilian life, Roosevelt preferred to be known as "Colonel Roosevelt" or "The Colonel." As a moniker, "Teddy" remained much more popular with the public, despite the fact he found it vulgar and called it "an outrageous impertinence." Political friends and others working closely with Roosevelt customarily addressed him by his rank

• Medal of Honor• In 2001, Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his

actions. He was the first and, to date, is the only President of the United States to be awarded America's highest military honor, and the only person in history to receive both his nation's highest honor for military valor and the world's foremost prize for peace

Results/Legacy of Spanish American War

• US military• Great White Fleet• “world stage”• Territories—PR, Guam, Philippines• TR’s rise• Expectations of future wars• Yellow Journalism—role of media in war• Roosevelt Corollary

Great White Fleet

USS Olympia- Dewey’s flagship

Panama Canaland the Roosevelt Corollary

Roosevelt Corollary (To the Monroe Doctrine)

•US has a right to intervene in the affairs of Latin America

•US serves as an international police force to maintain stability in the Western hemisphere

•AKA the “Big Stick” policy: the US navy was TR’s “stick.”

Panama Canal (1914)•TR negotiates the Hay - Bunau-Varilla Treaty with Panama giving the US a perpetual lease to the canal zone. (Returned to Panama in 1999)

1914 Dredges at the Culebra Cut

Dollar Diplomacy (Taft)

•Investments, instead of the US military, are used to influence affairs in Latin America and the Far East.

Hawaii

• American Interest: Competition, Sugar, Protestant missionary work, whaling station

• McKinley tariff raises price of sugar• Queen Liliuokalani tried to prevent • 1893 Revolt led by planters (Sanford B.

Dole) • Status: Territory by 1898• Statehood- 1959

Philippines

• Spanish driven out by Admiral Dewey during Spanish-American War

• Philippines as springboard to China and Naval base

• US also received Puerto Rico and Guam as result of peace treaty

Boxer Rebellion in China (1900)- Chinese secret society destroys American property

- China forced to pay the US an indemnity

June 9, 1900

China never wanted foreigners any more than foreigners wanted Chinamen, and on this question I am with the Boxers every time. The Boxer is a patriot. He loves his country better than he does the countries of other people. I wish him success. The Boxer believes in driving us out of his country. I am a Boxer too….

- Mark Twain; Berkeley Lyceum, New York, November 23, 1900

Open Door Policy: China

•Negotiated by John Hay

•Free and open trade in China for all nations; “spheres of influence”

•China will not be divided up by imperialist powers

US Open Door policy towards China

Uncle Sam: "I'm Out For Commerce Not Conquest!”November 18, 1899

http://www.wwnorton.com/worlds/images/map9_2.jpg

Wilson and Latin America

•Wilson was an idealist, as opposed to the realism of TR

•No more US territory by conquest: the moral high ground

•But Wilson orders the marines into Haiti and the Dominican Republic!

Wilson and Mexico•Wilson’s major foreign policy preoccupation before WWI

•Rebellion and civil war in Mexico

•Wilson tried to:

•Promote good government in Mexico City: idealism

•Protect the large US investments in Mexico

•Safeguard US citizens in Mexico or living on its border

•US military occupied Vera Cruz (1914) to back General Carranza, whom Wilson supported.

•“I am going to teach the South American republics to elect good men.”

Turmoil in Mexico; US invaded!

•Civil war in Mexico; bandit chieftain Pancho Villa invades New Mexico, burning the town of Columbus.

•Wilson sends Gen. Pershing and 12,000 soldiers into Mexico to punish Pancho Villa

•Villa evades capture and stages a raid into Texas!

Villa Wanted Poster Offering $5,000 for his capture.

Pancho Villa

U.S. Cavalry preparing to chase Villa. Photo by W.H. Horne, El Paso, TX

Problems of Imperialism

• Competition for markets and power

• Exploitation of countries

• Growing Nationalism

• Military Build Up

• Possibility of War

Platt and Teller Amendments

• The Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on April 20, 1898, in reply to President William McKinley's War Message.

• It placed a condition of the United States military in Cuba.

• According to the clause, the U.S. could not annex Cuba but only leave "control of the island to its people

Platt amendment

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc2muGlQIlk

Platt Amendment

• The Platt Amendment of 1901 was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, replacing the earlier Teller Amendment.

• It stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the Spanish-American War and defined the terms of Cuban-U.S. relations until the 1934 Treaty of Relations.

• The Amendment ensured U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs and gave legal standing (in U.S. law) to U.S. claims to certain territories on the island including Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Puerto Rico

• Foraker Act established civilian (albeit limited popular) government on the island of Puerto Rico, which had recently become a possession of the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War.

• Jones-Shafroth Act - was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. The act granted U.S. Citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico. It also created the Senate of Puerto Rico, established a bill of rights, and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner (previously appointed by the President) to a four-year term.

Insular Cases

• The Insular Cases are several U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the U.S. in the Spanish-American War (1898).

• The cases were in essence the court's response to a major issue of the 1900 presidential election and the American Anti-Imperialist League, summarized by the phrase "Does the Constitution follow the flag?" Essentially, the Supreme Court said that full constitutional rights did not automatically extend to all areas under American control.

• The "deepest ramification" of the Insular Cases is that inhabitants of unincorporated territories such as Puerto Rico, "even if they are U.S. citizens", may have no constitutional rights, such as to remain part of the United States if the United States chooses to engage in de-annexation

New State?

• The nature of Puerto Rico's political relationship with the U.S. is the subject of ongoing debate in Puerto Rico, the United States Congress, and the United Nations. Specifically, the basic question is whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, become a U.S. state, or become an independent country.

• After several failed tries dating back to 1967, Puerto Ricans voted for the first time to become a state in 2012.

Discussion Questions

• Was US foreign Policy justified at this time? (Pros and Cons)

• What were some possible problems of Imperialism? What were the benefits?

• Do you think it's possible for a strong country to trade with a weaker country without controlling it?

• What responsibilities does the press have in terms of how it reports news stories? What are the short-term benefits of exaggerating or fabricating stories to make exciting headlines? What might be some long-term benefits of adhering to the truth?

• Do you think there is any such thing as a "splendid little war"? What other wars might some people remember as "splendid little" ones ?