C H A P T E R 2 1An Emerging World Power

1877–1914

Section I:The Roots of Expansion

Diplomacy in the Gilded Age 1880:

– U.S. population = 50 million– U.S. industrial production ranked second

only to Britain’s The Civil War put the U.S. at odds with Britain

& France – U.S. opposed France’s attempt to establish

a puppet regime in Mexico – With Britain, the issues involved damages to

Union shipping by the Alabama & other Confederate sea raiders operating from English ports

Diplomacy in the Gilded Age

In the years after the Civil War: – U.S. lapsed into diplomatic inactivity….WHY?

• The building of the nation’s industrial economy turned Americans’ attention inward.

Americans shared a sense of security & isolation from the rest of the world – Even though new international telegraphic

cables provided overseas communication after the 1860s

Diplomacy in the Gilded Age

The U.S. Navy fleet gradually deteriorated – Chester A. Arthur (1881–1885)

• began an upgrading program, but the navy remained small

A coherent foreign policy was difficult to develop– Appointment to foreign service was mostly

through the spoils system

Diplomacy in the Gilded Age: Latin American Diplomacy The State Department

– Had little control over either policy or its missions abroad

American presence often consisted of independent religious missionaries

Diplomatic activity quickened when James G. Blaine became secretary of state in 1881; – Tried his hand at settling disputes in South

America – Called the first Pan-American conference

Diplomacy in the Gilded Age: Pacific Episodes McKinley Tariff of 1890:

– Cancelled Hawaii’s favored access to the American market

– Sugar planters backed by the Harrison administration planned an American takeover

Grover Cleveland halted the annexation…WHY?– He said, it would have violated America’s

“honor & morality” & nonimperial tradition.

Diplomacy in the Gilded Age

Imperialism – 1867: United States purchased Alaska

from imperial Russia – 1878: Secured rights to a coaling station in

Pago Pago Harbor in the Samoan Islands So what was American diplomacy during the

Gilded Age? – Characterization of a series of incidents

rather than the pursuit of a clear foreign policy

VERTICAL PARTNERS: What were the economic sources of expansionism?

Insufficient domestic markets existed to absorb the burgeoning output of American industry.

Export outlets were desirable in periods of economic downturn; the more output that was sent abroad in bad times, the fewer workers that would need to be dismissed.

Although exports to selected non-Western areas might be relatively small, the potential—in China, for example—was enormous

Exports needed to be boosted to balance the repatriation of the earnings of foreign investors in America.

The Economy of Expansionism America’s GNP quadrupled between 1870 &

1900 – As the industrial economy expanded, so

did factory exports. American firms such as the Singer Sewing

Machine Company & Standard Oil began to establish their factories overseas

Foreign trade was important for reasons of international finance: – To balance its foreign debt account, the

U.S. needed to export more goods than it imported.

The Economy of Expansionism Many thought that the nation’s capacity to

produce had outpaced its capacity to consume….SO?– U.S. needed buyers in foreign markets to

purchase its surplus products. Europe & Canada = most of American export

trade in the late 19C – Asia & Latin America = a modest part.

Non-Western markets were important not for their current value but for their future promise – Many believed that the China trade would

one day be the key to American prosperity.

The Economy of Expansionism European imperialism accelerated in the mid-

1880s: – Africa was carved up after the Berlin Conference

of 18884– European powers challenged American interests

in Latin America The Panic of 1893:

– Set in motion industrial strikes & agrarian protests that many Americans took to be symptoms of revolution

Securing the markets of Latin America & Asia became an urgent necessity – Inspired the expansionist diplomacy of the 1890s

The Making of a “Large” Foreign Policy The Influence of Seapower upon History

(1890)– Book by Captain Alfred T. Mahan, a

leading naval strategist– Argued that the key to imperial power was

control of the seas Traversing the oceans required:

– Robust merchant marine– Powerful navy to protect American

commerce– Strategic overseas bases

The Making of a “Large” Foreign Policy Mahan called for a canal across Central

America to connect the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans, with control over strategic points in defense of American trading interests

Politicians accepted Mahan’s underlying logic– Pushed for a “large policy”– From 1889 onward, a consistent American

foreign policy emerged.

The Making of a “Large” Foreign Policy   1890, under Benjamin Harrison’s

administration:– Congress appropriated funds for 3

battleships as the first installment on a two ocean navy.

Grover Cleveland’s administration cancelled Harrison’s scheme for annexing Hawaii – But picked up the naval program– The nation’s commercial vitality depended

on its naval power

The Making of a “Large” Foreign Policy: The Venezuela Crisis For years, a border dispute simmered

between Venezuela & British Guiana – United States demanded that the British

resolve it. Secretary of State Richard Olney warned

Britain that the U.S. would not challenge our vital interests in the Caribbean – Invoked the Monroe Doctrine

The Making of a “Large” Foreign Policy British agreed to arbitration of the border

dispute – Realized that the Cleveland administration

meant business Secretary of State Olney asserted that other

countries would now have to accommodate America’s need for access to “more markets & larger markets.”

The Ideology of Expansionism

Expansionist theory used the social Darwinism theory: – If the United States wanted to survive, it

had to expand Linked to social Darwinism:

– A spreading belief in the inherent superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race

The Ideology of Expansionism

John Fiske’s “Manifest Destiny” lecture espoused the belief: – Every land on the earth’s surface should

become English in its language, religion, political habits, & bloodline

Frederick Jackson Turner suggested a link between the closing of the western frontier & overseas expansion (Turner thesis) – As he predicted, American confidence in

Manifest Destiny turned outward.

The Cuban Crisis

February 1895: – Cuban patriots rebelled & began a guerrilla

war for freedom from Spain – Spanish commander, Valeriano Weyler,

adopted a policy of “reconcentration.” The Junta = a key group of exiles

– Tried to make a case for the Cuba Libre in New York

– Hearst put Cuba’s plight on the front page of the New York Journal.

The Cuban Crisis

Americans felt concern & sympathy for the Cubans – Their anger against Spain came to be

known as “jingoism.” Congress began calling for Cuban

independence – Grover Cleveland = more concerned that

the Cuban civil war was disrupting trade & harming American property interests.

The Cuban Crisis: The Road to War William McKinley, like Cleveland, felt that the

U.S. was the dominant Caribbean power with vital interests to be protected – McKinley = tougher on the Spaniards

McKinley = sensitive to business fears that any rash action might disrupt an economy just recovering from the depression

September 18, 1897: U.S. informs Spanish government that it was time to end the war, or the U.S. would take steps to end it

The Cuban Crisis

Spain backed away from reconcentration – Spain offered Cuba a degree of self-rule – Cuban rebels demanded full independence

The New York Journal published the private letter of Dupuy de Lôme, the Spanish minister to the U.S – Called President McKinley weak – Implied that the Spanish government did

not take American demands seriously

The Cuban Crisis

A week later the U.S. battle cruiser Maine blew up & sank in Havana Harbor, killing 260 seamen – McKinley had to contend with popular cry

for a war against Spain Spain rejected McKinley’s demands:

– Immediate armistice – Abandonment of the practice of

reconcentration – Peace negotiations

The Cuban Crisis

The War Hawks in Congress chafed under McKinley’s cautious progress, but the president did not lose control

The resolutions authorizing intervention in Cuba contained an amendment disclaiming any intention by the U.S. of taking possession of Cuba.

It was not because of expansionist ambitions that McKinley forced Spain into a corner, but once war came, McKinley saw it as an opportunity for expansion.

The Spoils of War Spain declared war on April 24, 1898

– Theodore Roosevelt was commissioned lieutenant colonel in the volunteer cavalry regiment known as the Rough Riders.

Confusion reigned in the swelling volunteer army:– Uniforms did not arrive, the food was bad,

the sanitation was worse– Rifles were in short supply– No provisions had been made for getting

troops to Cuba

The Spoils of War The small regular army was the core

– Civilians had to be turned into soldiers within a few weeks

The navy = better shape – Spain couldn’t match American battleships

& armored cruisers. May 1:

– American ships cornered the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay & destroyed it;

– Manila, the Philippine capital, fell on August 13, 1898

The Spoils of War

After Commodore George Dewey’s naval victory Americans were not going to let the Philippine Islands go – Philippines made a strategic base in the

western Pacific– Projected American power into Asia & its

markets

The Spoils of War

Hawaiian annexation went through Congress by joint resolution in July 1898; – Hawaii = crucial halfway station on the way

to the Philippines Navy pushed for:

– Coaling base in Guam in the central Pacific – Base in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean

The Spoils of War The main battle in the campaign in Cuba

happened near Santiago (San Juan Hill) – Convinced that Santiago could not be

saved, Spanish forces surrendered In an armistice, Spain agreed:

– To liberate Cuba – Cede Puerto Rico & Guam to the U.S.– American forces occupied Manila pending

a peace treaty

The Imperial Experiment

Next decision: What to do with the Philippines? – Not even avid American expansionists

wanted colonial rule over subject peoples McKinley & his advisors felt that they couldn’t:

– Return the islands to harsh Spanish rule – Have the Filipinos were fit to rule

themselves

The Imperial Experiment

Treaty of Paris: – Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S. for

a payment of $20 million. Those against the treaty invoked American

republican principles: – Believed the federal government couldn’t

conquer an alien people & hold them in subjugation

The Imperial Experiment November 1890:

– Social elite of old-line Mugwump reformers from Boston formed the first of the Anti-Imperialist Leagues

– They began to spring up around the country

Anti-imperialists never developed a popular movement: – They shared little other interests, & they

lacked “the common touch.”

The Imperial Experiment Before the Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris:

– Fighting broke out between American & Filipino patrols

– Confronted with American annexation, Filipinos turned their guns on American forces.

Fighting strong Philippine guerrillas, the U.S. Army resorted to the reconcentration tactic the Spaniards used in Cuba.

The fighting ended in 1902 – Governor general, William Howard Taft hoped

to make the Philippines a model of American road building & sanitary engineering

A Power among Powers How did Roosevelt’s justify American dominance

in the Caribbean?– Believed that it was the job of civilized powers

to insist on the proper policing of the world & the maintenance of the balance of power

Britain’s position in Europe was steadily worsening – Challenged by a Germany who wanted

imperial supremacy– Weakened by soured relations with France &

Russia– Great Britain had a new & clear need of

rapprochement with the U.S

A Power among Powers: Anglo-American Friendship Hay-Pauncefote Agreement (1901):

– British gave up right to participate in any Central American canal project

There was no formal alliance – Anglo-American friendship was so firm that

it was assumed that the Americans & the British would never have a parricidal war.

In regard to American power, especially naval power, Roosevelt said, “Speak softly & carry a big stick.”

A Power among Powers Roosevelt = angry when the Columbian

legislature voted down his proposal to lease land for a canal: – He thought to seize Panama

Instead lent covert assistance that ensured a bloodless Panamanian revolution against Columbia.

November 7, 1901: U.S. recognized Panama – Two weeks later received a perpetually

renewable lease on a canal zone The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished the

Panama Canal in 1914 Gave the U.S. a commanding commercial &

strategic position in the Western Hemisphere.

A Power among Powers Platt Amendment:

– A condition for Cuban independence – Gave the U.S. the right to intervene if Cuba’s

independence or internal order was threatened.

The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine – Meant an unrestricted American right to

regulate Caribbean affairs On occasions when Caribbean domestic order

broke down, the U.S. Marines occupied Cuba in 1906, Nicaragua in 1909, & Haiti & the Dominican Republic in later years

The Imperial Experiment

Americans had not anticipated the brutal methods needed to subdue the Filipino guerrillas; – The Jones Act (1916) formally committed

the U.S. to granting Philippine independence but set no date

In a few years the U.S. had acquired the makings of an overseas empire – U.S. moved into a position of what is

commonly called a world power

The Open Door in Asia 1890: U.S. secretary of state John Hay sent

the powers occupying China an “open door” note – Claimed the right of equal trade access for

all nations that wanted to do business there

Boxer Rebellion (1900): – U.S. joined a multinational campaign to

break the Boxers’ siege of the diplomatic missions in Peking

If the legal fiction of an independent China survived, so would American claims to equal access to the China market

The Open Door in Asia

Britain, Germany, France, & Russia were strongly entrenched in East Asia & not inclined to defer to American interests

Roosevelt mediated a settlement of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905…WHY? – Anxious to restore some semblance of

power,– Japan emerged as the dominant power in

East Asia

The Open Door in Asia Increase of anti-Asian feelings in California

complicated Roosevelt’s efforts to achieve Asian accommodation for American interests in the Pacific.

The Root-Takahira Agreement: – Confirmed the status quo in the Pacific – Confirmed principles of free oceanic

commerce & equal trade opportunity in China. William Howard Taft

– Hoped that with “dollar diplomacy” American capital would counterbalance Japanese power & pave the way for increased commercial activities

The Open Door in Asia

Chinese Revolution of 1911 toppled the Manchu dynasty– Taft supported the victorious Chinese

nationalists – U.S. entered a long-term rivalry with

Japan.

Wilson & Mexico Woodrow Wilson opposed dollar diplomacy

– Believed it bullied weaker countries financially – Believed it gave undue advantage to American

business – Believed that the U.S. should conduct its

foreign policy in conformity with its democratic principles

Porfirio Diaz, Mexico’s dictator, was overthrown by Francisco Madero, who spoke for liberty & constitutionalism much as did Wilson

But before Madero could carry out his reforms – He was deposed & murdered in 1913 by

Victoriano Huerta

Wilson & Mexico Other powers were quick to recognize Huerta’s

provisional government – Wilson abhorred him, & the U.S. did not

recognize his government Wilson wanted Huerta out & to put the Mexican

revolution back on the constitutional path started by Madero

Venustiano Carranza, leading a Constitutionalist movement in northern Mexico – Did not want American intervention – Wanted recognition so that he could

purchase U.S. weapons

Wilson & Mexico 1914: American weapons began to flow to

Carranza’s troops – As it became clear that Huerta was not

going to fall, Wilson ordered the American occupation of the port of Veracruz

Huerta’s regime began to crumble – Carranza condemned the U.S.& his

forces came close to engaging the Americans.

– Carranza’s rival Pancho Villa did engage Americans

The Gathering Storm in Europe In Europe, there was rivalry between

Germany, France, & Britain – In the Balkans, Austria-Hungary & Russia

were maneuvering for dominance These conflicts created two groups of allies

– Germany, Austria-Hungary, & Italy made up the Triple Alliance

– France & Russia made up the Dual Alliance

The Gathering Storm in Europe Britain reached an entente with France &

Russia by 1907, laying the foundation for a Triple Entente; a war between two great European power blocs became more likely

As president, Roosevelt took an interest in European affairs – As the head of a Great Power, he was

eager to make a contribution to the cause of peace there

The Gathering Storm in Europe At an international conference in 1906 at

Algeciras, Spain, the U.S. role was defined: – U.S. would be the apostle of peace,

distinguished by a lack of selfish interest in European affairs

The Hague Peace Conference of 1899 offered a new hope for the peaceful settlement of international disputes in the Permanent Court of Arbitration

The Gathering Storm in Europe Both Roosevelt & Taft negotiated arbitration

treaties with other countries – But were crippled by a Senate afraid of any

erosion of the nation’s sovereignty William Jennings Bryan’s “cooling off” treaties

with other countries were admirable but had no bearing on the explosive power politics of Europe