Chapter 21TOWARD EMPIRE
America Past and PresentEighth Edition
Roosevelt & the Rough Riders April 1898 ~ Theodore
Roosevelt resigned his position as Asst Sec of the Navy to raise his own regiment to fight in the Spanish American War– The 1st US Volunteer Cavalry
was an intriguing mix of Ivy League athletes & western frontiersmen
Anxious to set off on a great adventure
p.601-602
America Looks Outward Since the first landings in Jamestown &
Plymouth, the country had been expanding, but expansion in the 1890s was different– This expansion sought to gain possessions, most
already thickly populated New territories intended not for settlement but
for naval bases, trading outposts, & commercial operations
The Spirit of Empire ~ Americans abandoning isolationism in favor of imperialism– Military & economic control over other peoples
p.602-603
Reasons for Expansion Political leaders began to argue for the vital
importance of foreign markets to continue economic growth
Others were also interested in empire building ~ In last third of 19th century, Great Britain, France & Germany divided up Africa & were interested in Asia
Darwinist’s used their belief in superiority as a reason to expand & protect the weak
Missionary spirit expressed in Josiah Strong's popular Our Country (1885)– Christianize the “inferior” races
p.603-604
Foreign Policy Approaches: 1867–1900
Expansionist foreign policy ~ Wanted Canada, Mexico, Caribbean & Pacific Islands
1867 ~ Sec of State Seward acquired:– Uninhabited “Midway” Islands ~ Guano & Coal
First territory outside the continental US
– Alaska ~ Purchased from Russia for $6M Contested European interests in Latin America
– Advocated the Monroe Doctrine ~ “Hands off the western world”
US reciprocity (mutual exchange) w/ Latin Am
p.604-606
The Lure of Hawaii & Samoa 1820 ~ Missionaries arrive in Hawaii
– Their children come to dominate political & economic life
1875 ~ Hawaiian sugar allowed to enter US duty free in return for not making any territorial or economic concessions to other powers– Dole Pineapple Company– Hawaii became an American protectorate
New Queen Liliuokalani resented minority rule– Unhappy Americans revolted ~ US Marines– 1893 ~ Hawaii annexed
1898 ~ Hawaii an official US possessionp.606-608
The Lure of Hawaii & Samoa 1872 ~ US very interested in Samoa, 3k mi
south of Hawaii– 1878 ~ Treaty established US naval base– Great Britain & Germany also interested in Samoa
1889 ~ Situation became tense when ships from all three nations gathered in a Samoan harbor– Delegates met in Berlin to negotiate
1899 ~ US & Germany divided up the islands & compensated Britain w/ lands elsewhere in the Pacific p.606-608
Hawaiian Islands
p.607
Difficulties:
• Threat of Japanese military actions
• Washington not in agreement
• Colonial problems
• Opposition to annexing non-Anglo-Saxon people
NIB
The New Navy US had powerful fleet during Civil
War but it quickly fell into disrepair– 1883 Congress authorized the first modern
steel ships Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, author of The
Influence of Sea Power upon History, stressed the importance of a strong navy for a multitude of reasons
By the end of the 1890s ~ 17 steel battleships, 6 armored cruisers, & many smaller craft p.608-609
War with Spain ~ 1898 The war increased overseas possessions It also gained the US recognition as a “world
power” Americans became convinced they had a
special destiny
p.609
A War for Principle
Cuba & Puerto Rico almost only thing left of Spain’s once vast empire– Cuban people treated cruelly– February 1895 ~ Rebellion in Cuba
"Yellow Journalism" whipped up US sentiment to favor Cuban independence– Wm Randolph Hearst– Joseph Pulitzer
Pres McKinley sent USS Maine to Havana harbor as a show of force
p.609-612
A War for Principle
McKinley sent aide on fact finding mission– He protested to Spain regarding their “uncivilized
& inhuman” conduct Feb 15, 1898 ~ Maine “explodes”
– 266 lives lost– “Remember the Maine”
Although he had worked hard to avoid it, McKinley signed the declaration of war on April 25, 1898– Kick the Spanish out & Cuba to be independent
p.609-612
"A Splendid Little War" War lasted only ten weeks ~ Relatively few
Americans died Regular Army was small & ill-prepared
– Only 28k officers & men, most experienced only in quelling Indian uprisings, not large-scale battles
Problems of equipment & supply– Regulars had latest Krag-Jorgensen rifles– NG units had old Civil War Springfield rifles that
used black powder ~ Spanish had modern rifles– Food & illness serious problems
More died of disease than battlefield woundsp.612
“Smoked Yankees” When the invasion force sailed for
Cuba, almost ¼ were Af American– 24th & 25th Infantry & 9th & 10th Cavalry– AL, OH, & MA provided black NG units
Black troops extremely disturbed by segregation ~ Numerous fights
Af Am soldiers won 26 Certificates of Merit & 5 Cong Medals of Honor
p.612-614
Spanish-American War:Pacific Theater
The Course of the War
Naval strategy was simple: destroy the Spanish Fleet
• May 1, 1898, Commodore Dewy sailed from Hong Kong & trapped the Spanish in Manila Bay ~ “You may fire when ready, Gridley”
• A quick & unexpected prize of war p.614
Spanish-American War: Caribbean Theater
The Course of the WarMcKinley was worried about the main Spanish fleet which could possibly attack Florida, but it became bottled up in Santiago Bay
Marine & Army troops invaded during June & fought their way toward Santiago de Cuba
Fleet tried to escape, but was totally destroyed ~ Spain was helpless
Of 5,500 American deaths only 379 were from battle ~ Accidents, yellow fever, malaria, typhoid
p.615
Acquisition of Empire Fate of the Philippines was the thorniest
issue at the peace negotiations– A huge chain of islands & very far away– Cuba & Puerto Rice were close– Guam small & unimportant
December, 1898 ~ Treaty of Paris– Cuba declared independent– U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines– $20M paid to Spain
p.615-617
The Treaty of Paris Debate
Treaty still had to be ratified by the Senate Many Anti-Imperialists against it
– Jane Addams, Samuel Gompers, Mark Twain– Argued that imperialism violated the very ideals
upon which the US was founded– Wm James, “America is about to puke up its
heritage”– Andrew Carnegie offered to buy Filipino
independence with a personal check for $20M February 1899 ~ Ratification made the US a
colonial empirep.617-618
American Empire ~ 1900
p.617
Guerrilla Warfare in the Philippines 1898 – 1901~ Emilio Aguinaldo led
Philippine independence movement– Fought w/ US against the Spanish
Filipinos used guerilla war tactics, US adopted tactics Spanish used in Cuba– Philippine-American War more costly than the
Spanish-American War 1901 ~ US replaced military with civil rule
– Local self-government permitted– Schedule established for independence
July 4, 1946 ~ Philippine independencep.618-620
World Colonial Empires ~ 1900
p.619
Governing the Empire How could/should new territories be governed? Supreme Court applied selective application of
the Constitution to new territories Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico organized as
territories, inhabitants later made US citizens Navy controlled Guam & Samoa Cuban Constitution ended US occupation
– Platt Amendment to Cuban Constitution ~ US given right to intervene in Cuban affairs & lease Guantanamo Bay
p.620-621
The Open Door Poised in the Philippines, the US was on the
doorstep of China– China was weak from yrs of warfare & unable to
resist foreign influence US sought more trade, but “no advantages in
the Orient not common to all” US promoted an "Open Door" policy in China
– No nation should carve out a sphere of influence in China & exclude others from trading there
US not prepared to militarily defend & therefore left the opportunity for later controversy p.621-624
Outcome of the War with Spain
Teddy Roosevelt a war hero Civil rights for African Americans set back
– Fresh outbreak of segregation & lynching Confirmed Republicans as majority party
– Dominated politics until 1932 U.S. soldiers stationed outside the country By 1900, the US had grow from 13 states
along the Atlantic coastline into a major world power that reached from the Caribbean to the Pacific
p.624-625
Chapter 21TOWARD EMPIRE
America Past and PresentEighth Edition
End