American Imperialism

Alaska

• Purchased by Secretary of State William H. Seward from Russia for $7.2 million– Seward’s Folly– Opinions later changed

when gold and oil were discovered.

Hawaii • Established a trade

relationship w/ HI• Intro’d sugarcane and many

Americans invested in sugarcane plantations– Eventually Ams took control

of most land and businesses• Pressured King Kalakaua to

allow US to estb military base at Pearl Harbor

• New queen, Queen Liliuokalani wanted to regain control– American planters overthrew her and

estb a temporary govt, which the US recognized

• Eventually the US annexed HI under President McKinley in 1898

Motivations to annex

• Military:– Strategic location

• Economic:– Resources and markets

for American goods

• Became a state in 1959, 59 years after becoming a territory

Cuba• Under control of the Spanish– Jose Marti led rebellion which US supported

• Pres McKinley under pressure to get involved– Sent USS Maine to protect citizens

• Maine blown up, blamed Spain

Yellow Journalism

• American press followed the Cuba drama closely– Wrote sensational,

biased, often false reports

– Tried to outdo each other• Joseph Pulitzer of World

and William Randolph Hearst of Journal

Political cartoon on page 641 in textbook

Rough Riders

• Led by Theodore Roosevelt

• Group of volunteers that fought in Cuba– Cowhands and

college students

Spanish-American War

• After the Maine incident, US declares war– Also leads to war in the

Philippines under command of U.S. Commodore George Dewey

– Seized control of the islands• Short war- led war to be

called “Splendid little war”

Outcome of War

• Treaty of Paris:– Cuba became American protectorate, US acquired

Puerto Rico and Guam, and Spain surrendered the Philippines for $20 million

• Teller Amendment- US promised to allow Cuba to be an independent country

• Platt Amendment- part of the Cuban constitution– Gave US 2 naval bases- Guantanamo Bay– Said US could intervene if necessary

China• Open Door Policy- foreign nations in China could trade

freely with other nations’ spheres of influence– US feared European nations would try to gain control over

Chinese markets and the US would be cut out of profitable trade

Russo-Japanese War and the Great White Fleet

• Russia and Japan fighting over interests in China– T. Roosevelt helped negotiate

treaty, hoping it would preserve balance of power in Asia

– Japan still emerged most powerful and challenged the US for influence in the region.

• Roosevelt sent out the Great White Fleet, a show of American naval strength

Panama Canal• Ams and Euros dreamed of a way to connect

Atlantic and Pacific Oceans– Panama seemed like a perfect place– French attempt to build canal failed– Roosevelt felt that canal was essential to US

national security

Panama Canal• Colombia, who controlled Panama at the time,

rejected a treaty to lease land to US for low price• To get around that, Roosevelt supported Panama’s

rebellion-Nov 6, 1903, US recognized Panama’s independence-Panama sold US 10-mile strip of land to build canal-Roosevelt’s actions upset some: “I took the canal and let Congress debate, and while the debate goes on, the canal does also.”

Building and Completion

• Terrible working conditions for men building the dam– Swarms of mosquitos caused many deadly diseases-

yellow fever and malaria• Great engineering feat• Opened August 15, 1014– Reduced shipping costs– Increased American naval power– Guaranteed America’s presence in Latin America

President’s Foreign Policy

• Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson all had different ideas on how to deal with other nations and the world.

• Roosevelt- Roosevelt’s Corollary• Taft- Dollar Diplomacy• Wilson- Moral Diplomacy

T. Roosevelt

Roosevelt’s Corollary:• “Speak softly and carry a

big stick”– Use force instead of

negotiation– Keep Europe out of the

Western hemisphere– Would intervene in Latin

American and Caribbean countries that were unstable

Teddy Roosevelt- Big Stick Policy

Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy

• “Substitute dollars for bullets”

• Taft willing to intervene when American business interests were threatened– Am investments in Latin

America grew– Am business interests

controlled politics of some nations

– Threat to Am businesses led to military intervention

• Led to increased anti-American sentiment in Latin America

• Weakness of policy seen in Mexico when Madero overthrew Diaz in a revolution

Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy

• When Huerta overthrew Madero in Mexico, Wilson refused to recognize Huerta’s “government of butchers”

• Wilson believed in democracy and that the US should “teach S. American republics to elect good men”

• US supported Carranza to overthrow Huerta– US seized port of Veracruz,

Huerta resigned• Not over: Francisco

“Pancho” Villa led uprising against Carranza– General Pershing sent to

Mexico – Villa escaped– Eventually Wilson withdrew

troops