American Imperialism

Big Questions•What were the main reasons why leaders

in the United States felt that the U.S. should become an empire?

•How did the United States acquire Alaska and Hawaii?

What is Imperialism?•Imperialism policy in which stronger

nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories

•Many countries around the world, specifically European countries, had established colonies

Global Competition•U.S. got a late start at acquiring colonies

and developing an empire•European nations had been developing

empires for centuries▫France, England, Spain, Belgium, The

Netherlands, Russia▫The continent of Africa was basically closed

to imperial expansion – no more territory left▫Asia was mostly controlled by Europeans or

Japan

Reasons for Expansion•The United States had three main reasons

for wanting to expand and become an empire.▫Desire for military strength▫Thirst for new markets▫Belief in cultural superiority

Military Strength• The U.S. wanted to build up

its own military strength to compete with the global military presence of other nations

• Alfred T. Mahan urged the United States to build a stronger navy

• After building nine steel-hulled battleships, the United States became the world’s third leading naval power

• The United States fleet was called the Great White Fleet, because all of the ships’ hulls were painted white

New Markets•The U.S. was an industrial power by this

time – economy was based on producing things

•U.S. could produce more food and manufactured goods than it needed – needed a place to sell the surplus

•Also wanted places to get cheap raw materials

•Imperialists viewed foreign trade as the solution to these issues

Cultural Superiority•Americans favored the idea of Social

Darwinism – countries that were the most civilized were the fittest, and were therefore the most suited for controlling global markets and less advanced countries

•Many Americans also believed in the racial superiority of Anglo-Saxons

•Many Americans wanted to spread Christianity and western civilization

The United States Acquires Alaska • William Seward, who had

been Secretary of State under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson, was a supporter of American expansion

• He arranged for the U.S. to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million

• Most people thought this was a bad decision, but Alaska turned out to be filled with timber, oil, and minerals

The U.S. Expands in the Pacific • The United States took over the Midway Islands

in the Pacific Ocean – no one lived on the islands so it was no big deal

• The U.S. also was looking at the Hawaiian islands, which had been important to the United States since the 1790s▫Americans traders used it as a stop on the way to

Asia▫Missionaries founded Christian churches and

schools▫Many people lived there and became sugar

planters

Sugar Production in Hawaii• American-owned sugar

plantations accounted for about ¾ of the island’s wealth

• U.S. had agreed to import Hawaiian sugar without any tariffs – very cheap

• But in 1890, a tariff was placed on the sugar from Hawaii – American sugar growers in Hawaii now faced competition from sugar growers in America

• American sugar growers in Hawaii wanted the U.S. to annex Hawaii so their sugar could be cheap again

Hawaiian Monarchy is Overthrown • U.S. had already built a

naval base in Hawaii in 1887 – Pearl Harbor

• Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii came to power in Hawaii in 1891

• Some Americans living in Hawaii, along with American Marines, who didn’t agree with the Queen’s “Hawaii for Hawaiians” agenda, overthrew the Queen and set up a new government

Annexing Hawaii•President Grover Cleveland ordered that the

Queen Liliuokalani be restored to her throne•When the revolutionaries refused, Cleveland

recognized the Republic of Hawaii (the revolutionary government), but wouldn’t make Hawaii a U.S. territory unless native Hawaiians supported it

•In 1897, William McKinley became President and Congress declared Hawaii an American territory