imperialism debate

Should the US

have been an

imperial nation?

CHINA

PHILIPPINES

HAWAII

CUBA

ROOSEVELT COROLLARY

PANAMADOLLAR

DIPLOMACY

MEXICO

HAWAII • US wanted to secure a strong foothold in the

Pacific • Christian missionaries, then sugar

plantations • naval base in Pearl Harbor• White planters overthrew Queen

Liliuokalani • US finally annexed Hawaii in 1898

CHINA AND THE OPEN DOOR

• European countries divided weak China into spheres of influence

• U.S. felt it was being squeezed out of China• Open Door Policy - all nations could trade freely in

other nation’s spheres of influence• Chinese Boxers rebelled against foreigners –

violent, put down by multinational forces• Second Open Door Policy -China’s independence

and borders must be respected

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

• Cuba was under Spanish rule • Americans were upset over Cuban revolt • American press reported biased accounts of the

conflict • U.S.S. Maine explodes in Havana Harbor • US fights war in the Philippines and in Cuba • Cuba became an American protectorate • America gives Cuba independence (with some good

stuff for the US)

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/epo/spanexhib/IMAGE-drawing_of_star_in_east.html

http://www.americanpresident.org/kotrain/courses/WM/gal_9.htm

THE PHILIPPINES• US gained possession of the Philippines as a result of

the Spanish American War • Many people opposed American control – Filipino

and American• Emilio Aguinaldo led a revolt against American

forces • Bloody revolt eventually stopped by American

troops – very costly• US set up Philippines for eventual self rule

PANAMA • Panama was a Colombian province

• US bought French canal lease for $40 million

• Colombia rejected purchase

• Panama revolted against Colombia (with support and intervention from US

• US recognizes Panamanian independence, signs a new treaty with Panama for 10 mile strip of land

• Panama Canal is built

ROOSEVELT COROLLARY

• Roosevelt had a “big stick” policy

• worried that instability in Caribbean would lead to European intervention

• US would be a policeman in Latin America

• TR gets US involved in Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba (again)

http://www.britannica.com/elections/micro/509/96.html

DOLLAR DIPLOMACY

• replace military interests with financial or business interests

• intervene in other countries if American business interests were threatened

• help to bring stability to the region

RELATIONS WITH MEXICO

• US should base their foreign policy on moral principles • Civil War in Mexico • Wilson hoped that a revolutionary government under

Huerta would fall • Wilson sent in troops to take over Veracruz• Pancho Villa led an uprising, came into US and killed 19

Americans • US troops tried to capture Villa for a year, without any

luck

Should the US

have been an

imperial nation?Write a few

paragraphs and tell me!