imperialism debate
DESCRIPTION
Some info on imperialism for our class debateTRANSCRIPT
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!