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