American

Expansion & Imperialism

American Foreign Policy

at the
Turn of the 20th Century
 Foreign Policy Spectrum:
Isolationism Internationalism

Strict non-involvement in Intervening in other countries

the affairs of other nations. affairs to promote national
interests and/or security.

Collective Security Imperialism

Working with other Extending power by
countries to influence acquiring territory or
world affairs. controlling other
nations.
 The Monroe Doctrine
Signed by President James Monroe in 1823.

Stated that if the Europeans continued to attempt

colonization in North and South America, the U.S.
would intervene.
The U.S. would not
interfere with existing
colonies or meddle in
European concerns.
 Alaska
In 1867, the US
bought Alaska
from Russia for
$7.2million.

Resources: Gold,
lumber, land, oil.
Matthew Perry Japan
Japanese ports had been closed
to foreign trade for 200 years.
Matthew Perry used the threat
of force to open Japan to
American trade in 1854.
The Japanese knew they could
not defend against a powerful
foreign nation. When the U.S.
showed up with naval ships,
the Japanese signed a treaty
allowing open trade with the
U.S.
 Alfred Thayer
Mahan
Wrote The Influence of Sea
Power Upon History,
advocating a strong US Navy.
His book basically said that if
you have a modern and
powerful navy, you can become
a world power.
 Processing Questions

1. List the reason(s) why the U.S. would have

wanted to annex Alaska?
2. Why did Alfred T. Mahan believe that
having a large navy would lead the U.S. to
becoming a world power?
The Spanish-American War of 1898:

Who: U.S. vs Spain

Where: Cuba
The Goal: Free Cuba from Spanish Rule
Causes:
Reconcentrados
Reconcentration Camps where the Spanish
government required many Cubans (especially rebels)
to move to.
Camps were near military headquarters, so the
government could take away their weapons and keep
an eye on them.
Rumors about the treatment of the people in camps
made Americans angry.
Causes:
Jose Marti was a Cuban freedom
fighter.

Gained US support for Cuban

freedom from Spain.
Causes:
Yellow Journalism
Type of journalism that uses large headlines,
sensational and exaggerated stories, and comics to get
the readers attention.
Yellow Journalism contd.
Joseph Pulitzer William Randolph Hearst
Created the New York Published the New York
newspaper The World. newspaper The Journal.
Competed for readers by His newspaper coined the
using yellow journalism. phrase yellow journalism.
Famous quote to one of his
journalists who was in
Cuba: You furnish the
pictures and Ill furnish the
war.
Trigger #1: De Lme Letter

This little piece of

writing insulted
President McKinley.
Yellow journalists
made sure it got
published.
This caused many
Americans to be quite
upset with the Spanish
government!
Trigger #2: Explosion of the USS Maine
The USS Maine blew up in the
harbor outside Havana, Cuba.
The Yellow Press blamed
Spain for the explosion.
78 years later the US Navy
claimed that a malfunction in
the ships boiler room caused
the explosion.
Rough Riders
The Rough Riders were a volunteer cavalry unit led by
Leonard Wood and Teddy Roosevelt.
They were made
famous by their success
at Kettle Hill and San
Juan Hill in Cuba.
More US soldiers were
killed by bad American
meat (The Jungle)
and tropical diseases
than by Spanish bullets.
Buffalo Soldiers

The Buffalo Soldiers (a nickname given to the all-African

American military units created to fight the Indian wars)
were sent into the Spanish American War.
African Americans still served in segregated units
during this war, but their officers were always white.
Together the Buffalo Soldiers and the Rough Riders
helped Cubans win independence.
The US Navy destroyed the Spanish Pacific Fleet at
Manila Bay in the Philippines, under Admiral George
Dewey. The US also destroyed the Spanish Atlantic
Fleet at Santiago Bay, Cuba.
Treaty of Paris of 1898 Ends the War
The US won the war.
Spain surrendered all claim to Cuba.
Spain ceded Puerto Rico and the island of Guam to the
United States.
US bought the Philippines for $20 million.
The US and Cuba

Teller Amendment- 1898 Platt Amendment- 1901

o US promised not to Overturned the Teller
Amendment.
annex Cuba once the
It said:
island was free from
1. Cuba could not make a
Spain and peace was treaty with a foreign
restored. power that might impair
its independence.
o Cuba becomes a 2. Cuban government gave
Protectorate! US right to intervene in
Cuban internal affairs.
3. Cuban government
agreed to give US naval
and coaling stations.
The US and Puerto Rico
Foraker Act- 1900
Under this act, Puerto Ricans were citizens of Puerto Rico
but not citizens of the United States.

Insular Cases-1901
The constitution does not follow the flag
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory.

Jones Act- 1917

Collectively made Puerto Ricans US citizens.
However, because they do not reside in a state they do not
vote in federal elections.
The US and the Philippines
After acquiring the Philippines, the US used it
as a military base.
Emilio Aguinaldo fought for independence for
the Philippines, first against Spain and then
against the United States.
The Philippine-American war lasted from
18991902.
In 1916 the Filipinos were promised some
autonomy, but full independence was not
granted until 1946.
 Processing Questions

3. How did Yellow Journalism contribute to the

start of the Spanish-American War?
4. Why would the Spanish-American War be
considered a turning point for the U.S.? [Hint:
Think about all of the territory we acquired.]
5. How did territorial acquisitions from the
Spanish-American War impact the economy of
the U.S.?
China: Spheres of Influence
In 1894, Japan defeated China in a
war and gained territory in
Manchuria.
European countries demanded
that China lease exclusive
territory to each of them,
meaning China would still own
the land, but the European
government would have control.
Each lease became known as a
sphere of influence: An area
where a foreign nation controlled
economic development.
China: Open Door Policy
American businessmen wanted
to expand into Chinas
markets too, but had no way to
enter them! European nations
already had carved out their
pieces.
President McKinley and
Secretary of State John Hay
both supported what they
called an Open Door Policy, in
which all countries should be
allowed to trade with China.
The Boxer Rebellion
The Boxers were a Chinese society
secretly supported by their
government.
The Boxers did not like foreigners in
their country and so in 1900 they
attacked embassies in Beijing, to rid
China of the Americans and
Europeans.
The Boxers were crushed by a
combined American and European
Army and China was forced to pay
reparations.
Russo-Japanese War
1904-1905
Russia and Japan went
to war over Manchuria,
a province in
Northwest China, and
Korea. Although
smaller, Japan defeated
Russia.
Teddy Roosevelt got
the two sides to sign a
peace agreement and
won the Nobel Peace
Prize.
 Panama Canal
A canal was needed
to make travel
between the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans
easier and faster. The
US took over
construction from
France in 1904 and
finished in 1914.
Hawaii
Americans and foreigners outnumbered native Hawaiians 3:1
Americans were getting rich growing sugar there, but the
McKinley Tariff of 1890 forced them to pay a duty to import
sugar to the US.
Americans in Hawaii asked to be annexed so that they
wouldnt have to pay anymore.
King Kalakaua was pressured to change the constitution and
reduce his power. He also allowed the USA to put a naval
base in Hawaii, located at Pearl Harbor.
 When Queen Liliuokalani came to power,
she tried to take power back, so business
leaders organized a revolution.

President Cleveland demanded that she be

returned to her throne, but Sanford B.
Dole, leader of the revolution, told
Cleveland not to interfere. The Republic
of Hawaii was formed in 1894.

When McKinley became president he said

hed let the Hawaiians vote if they wanted
to be part of the USA.

The vote never happened, and in 1898 the

USA annexed Hawaii. It became the 50th
state in 1959.
 Processing Questions

6. How did the Open Door Policy with China

affect the economy of the U.S.?
7. Why is the geographic location of the
Panama Canal important?
8. Why did business owners such as Sanford
B. Dole want the U.S. to annex Hawaii?
 Do you remember who the 3
progressive presidents were?
Remember, all of this expansion abroad is
happening at the same time that the progressive
movement is going on domestically, under
presidents
Theodore Roosevelt
William Howard Taft
Woodrow Wilson
T. Roosevelt and Expansion
Roosevelt believed that being a world power would keep
America strong and prosperous, and that we had a duty to
civilize third world countries.
Roosevelt liked this African proverb: Speak softly and
carry a big stick; you will go far.
His foreign policy became known as the Big Stick
Diplomacy or Gunboat Diplomacy.
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary (an extension of the Monroe
Doctrine) says we are the police of the Western Hemisphere.
It says we will intervene in foreign affairs, if necessary, to
maintain peace.
Big Stick/ Gunboat Diplomacy
Roosevelt believed that showing American
military power would keep world peace.
He sent the Great White Fleet (the US gunboat
Fleet) on a world tour.
Taft and Expansion
Taft continued Roosevelts policies, but he preferred to
focus on economics, not the military.
He advocated using Dollar Diplomacy: encouraging
American corporations and banks to invest in foreign
countries, especially underdeveloped countries.
This used American economic power to influence other
countries, and hopefully make both countries prosperous,
and lessen the motivation for a country to go to war
with the US
Substituting dollars
for bullets.
Wilson and Expansion
Wilson opposed imperialism and believed that
America must set a good example for the world by
promoting democracy abroad.

This is called Moral Diplomacy.

 Processing Questions

9. How did Theodore Roosevelts Big Stick

Policy contribute to emergence of the U.S.
as a world power?
10.Why did Taft believe that using dollars
instead of bullets would lead to further
expansion?