Turn of the Century Empire

Turn of the Century Empire - The New Expansionism

The Old Expansionism
1. The United States had always been an expanding power
2. Before 1890, expansion had focused on thinly populated North American continent
3. Main purpose was settlement
4. New territories always thought of as future state
The New Expansionism
1. After 1890, the U.S. would focus more on islands and heavily populated areas
2. This expansion was done for mostly trade, not settlement
3. Desire to missionize, ideas about Social Darwinism also promoted expansion
4. For the most part, new territories though of as colonies, not future states
Stirrings of new expansionism began before 1890
1. After the war, the U.S. worked to replace Europe as the main trading partner of Latin America
2. Several prominent politicians promoted annexation of Caribbean lands
3. Alaska purchased from Russia in 1867; Sec. of State William Steward saw it as step towards annexing Canada
4. Annexation of Midway Islands in 1867 marked beginning of expansion into Pacific
5. But greatest focus was on Cuba, then still part of Spanish Empire
Tools of Power - The United States builds a strong navy
1. In the immediate post-Civil War period, the U.S. had a very small navy
2. Expanding European empires encouraged many in the U.S. to call for a bigger navy
3. America began building steel ships in 1883, major battleships in 1890
4. Alfred Thayer Mahan
  1. Most influential thinker in developing U.S. naval strategy, greatest proponent of a big navy
  2. Industrialism called for new markets, a navy was needed to defend the trade routes
  3. Coaling station were needed for that navy, this naturally led to colonies, in turn expanding the the role of the navy
Tools of Power - The Tariff
1. Allied to business and manufacturing, the Republicans had long promoted protectionist tariffs
2. The Democrats, allied to farmers and the poor, wanted low tariffs
3. McKinley Tariff Act, 1890
  1. The Republicans passed a high tariff in 1890
  2. Included tariff reciprocity -
    1. enabled President to lower tariff for countries that did the same.
    2. Promoted by Sec. of State James G. Blaine as a way to strengthen ties with Latin America
  3. Under President Harrison, U.S. tried to use reciprocity to forge economic ties with Latin America and Caribbean
  4. Mixed success because of depression of 1890s
  5. Democrats overturned reciprocity in 1894
Hawaii, 1893 - The United States Annexes an Independent Country
1. American missionaries began to move to the Kingdom of Hawaii in the early 19th century
2. Tight trade relations developed soon after, while white Hawaiians began to dominate politics
3. The coming to power of a Hawaiian nationalist queen, Queen Liliuokalani, led to U.S. intervention
4. Hawaii's status was unclear; finally officially annexed in 1898
The Spanish American War, 1898
1. Cuban rebels had been fighting for independence from Spain since the 1860s
2. "Yellow journalists," or sensationalist newspapers, highlighted Spanish brutality and generated sympathy for Cuban cause
3. De Lome letter - An intercepted letter written by the Spanish ambassador (Enrique Dupuy de Lome) insluted President McKinley, angered many people
4. But U.S. government was worried about Cuban independence - feared possibility of chaotic, radical government
5. However, the U.S. became concerned about Spain's ability to control Cuba, as rebels were ever more successful
6. February 15, 1898 - The Maine explodes
  1. President McKinley had sent the battleship Maine to Havana to demonstrate U.S. strength and concern
  2. Its explosion was probably an accident, but most in the U.S. blamed it on Spain
  3. Weeks of negotiation followed, but failed - war declared, April 25, 1898
7. A quick war
  1. Spain turned out to be a paper tiger
  2. Within in ten weeks, the U.S. had defeated the Spanish in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines
8. Not everyone was happy about this new empire
  1. While some saw economic opportunities and chances to missionize, others worried
  2. Unions feared competition from cheap labor
  3. Nationalists argued that the people of these islands could not be assimilated into U.S. culture
  4. Some feared the need for big armies, and high taxes, to control these new lands
9. The new empire
  1. The U.S. annexed Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, but fought a bloody war against Filipino rebels
  2. The U.S. granted independence to Cuba after a four year occupation, but with restrictions
  3. Platt Amendment - an amendment to the Cuban constitution demanded by U.S. before it would give independence to Cuba
    1. Cuba could make no treaties that would impair its independence
    2. Cuba could not acquire debts it could not pay
    3. Cuba had to lease naval bases to the U.S. (Guantanamo)
    4. The U.S. had the power to intervene in Cuba to protect life, property, individual liberty, and Cuban independence
American Power in China
1. By the 1890s, a weakened Chinese Empire had lost control of many ports to foreign empires
2. Each power controlled its own "sphere of influence" jealousy, excluded others
3. The U.S. promoted the Open Door Policy (1900), which would guarantee free trade with China and Chinese independence
4. The Boxer Rebellion (1900) in China, which the foreign powers had to work together to fight, helped advance this policy
The Panama Canal
1. McKinley's assassination (1901) made Theodore Roosevelt president
2. A firm believer in expanding American power, Teddy Roosevelt wanted the U.S. to build, and control, the Panama Canal
3. Panama belonged to Colombia at the time, and wanted more money and more control than TR wanted to give
4. Roosevelt promoted a Panamanian independence revolution, and the new country quickly signed a treaty to build the canal (1903)
5. The agreement gave the U.S. essentially complete control over the canal, finished in 1914
6. The whole affair angered many Latin Americans, and U.S. relationships with Panama and Colombia have been complicated ever since
The Roosevelt Corollary
1. The Monroe Doctrine had warned Europe from recolonizing Latin America after the independence wars of the early 1800s
2. Roosevelt went further, asserting police powers over Latin America and the Caribbean
  1. Countries in the region who could govern themselves stably or pay their debts would face U.S. intervention
  2. European powers could not intervene in the region to collect debts - the U.S. would, in effect, do it for them
  3. This would lead to numerous interventions in the countries of the Caribbean Basin
Dollar Diplomacy
1. William Howard Taft, Roosevelt's successor, expanded TR's policies
2. Focused on promoting American power by expanding influence of American banks and corporations