Quest The for Empire 1865 - 1914 A.) Imperial Dreams a. Imperial Dreams i. Important ideas in this chapter: Exceptionalism, nationalism, Social Darwinism, Capitalism, b. Foreign Policy Elite i. Those who really decide our FOPO are opinion leaders in politics, journalism, business, agriculture, religion, education, and the military ii. Believe in selling, buying, and investing for promise of profits in foreign sales, fear of a crisis (foreign investment is a safety valve), to export surpluses c. Foreign Trade Expansion i. Exports increase from $234 million in 1865, $1.5 billion in 1900, and to $2.5 billion in 1914 ii. Agricultural goods account for of total exports in 1870, 2/3 in 1900, by 1913 US outranks both Great Britain & Germany in exports d. Race Thinking & the Male Ethos i. Officials believe in supremacy, their speeches are full of words like manliness and weakling ii. Race thinking popularized in magazine photos and cartoon, worlds fairs, postcards, school textbooks, museums, and political orations reinforced notions of American greatness iii. Burlingame Treaty (1868) free immigration between US and China, causes riots in American west, in San Francisco (1906) school board ordered segregation of Asian students e. The Civilizing Impulse i. Americans claimed hat in remaking foreign societies they were extending liberty and prosperity to less fortunate people B.) Ambitions and Strategies a. Sewards Quest for Empire i. William Steward (Secretary of State 1861 1869) bought Danish West Indies (Virgin Islands), and Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, cited the Monroe Doctrine to demand France leave Mexico b. International Communications i. Underwater Transatlantic cable links American & European telegraph network in 1866 ii. Britain & America sign Washington Treaty in 1871, apologizing for preying on Union by helping Confederacy during the Civil War c. Alfred T. Mahan & Navalism i. Security Dilemma with buildup, Germany has superb navy, US wants to build up C.) Crisis in the 1890s: Hawaii, Venezuela, and Cuba 1
The Quest for Empire 1865 - 1914 a. Annexation of Hawaii i. US expansionists envisioned trade from eastern seaboard through Central American canal to Hawaii and then onto China, by 1890, Americans owned about 75% of the wealth on island ii. McKinley Tariff causes economic crisis for Hawaii with sugar exports iii. Organic Act of June 1900, Hawaii becomes American territory b. Venezuelan Boundary Dispute i. US intervenes in UK and Venezuela conflict over border between Venezuela and British Guiana, Venezuela asks for help but US makes decision without them thus displaying a trait common to imperialist: disregard for the rights and sensibilities of small nations c. Revolution in Cuba i. Cuba battled Spain for independence from 1868 1878, then suffers economic depression, Jose Marti starts revolution against Spain, with help of rebels, burn sugar-cane field, razed mills, causes trade with US to dwindle ii. Cuba admires US culture, but resents US hegemony, however Cuban and US economies were intertwined, 90% of Cuban sugar exported to the United States d. Sinking of the Maine i. President McKinley enters office, believes in imperialism, New Navy, exporting surplus crops, US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere, but doubts that that peace can exist between Spain & US, tries to buy Cuba ii. Explosion on USS Maine kills 266 soldiers, while in Havana to protect American citizens in Cuba e. McKinleys Ultimatum & War Decision i. McKinley, reluctant to go to war, sends Spain ultimatum, but Spain makes concessions which McKinley was not pleased with, and this declares war in April of 1898, listing reasons for war: the cause of humanity; the protection of American life and property; the serious injury to commerce, trade and business of our people; the destruction of Maine D.) The Spanish-American War & The Debate Over Empire a. Motives for War i. Imperialists saw war as an opportunity to fulfill expansionist while dreams Conservatives, alarmed by populism and violent labor strikes, welcome war as a national unifier b. Dewey in the Philippines i. First war news comes from the Philippines Islands, as the Filipinos are seeking independence from Spain, Commodore George Dewey leads his New Navy Ship to Manila Bay and fights Spanish fleets 2
The Quest for Empire 1865 - 1914 c. Treaty of Paris i. In August of 1898, Spain & United States sign armistice to end war, agreeing to independence for Cuba from Spain; cession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States; and the US pays Spain $20 million for the territories d. Anti-Imperialist Arguments i. Imperial control can be imposed informally (economic domination) or formally (annexation), some critics against imperialism cite the Declaration of Independence & Constitution as the conquest of people against their wills violated the right of self-determination ii. Others thought American character was being corrupted by imperialist zeal, while some worried that jobs would go to colonies and undercut American labor e. Imperialist Arguments i. Imperialist answer their critics with appeals to patriotism, destiny and commerce, paint pictures of merchant ships in Asia, unifying the Pacific to protect American interests, uplifting inferior people E.) Asian Encounters: War in the Philippines, Diplomacy in China a. Philippine Insurrection & Pacification i. Filipino rebellion is guerilla warfare, US troops forced residents to live in designated zones in effort to separate insurgents from local supporters ii. Poor sanitation, starvation, malaria, and cholera killed several thousand people, 20,000 Filipinos died in combat but 600,000 died from starvation/disease, more than 4,000 dead Americans b. China & the Open Door Policy i. Secretary of State John Hay (1895) knew that the United States could not force the imperial powers out of China, but he was determined to protect American commerce and missionaries, so he sent a note to China asking them to respect the principle of equal trade opportunity ii. In 1896, the Boxers (secret Chinese society), starts riots that killed foreigners, including missionaries F.) TRs World a. Presidential Authority i. Roosevelt sought to centralize foreign policy in WH, felt that executive branch should be supreme in foreign policy b. Cuba & the Platt Amendment i. As US economic interests expanded in Latin America, so did US political influence, US dominates Cuban economy, and restricted voting rights largely to propertied Cuban males, forced Cubans to append to their constitution the Platt Amendment (vow to US hegemony), which causes rebellion c. Panama Canal 3
The Quest for Empire 1865 - 1914 i. Columbia hesitates to agree to Roosevelts terms, so he encourages Panama rebels to declare independence and offers them aid ii. In 1903, Panama gives US the canal zone and long-term rights to control it, and signs a treaty with United States to guarantee Independence d. Roosevelt Corollary i. TR resisted challenges to US hegemony, worried that Latin Americans defaults on debts owed to European banks were provoking European intervention, and thus issues the Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine in 1904 e. US Mexican Relations i. By 1910, Americans controlled 43% of Mexican property and produced more than half of the countrys oil, most mining companies were American owned, and the Mexican rebels who ousted former dictator, Diaz, set to reclaim Mexican sovereignty, civil war erupts, and US does not leave until 1917 f. Peacemaking in East Asia i. In 1905 the Taft-Katsura Agreement, the United States conceded Japanese hegemony over Korea in return for Japans pledge not to undermine the US position in the Philippines g. Dollar Diplomacy i. Taft starts dollar diplomacy throughout Asia the use of private funds to serve American diplomatic goals and garner profits for American financiers and at the same time, bring reform to less developed countries
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