The American Empire

Expansionism / Imperialism

US adds territories in the

Pacific Ocean and the

Caribbean Sea

Created by Mr. Steve Hauprich for the acceleration and remediation of US History Students.

All world maps are distorted reflecting the bias of thepresenter…in an American Empire…North Americashould be seen as the central focus

Historical Context:

Here we can see the significance of the Panama Canal,Hawaiian Islands, and Naval Supremacy in the largerplan to develop the USA’s eventual Superpower status.

Hawaii Pan

ama

The supreme geographic advantage of a two oceanborder with all other powerful nations could be turnedinto an advantage for commerce and dominance asAmerica created the foundation for maritime empire.

Alaska

Samoa

Philippines

Guam Cuba P.R.+ V.I.

Although the United States’ participationin the “New Imperialism” was criticizedat home as betrayal of American idealsof liberty and justice,

…the motives for newexpansionism were rooted in the contextof global rivalries, Social Darwinism,and humanitarianism stigmatized by theexpression “white man’s burden”.

TENSION

Primary Thesis

Thesis Statement:

Russia

Spain

England

SwedenNetherlands

France

The United Statesof America wasborn in the ragingstorm of globalrivalries amongEuropean powers

…America wasthe feral child ofthe wilderness

…asserting her(natural) right to be leftalone (independent).

SpainMexico

Russia

Britain

Native Americans

Courageous Americans and a stealthy US Government had warded off foreignthreats and succeeded by the late 1800’s…

…in controlling vast coastlines …

… pacifying the frontier

…and building a modern infrastructure.

France

American Admiral AT Mahanoffered a blueprint for empirebased on:

•need for a two ocean navy•need for an isthmus canal•Importance of Caribbean Is.•importance of Hawaiian Is.

…if the old imperialism wasbased on naval supremacy

…the new imperialism wouldlikewise thrive w/ naval power

Great civilizations andempires of the past…Greeks, Romans, Portugal,Spain, Netherlands, France,had succeeded one anotherby virtue of their maritimeprowess and assertiveness

…in this era of Pax Britanica emerging world powers Germany and Japan also read Mahan’s theories with vested interest in their own fortunes and aspirations for global conquest.

The Imperialist view of the HawaiianMonarchy was …

Queen Liliuokalani was unfit to rule

…especially aftershe attempted tolimit the power ofAmerican planterson her islands

American planterSanford Dole

…led the coup toppling the Hawaiian monarchy…

…however, President Grover Cleveland would notallow the annexation of Hawaii…so the pineappletempted other world powers in the Pacific

…until the 1898 SpanishAmerican War

finally gave the USAGovernment

justificationfor addingHawaii…

Mahan’s blueprint was being followed and encouraged

“We don’t want to fight, yet by JINGO!

…if we do,

We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men,

…and got the money too.” -British Song 1870’s

…a new American JINGOISM was emerging…

Yellow Journalismhelped persuade Americans to go toWAR with Spain.

…there was noproof the Spanishsank the Maine…

…just drawings innewspapers…

Assistant Secretary ofthe US Navy Rooseveltwas determined to helpthe USA win a war withSpain…

…evidenced by hisprescient orders toAdmiral Dewey tosteam his battle fleetto the Philippines fromHong Kong …before theSpanish fleet would beexpecting them… Brilliant!

“All the great masterful races have been fighting races…”

Winning the WARhelped sell manynewspapers asAmerica learnedof heroic conquestsin distant lands.

The American Empirewas growing muchlike manifest destinyin an earlier time.

Roosevelt soon resignedhis desk job and helpedorganize the Rough Ridersto gain glory as a genuinewar hero…

…leading the US chargeup Kettle Hill and San JuanHill in Cuba… …in the most importantground war action of theentire Spanish-American WAR

“Take up the White Man's burden--Send forth the best ye breed--Go bind your sons to exileTo serve your captives' need;To wait in heavy harness,On fluttered folk and wild--Your new-caught, sullen peoples,Half-devil and half-child.” -Rudyard Kipling

The USA would now haveto determine how bestto develop the lands we hadwrested from Spain……and the Hawaiian and Samoan Islanders…our moral obligation was to “civilize” them.

Bringing American education, medicine, technology, etc…was publicized as very altruistic…a benevolent empire…

…Now moremissions wouldbe built in Hawaiithe Philippines,Guam, Samoa,and the othernew frontiers…

…Americanscould extendtheir culturalinfluence tobenefit humanity.Early Hawaiian Mission built in 1854

American battleships hadfaced German battleshipsin Manila Harbor in thePhilippines shortly afterthe US Navy had defeatedSpain in 1898… …but the Germans leftPeacefully…

…in 1899 the Germans andAmericans avoided navalbattle once again…

…as the two emerging worldpowers agreed to divide theSamoans Islands for theirrespective empires.

…With over 7,000 islands…500 of them inhabited…

…the Philippines presentedthe greatest challenge forthe new American Empire…

…the Filipino people wereweary of Spanish rule…

…they didn’t necessarily want American rulers either...

…the USA wanted to proveits fitness to lead…and ensurerivals Germany and Japanwere kept out of the islands.

In 1900 a largeUS expeditionaryforce was sentto China to helpend the ChineseBoxer Rebellion

…an uprisingagainst foreign “Spheres of Influence”…

…this was soon accompanied by more requests by US Secretary of State John Hay for an “OPEN DOOR” policy in China to permit greater US commercial access to China and less tension

“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”

Theodore Roosevelt builds his foreign policy… 1901-1909

-African Proverb

…So a canalthrough CentralAmerica wasneeded to helpa two ocean navymove quickly toprotect the newlands and peoplewho would livebeneath theAmerican Flag.

President Roosevelt helped Panamanians win theirindependence from Columbia…and soon the canalwas under construction. Bully!

“Chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation, and in the Western Hemisphere the adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an international police power.”

“All that this country desires is to see the neighboring countries stable, orderly, and prosperous.”

1904 Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Teddy Roosevelt’s

“Big Stick” foreign policy turnedCaribbean Sea into a proverbial“American Lake”.

the

Under T.R. America was assuming a new role asthe “World’s Policeman”…ready to help “lesser”nations overcome their disagreements / shortcomings.

1905 Roosevelt successfully mediated thePortsmouth Treaty between Russia + Japan

…his goal was to create a“Balance of Power” in Asia

President Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleeton a world-wide tour to impress our global rivalswith our new naval prowess…impressing the Japanese was a high priority for this mission.

While many Americans were thrilled with our victoryover Spain and the expanding American possessions,there was notable dissent from prominent Americans.

Especially troublesome fortheir consciences was theannexation of the Philippine Islands…

…they felt this was abetrayal of Americanideals of “liberty andjustice for all”……a betrayal of the idealsof a right to independenceand self-government.

The FilipinoQuestion wouldnot go away…

America would send many soldiers to theislands and force theirpeople intoreconcentrationcamps

President McKinley andPresident Roosevelt

had led America intoa new age whereAmerican powerwas a clear challengeto other great nations

…our “new frontier”was established andthe morality of ourforeign policy wasdebated at homeand abroad.

Works Cited

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