Imperialism

• Imperialism - expanding your country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force
• First Agents of Imperialism:

  • Missionaries
  • Global Businesses
• Influence of Sea Power by Alfred Thayer Mahan


  Claims that if the US wants to become more powerful then they need a strong navy
• US first imperial expansion is to Hawaii

  • Already Americans living in Hawaii
  • Most people there were riched and owned sugar plantations
• People in Hawaii don't like their king so they overthrow him and make Liloukalani queen

  • Liloukalani advocated for Hawaiians
  • Americans in Hawaii don't like her because she can't be manipulated
  • Hawaiians like her because she's a good queen
• US initially is protecting Hawaii but Cleveland decided to annex Hawaii, but it is not a state until 1959
• Jingoism - extreme combination of imperialism and nationalism
• Cuban Revolt against Spain (1895)

  • Destroying parts of their island

  Spain sends General Valeriano Weyler, "The Butcher." He kills Cubans and sends them to concentration camps
• Newspapers write about Cuban Revolts and Americans get invested, force McKinley to act. McKinley brokers a deal with Spain and Spain agrees to remove The Butcher and the concentration camps
• A few years after the US deal with Spain, violence and riots start up in Cuba again
• The US puts the USS Maine in Cuba in case Americans need to escape
• Hearst (accidentally) receives a letter from a Spanish National addressed to a Spanish Ambassador in the US. Hearst publishes the letter. The USS Maine explodes; the papers blame Spain but it was actually a technical malfunction. 


  DeLome Letter - Spain is dragging the US and complaining about how they're not allowed to kill Cubans
• After Spain blows up the USS Maine, Americans want war. McKinley goes to Spain and asks them to pay for the USS Maine and and give Cuba their independence but they refuse.


  April 1898, the US declares war on Spain
• Spanish-American War


  Splendid War, term coined by Secretary of State, John Hay, because it was short and the US gained a lot
• Anti-Imperialists claimed that the US was only doing this for land. US issues Teller Amendment.


  Teller Amendment - Says the US will not gain land from the war, they're only doing it because they care
• Most American deaths in the war took place at the Battle of San Juan at Kettle Hill (only 500 Americans died total). 


  Rough Riders - Calvary (horse) unit led by Teddy Roosevelt, don't take horses to Cuba. Only famous because they were led by Roosevelt
• US and Spain sign armistice in August 1898 saying that Spain has to leave Cuba allow the US to stay in Puerto Rico and Guam and the Philippines


  Treaty of Paris 1898, Spain has to leave Cuba, US gets to own Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines (pay Spain for the Philippines)

  • Anti-Imperialists are made that the US found a loophole in the Teller Agreement
  • Americans don't want Brown people living in the US
• US doesn't gain Cuba because of Teller Amendment
• Cuba needs to rebuild after war so the US offers their help (for a price). Makes Cuba a de facto protectorate of the US

  Platt Amendment - Agreement that the US can intervene in their economy (ex. tariffs), intervene in their government (ex. treaties), and they want land (for military buildings, ex. Guantanamo Bay)
• Protectorate - a state that is controlled and protected by another.


  ex. Cuba and Hawaii (@tt)
• American-Filipino War (1898-1902)

  • Cause - Filipinos dislike the US in the same way Cuba disliked Spain
  • Longer, more expensive, and deadlier than Spanish-American War
  • William Howard Taft - Runs government of the Philippines, Put loyal Filipinos in government positions, try to make Filipinos loyal to usher a compromise
  • Arthur MacArthur - Deals with people who don't want to compromise, builds concentration camps (killed to wounded ratio has large gap). 


  1902, war dies down because there's no one left to oppose the US
• 1901, McKinley was assassinated by a crazy, Theodore Roosevelt (his VP) became president.
• Roosevelt was good at packaging imperialism as good for citizens and America as a whole
• US gained land for economic power

  • Military forts (Guantanamo Bay and Manila)
  • Economics in Asia - John Hay negotiates Open Door Policy which benefits everyone


  Open Door Policy - Everyone can interfere with China and no one will interfere with China's trade with other countries
• • Due to Open Door Policy, lots of immigrants (merchants) move to China, leads to xenophobia
  • Increase in attacks of Americans, Europeans, and Christians in China
  • 1900, Boxer Rebellion - Chinese Nationalists attacking immigrants and foreign entities
  • Countries are getting mad at US because they started Open Door Policy
  • Chinese nationals won't fix it so US sends people to fix it and makes China pay them for it
• Big Stick Diplomacy

  Teddy Roosevelt's Foreign Policy

  • Be nice until they try you

  Roosevelt Corollary - expansion of Monroe Doctrine, protects North America and Latin America

  • If debt needs to be collected from Latin America than the US will collect the money and give it to the other country
  • Latin America doesn't like it but Roosevelt claims that it's in Latin America's best interests
  • US doesn't want other countries in Latin America because they want to build canal (Panama canal)
• • US negotiates construction of Panama Canal with Panama and Panama wants to do it but they're owned by Colombia
  • US convinces Panama to go to war with Colombia, US helps Panama fight war and win
  • Panama agrees to let US build canal
  • US makes down payment of $10 mil. and yearly rent of $250 k, not counting cost of labor or construction
• US starts building Panama Canal in 1903, finishes in 1914

  • Willing to spend money because they will be able to profit on ships and travel for less
  • 35,000 people work on building the canal, many of them died
• Teddy Roosevelt wanted to negotiate a peace treaty between Russia and Japan in Russo-Japanese War. 


  Treaty of Portsmouth - ended war but Japan (who was winning) felt like Russia got more than they deserved

  Gentlemen's Agreement - not an actual law, but an agreement that the US will stop disallowing Asian immigration if Japan lets less Japanese people emigrate