Why the new focus? New markets The end of the Western frontier led to fears about America s future economic opportunities American industrialism made the U.S. a major exporter Businessmen feared nothing would be left when European nations finished imperializing
U.S. World Foreign Colonial Investments: Empires, 1869-1908 1900
Why the new focus? Darwinism Social Darwinism promoted white superiority White man s burden promoted the American & European duty to civilize the world through trade, democracy, & Christianity By the 1890s, the U.S. was ready for its first real foreign policy
Civilization Vice Ignorance Superstition Barbarism Oppression Which nations is England hauling up the hill? What about the U.S.?
The The U.S. promoted US as a trade World with Power Europe but The avoided U.S. used diplomatic the Monroe conflicts Doctrine (neutrality) in Latin America but viewed the Caribbean as an American lake & Latin America as a vast potential The U.S. market coveted for Hawaii U.S. goods & control of the sea lanes to China
In 1867, Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million Secretary of State William Seward (under Lincoln & Johnson) hoped to annex Canada & Mexico for the USA
Seward s Icebox: King Andy & Seward lug in a big block of Russian ice to cool down Congress
Sec of State William Blaine (under Garfield & Harrison) emphasized a Good Neighbor Policy & created bilateral treaties to secure U.S. trade U.S. businesses flooded Latin America with goods, bought raw materials, & undercut local Latin American businesses In the Gilded Age, U.S. companies like United Fruit became the largest land owners & employers in many central American nations
U.S. missionaries & prospectors 1 st arrived in Hawaii in the 1820s; By the 1870s, Hawaii was dominated by sugar & fruit plantation owners who called for U.S. annexation In The 1891, Hawaiian U.S. planters pear led is now an overthrow fully ripe, of Queen and Liliuokalani this is the golden & Hawaii hour for became the a republic United in 1894 States under to pluck Sanford it. Dole John Foster, Sec of State under Harrison
Hawaii was annexed in 1898 under President McKinley
The U.S. Open Door Policy in 1900 suggested that no nation would have an exclusive sphere of influence in China The U.S. was eager to trade with China; but China was divided into European spheres of influence
But The U.S.-Japanese navy led relations by Commodore were rocky Matthew in the Perry early 20 opened th Century Japan to U.S. trade in 1854 & ended 200 Japan years gained of Japanese power isolationism in Asia after the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 & gained control of Korea The U.S. & Japan signed a Gentlemen s Agreement in 1907: U.S. rescinded segregation against Japanese living in CA & Japan limited emigration to the U.S. The Root-Takahira Agreement in 1908 agreed to protect Asian status quo, uphold the Open Door policy, & respect Chinese independence
The U.S. most influential naval strategist (under President Cleveland) In order to adequately prepare for the new U.S. role in foreign policy, 1 st big, heavy-armor ships 1 st submarines Alfred Thayer Mahan pushed for a 1 st smokeless-powder artillery new navy in the 1880s: 1 st rapid-fire guns 1 st torpedoes The initial focus was to create lightly-armored, fast ships But by the 1890s, the navy built new offensive battleships The navy improved from 12 th the world in 1889 to 3 rd in 1900
U.S. presidents from Jefferson to McKinley saw the benefits for the U.S. of gaining Cuba The Spanish- American War to assist Cuba s independence was the most popular war since the American Revolution
By the 1860s, the only remaining pieces of the Spanish Empire were Cuba, Puerto Rico, & Philippines José Martí led Cubans in revolt against Spain in 1895 Spanish General Weyler used a reconcentration policy (torture & destruction of the Cuban food supply) to try to end the Cuban independence movement
Evidence of Spanish Mistreatment of Cubans
Presidents Cleveland & McKinley both remained neutral regarding Cuban independence until: Newspapers used sensationalist yellow journalism which boosted U.S. sympathy for Cuba In 1898, the USS Maine, sent to protect U.S. interests in Cuba, exploded in Havana harbor
Pulitzer s The World & Hearst s New York Journal
In April 1898, Congress declared war on Spain, but added the Teller Amendment to the war declaration stated that the U.S. had no plans to annex Cuba Populists, Democrats, & Republicans are we. But we are all Americans to make Cuba free. The war led to patriotic outburst: Ex-Confederates served & symbolically united North & South Women & African-Americans volunteered in mass numbers
Spanish-American War was fought in 2 theaters: Cuba & the Philippines Even the elite joined: Teddy Roosevelt led the Rough Riders in Cuba What a splendid little war. John Hay, Secretary of State under President McKinley The war lasted only 113 days & resulted in 5,500 deaths (mostly from disease, only 379 died in battle)
U.S. & Spain signed the Treaty of Paris on Dec 10, 1898: Cuba gained independence U.S. gained Puerto Rico & Guam What to do with the Philippines? The U.S. did not want it, but Germany did, so the U.S. annexed the Philippines
The U.S. did not deem Filipinos ready for self-rule Filipinos welcomed war with Spain & aided the U.S. in the Pacific, but they grew angry when the U.S. refused to grant independence Emilio Aguinaldo led a guerillastyle rebellion that lasted 3 years: Cost 4,300 U.S. lives & between 50,000 & 200,000 native lives The U.S. resorted to Weyler-style brutality: torture, starvation, rape
McKinley appointed William Taft to the Philippine Commission: Built schools, roads, & bridges Improved taxes & sanitation Created local governments that honored Filipino culture Aguinaldo was captured & urged an end to the fighting The Philippines was granted independence on July 4, 1946
How should the new lands in the new empire be governed? Citizenship? Voting? The Platt Amendment created a new Cuban Hawaii, Alaska, & Puerto Rico were constitution but forced Cuba to give up land for U.S. naval made bases, territories pay off with U.S. appointed war debts, Cuba could governors not sign a foreign & granted treaty U.S. that citizenship hurt the U.S., & the U.S. could intervene in Cuba at any time The navy controlled Guam & Samoa
Our Sphere of Influence
At the turn of the 20 th century, the U.S. emerged as a world power: The U.S. asserted its dominance in Spanish-American War (1898) America built the 3 rd largest navy in the world Annexed Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, many Pacific islands Asserted economic control over almost all of Latin America
Big Stick Diplomacy Moral Diplomacy From 1900-1920 (Progressive Era) Dollar Diplomacy the U.S. developed a new, aggressive foreign policy under T. Roosevelt, Taft, & Wilson Their policies differed, but all revealed a desire to increase American wealth, military power, & stature in the world, especially in Latin America
TR & Sec of State Elihu Root applied big stick diplomacy most effectively in Latin America Roosevelt hoped to expand upon America s new, world stature after the Spanish-American War: TR believed in the superiority of Speak softly & carry a big stick, you will go far American Protestant culture & hoped to spread these values TR s favorite African proverb To increase American economic & political stature in the world, the U.S. needed to be militarily strong & ready to fight if needed
The U.S. paid $10 million for the canal & TR s top foreign policy objective leased it for $250,000 per year was to build the Panama Canal & he used his big stick to get it: (until Dec 31, 1999 thanks to Prez Carter) When the Colombians rejected an offer to lease land in Panama to build a canal, TR supported a revolt for Panama independence The Spanish-American War revealed a flaw in the U.S. navy it took too long to get its Pacific fleet to the Atlantic In 1903, Panama (with the U.S. navy) became a nation & signed a lease agreement for a canal A Panama Canal would facilitate world trade & allow the U.S. quickly merge its Atlantic & Pacific naval fleets in an emergency
The Panama Canal was an engineering marvel, but one of the most important reasons for its completion was the scientific elimination of malaria-causing mosquitoes When opened in 1914, the canal gave the USA The a inevitable huge economic effect advantage of our building in the Canal the Western must be Hemisphere to require us to police the surrounding premises Sec of State, Elihu Root
One of TR s greatest concerns was the intervention of European nations in Latin America: In 1903, Germany & England TR warned threatened European to nations invade to stay Venezuela out AND warned Latin American nations to be more responsible to recoup OR the unpaid U.S. would debts intervene TR issued Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904 claiming special police powers in the Western Hemisphere
Additionally, the Lodge Corollary in 1912 refused to allow foreign companies to buy ports or establish military sites in Latin America
The Roosevelt Corollary was used to justify American armed intervention in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, & Mexico Attempts to maintain order in Latin America led to pro-american regimes that relied on dictatorial rule over its citizens
President Taft took over after TR & continued an aggressive foreign policy, called Dollar Diplomacy Use U.S. wealth rather than military strength in foreign policy In Latin America, U.S. banks assumed debts to Europe Taft s attempts to build railroads in China alienated Japan & ended the Open Door Policy
Wilson apologized Wilson appointed pacifist Wilson was well-versed to Colombia in for William Jennings Bryan domestic policy before U.S. support becoming of the as his Secretary of State Panamanian revolt president, It would but be the not irony foreign of fate policy if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs He believed that Moral Diplomacy could bring peace Wilson & democracy in 1912 to the world without militarism & war To which TR replied: I didn t steal the Panama Canal I built it Wilson talked of human rights in Latin America, but defended the Monroe Doctrine & intervened more than Roosevelt or Taft
In 1913, Mexican president Madero was Moral Diplomacy in Mexico overthrown by dictator Victoriano Huerta Wilson refused to recognize Huerta & demanded that he step down so legitimate elections could be held for a new president Moral diplomacy seemed to fail as war with Mexico seemed eminent but the WWI forced Americans to change their focus to Europe When Huerta refused, Wilson used minor incidents (arrest of some U.S. sailors in Tampico) to send the military to occupy Veracruz which forced Huerta to flee to Europe Mexican rebel Pancho Villa tried to provoke war Wilson responded by sending the military to with the U.S. by raiding across the border for find Villa (who were unable to do so) supporting his rival Carranza