US Imperialism in the late 1800s

• In the late 1800s, the United States expanded its territory and embarked on a new course in foreign policy
• For over a century, the United States expanded to stretch from coast to coast
• In the late 1800s, it sought to gain a foothold in distant lands

Roots of Imperialism

• As social issues arose domestically, the United States began expanding its influence overseas
• The nation maintained a low profile in world affairs for most of its history
• European powers pursued imperialism by exerting control over weaker nations
• Americans followed isolationism by avoiding foreign countries
• By the 1880s, the United States looked beyond its borders
• Trade played a role in the new outlook
• American businesses were booming, resulting in a surplus of American-made goods
• Business leaders sought opportunities to sell their goods overseas.
• Many endorsed expansionism focused on increasing a country's territory
• Expansionism opened new markets for American products and provided access to raw materials
• American leaders closely watched European powers carve up territories in Africa and Asia
• European powers were adding colonies and protectorates, or countries partly controlled by stronger countries
• Americans worried about being left behind
• Alfred T. Mahan of the U.S. Navy proposed an international network of naval bases, a powerful fleet, and an aggressive foreign policy to make the United States a competitive world power
• A hint of racism existed, imperialists and expansionists believed in the superiority of white, English-speaking people and believed the rest of the world should obey them

Eyes on Alaska and Hawaii

• Years prior, Americans took the first steps toward expansion
• In 1867, the United States paid Russia $7.2 million for Alaska
• Most Americans viewed the land of Alaska useless
• The discovery of gold in the 1880s and 1890s drew prospectors there
• The Alaskan salmon fishing industry began thriving
• The United States recognized its great deal when Alaskans discovered copper in 1898
• The Hawaiian Islands, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, attracted American interest earlier than Alaska
• American missionaries began preaching in the islands in the early 1800s
• By the 1850s, Americans were establishing businesses, primarily growing and exporting sugarcane and pineapples
• As early as the 1870s, the United States recognized the strategic value of a naval base in Hawaii for protecting the Pacific Coast in wartime
• As more Americans arrived on the islands, their influence on the local economy and government sparked conflict with the Hawaiian monarchy
• Queen Liliuokalani dismissed the legislature, which she considered sympathetic to Americans when she came to power in 1891
• She presented a constitution that stripped white settlers of their powers
• Most native Hawaiians agreed with the new constitution
• Enough Americans and pro-American Hawaiians, including 150 U.S. Marines, lived on the islands to stage a revolt against the queen
• They overthrew the queen, established their own government, and requested the United States to annex the islands
• President Benjamin Harrison agreed to sign a treaty with the pro-American rebels to annex the islands, that took effect on February 14, 1893
• Harrison lost the 1892 election to Grover Cleveland, who didn't approve of the rebels' actions and put the treaty on hold
• The fate of the islands remained unsettled until 1898, when the United States annexed Hawaii
• By then, the islands were viewed as an essential naval asset in the Spanish-American War
• Congress established a government for Hawaii in the "Organic Act" of 1900
• The islands became an official U.S. territory
• Meanwhile, the United States focused on securing trading deals in Asia

The Spanish-American War

• As the United States sought to expand its territory, Spain was losing its empire
• In the late 1800s, the two nations collided

Spanish Holdings

• By the late 1800s, Spain had lost most of its once vast colonial empire
• It retained Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and the Philippines in the Pacific
• The people in the Caribbean and the Philippines had begun to demand their independence from Spanish rule
• A revolt broke out in Cuba in February 1895 and the Cuban rebels waged a strong campaign
• Spain responded with brutal tactics
• The Spanish herded the civilian population into fortified camps so they could not aid the rebels
• Over 100,000 Cubans died in these disease-ridden and overcrowded camps
• Americans took a keen interest in events in Cuba
• Cuba lies only about 90 miles south of the tip of Florida
• American companies had millions of dollars invested in sugarcane plantations on the island
• In 1894, the United States accounted for 85 percent of Cuba's exports, while Spain was responsible for only 6 percent
• Cuba was an economically valuable neighbor of the United States
• Americans identified with the Cubans' desire for independence
• Spain's measures to end the Cuban rebellion aroused the sympathy of the American public

Remember the Maine

• By the time William McKinley was inaugurated as President in 1897, many Americans were calling for the United States intervention in Cuba
• McKinley attempted to negotiate between Cuban rebels and the Spanish
• McKinley got Spain to offer the Cubans limited self-government
• The United States had sent a battleship, the U.S.S. Maine, to Havana, Cuba, to protect American citizens and property
• The ship exploded in the Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, killing over 250 men
• A naval board of inquiry and the American public blamed Spain
• American newspapers claimed that Spain had blown up the battleship without any evidence
• The New York Journal and Advertiser, printed such unfounded headlines as “Destruction of the War Ship Maine Was the Work of an Enemy!” and “Spanish Treachery!”
• Sensationalized newswriting became known as yellow journalism
• While a Navy investigation never pinned blame on Spain, many Americans believed that the Spanish had caused the explosion
• Proponents of U.S. military intervention used the slogan "Remember the Maine!" to rally public support.
• Public opinion in the United States favored war, so Spain tried reducing U.S. demands
• U.S. Congress authorized the president to gain the withdrawal of Spain's armed forces from Cuba.
• Spain declared war on the United States on April 24
• The United States declared war on Spain on April 25

War in the Pacific

• Although events in Cuba led the United States into war, the first battle of the Spanish-American War actually took place in the Philippines
• The U.S. Navy believed its superior forces disable the Spanish fleet in the Philippines
• The Filipino rebels wanted freedom from Spain, so they joined forces with the Americans
• On May 1, 1898, a U.S. naval squadron under Commodore George Dewey attacked the Spanish navy at Manila Bay
• Within hours, the Spanish fleet was destroyed in a one-sided fight
• The U.S. victory was incomplete
• Though his squadron had control of Manila Bay, Dewey lacked enough troops to take Manila itself
• He sent for 5,000 troops to seize the city
• He soon received twice that number, and by August, U.S. troops occupied Manila
• The United States still had to battle the Spanish in Cuba

War in the Caribbean

• While Dewey's victory demonstrated the superiority of U.S. naval forces, the U.S. Army consisted of only about 25,000 troops, too small for the scale of fighting
• States turned to volunteers to fight the war
• About 1 million men volunteered, too much for the army to handle
• About 280,000 men actually saw active duty
• The war in the Caribbean began in late June 1898 with U.S. troops landing at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and additional forces converging on the harbor city of Santiago
• The Battle of San Juan Hill was near Santiago on July 1. A volunteer cavalry regiment called the Rough Riders and two African-American regiments charged up Kettle Hill. Other units attacked San Juan Hill
• Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt commanded The Rough Riders
• American newspapers portrayed Roosevelt as a hero, which contributed to his future campaign for president
• At the time the war broke out, the U.S. Army included four regiments of African-American soldiers who had been headquartered in the West and on the northern plains
• They encountered segregation and racial threats
• They fought fiercely and earned numerous citations for bravery, including five Congressional Medals of Honor
• The war came to an end after the U.S. Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet as it escaped from the harbor at Santiago
• The Spanish surrendered on July 16
• American troops then invaded and took control of Puerto Rico on July 25
• On August 12, Spain and the United States signed a cease-fire agreement
• From the first battle in the Pacific to the cease-fire agreement, the entire war had lasted just 16 weeks. Representatives met in PairsDecember 10, 1898, with a peace treaty
• Spain granted independence to Cuba in the Treaty of Paris and gave Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States
• The United States bought the Philippines for $20 million
• The United States later convinced the new Cuban government to lease land for the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
• Spain's 400-year run as a colonial power in the Americas ended as the United States gained new territory

The Philippine-American War

• After 16 weeks of fighting, the United States defeated Spain in what a secretary dubbed "a splendid little war."
• The United States gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, but not all of the countries involved felt "splendid" about it

An Opportunity to Expand

• Once Spain signed the Treaty of Paris in 1898, its empire dwindled to almost nothing
• The United States became an imperialist nation and claimed control over three island territories in two oceans
• Americans were dividedsplit believed acquiring foreign territories was the next logical step for the nation
• Others disagreed with the expansion
• President McKinley headed to the Midwest to convince his fellow citizens in October 1898 that annexing the Philippines was in the nation's best interests
• The president gave many speeches stating his case for a more expansive foreign policy and a territory in the South Pacific would bolster trade with China

A Brutal War

• Many Filipinos didn't agree with President McKinley
• Emilio Aguinaldo believed the United States promised the Filipinos their independence
• Aguinaldo and his men prepared to fight again
• Only two days after the treaty ending the Spanish-American War, was the Philippine-American War
• Aguinaldo and his troops took control of the largest island in the Philippines and proclaimed it a republic
• President McKinley sent ships put down the rebellion
• The U.S. Army defeated the Filipinos in conventional battles during 1899
• Aguinaldo and his men switched to a guerrilla war; a war fought by unconventional means, such as sabotage, ambushes, and raids.
• Aguinaldo's troops were a grassroots group untrained but had some advantages
• They knew their geography and looked like civilian population
• American military responded by killing and torturing Filipino prisoners to gain information about the rebels' plans, and burned down villages
• The American press reported the soldiers' brutality, and enthusiasm waned in the United States for pursuing further expansion
• People who opposed imperialism began to organize
• The American Anti-Imperialist League became a voice against McKinley's foreign policy decisions
• By 1900, many Americans believed the existing empire should be retained and protected
• American troops captured Aguinaldo in 1901, effectively ending the rebellion
• On July 4, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt forgave the Filipino nationalists and proclaimed the end of the war
• The fighting claimed the lives of 4,200 Americans and over 20,000 Filipino rebels
• About 200,000 Filipino civilians perished in the warfare or from starvation and disease
• The Philippines would not become an independent nation until 1946