US History The Turn of the Century 1800s – 1917

Growth In the roughly 50 years in between the Civil War and the US’s entry into World War I… The population of the US tripled The US became the richest country in the world 13 new states were added to the union

Europe Up until this point in history, the most powerful countries in the world had been European countries, like: Britain France Germany Spain

Imperialism These rich and powerful countries would take over and control smaller and weaker countries. This is called Imperialism - when stronger nations hold control over weaker territories. A country and its collection of territories was called an empire This had been going on for hundreds of years before.

Effects of Imperialism All colonies and territories eventually gained independence and formed their own countries, but the world today was shaped by imperialism, because the language and culture of the controlling country was forced on the places they took over. English is the language in America, Canada, and Australia, because we were once controlled by Britain. Mexico and most of Latin America speak Spanish because they were once controlled by Spain.

It had barely been 100 years since the United States wasn’t a colony anymore, but the country was now strong and rich enough to believe that it should create an empire of its own.

US Imperialism There were three reasons the US decided to be imperialist: Economic interests – colonies were a source of natural resources and business ($$$) Military interests – gave the military access to strategic locations Belief in cultural superiority – Americans believed that their government, religion, and race was superior to those living elsewhere

Spanish-American War In 1898, Cuba was a colony trying to gain its independence from Spain. The US sent a navy ship, the USS Maine, to Cuba, as it had businesses in Cuba and wanted to protect them from possible war.

Spanish-American War On February 15, 1898, the Maine exploded and sank, killing 266 sailors Nobody knows how or why the explosion happened. Regardless, Spain was blamed for the explosion and the US declared war on them.

Spanish-American War The US easily won the Spanish-American war in less than three months. The major takeaway from this war was that the US was now an empire and started to have control of other countries.

US Territories acquired through Imperialism: Puerto Rico – still a US territory today – Puerto Ricans are considered US citizens and often talk about the possibility of becoming the 51st state. Hawaii – became the 50th state in 1959 The Philippines (granted independence after WWII) Guam (still a US territory)

US Imperialism Today? Some would argue that American imperialism is still happening today even if it is not as clear-cut as it used to be. In 2003, the United States under President George W Bush invaded Iraq, in the Middle East region, after being misled to believe that the dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction (he wasn’t). The U.S. military overthrew Saddam and helped set up a government that would be friendlier to the United States.

US Imperialism Today? However, many Americans protested that this invasion was more about controlling Iraq’s large amounts of oil. Saddam might have been a brutal dictator, but America did not necessarily make Iraq a better place. Anger towards America meant that terrorism would continue and groups like ISIS were formed.

Back at home… The huge growth that the country was experiencing was made possible through the combination of industrialization and immigration. However, many problems created by rapid growth of cities and industries Poverty Slums Terrible working conditions Political corruption Child labor

To tackle these issues, people started organizing themselves politically. Those who actively tried to reform society were called progressives, their movement progressivism. Today, this term still refers to people who advocate for reform and new ideas to solve society’s problems. Progressives believed that government should have an active role in changing society for the better.

Teddy Roosevelt The progressive movement really picked up steam when Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt became President in 1904 He was (and is) the youngest person to be President at age 42.

Fun Fact The teddy bear gets its name from Teddy Roosevelt In 1902, Teddy was on a bear-hunting trip and refused to kill a bear that his group had captured He said it would be “unsportsmanlike” and the story spread.

Teddy Roosevelt Teddy Roosevelt was a very active President – some of his accomplishments include: Overseeing construction of the Panama Canal Breaking up massive monopolies and unfairly large corporations Increasing quality standards of food and medicine

Conservation Roosevelt was an outdoorsman and a big supporter of conservation – conserving America’s natural resources. In order to preserve the natural state of America’s lands for future generations, he established many national parks and monuments, such as Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and Petrified Forest.