Eyes on the Pacific The US was ready to take on new challenges and expand into new trade partners by the mid 1800s US merchants for a long time wanted to engage in trade with Japan Japan blocked outside trade for about 250 years

Opening Japan to Trade In 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay with heavily armed warships When Perry returned, he had a treaty that opened up trade with Japan Japan recognized their weakness: US had technology & power Japan decided they needed to transform their feudal society into an industrial nation

The US Expands Alaska was a Russian colony They told the US Secretary of State William Seward that they wanted to sell the territory Seward favored US expansion and saw Alaska as a stepping stone

Purchasing Alaska Alaska is twice the size of Texas so for $7.2 million the US expanded by 1/5 Many Americans opposed They saw it as a frozen wasteland - "Seward's Folly" and "Seward's Icebox" Soon they changed their tune Found valuable discoveries of gold

Expansionist Mood: Imperialism vs. Isolationism Until late 1800s, America practiced isolationism Avoiding involvement in other countries' affairs (Remember George Washington's advice) Europe was building empires imposing political and economic control - this is called imperialism.

A new spirit of expansionism Americans debated over a new Manifest Destiny that extended over seas Expansion supporters offered reasons for increased involvement economic growth spreading American values

Turner's Thesis Although not widely accepted today, Frederick Turner concluded the western frontier had defined American history They now believed that European expansion was the new frontier that would renew our nation's strength

Promoting Economic Growth Powerful industrial economy America produced more than America could buy America's fear: we could be shut out of global markets if we did not act and just watched European powers Some thought the key to strong trade was a strong navy

Spreading American Values Americans felt that they had a divine duty to spread Christian values and westerns civilization around the world

The Pacific Samoa A chain of islands in the South Pacific US steamboat companies and missionaries expressed interest US navy wanted to set up coaling stations where ships could stop and stock up on coal

The Pacific Hawaii A group of islands in the North Pacific natural beauty, sunshine, beaches Beauty was secondary - Hawaii was perfectly positioned in between Asia and the US for a military post

The Pacific Hawaii 1820 - first American missionaries arrive They hoped to convert Hawaiians to Christians Americans set up sugar plantations As the sugar industry grew, power for American planters grew When Liliuokalani became queen, she wanted to restore the Hawaiian monarchy and reduce foreign influence

Annexing Hawaii 1893: American planters organize an uprising without consulting the government 50 US Marines overthrow the queen President Grover Cleveland did not recognize this as a proposal to annex Hawaii. William McKinley followed as President and did support annexation, but through a treaty. July 7, 1898, Congress voted to make Hawaii a territory of the US

Linking the Oceans During the Spanish-American War, it took the US navy 2 months to go from San Francisco to Cuba There had to be a better way! A canal across Central America would fix this problem

Choosing a Site The Isthmus (narrow strip of land joining 2 larger areas of land) of Panama was the ideal location 50 miles wide Roosevelt offered $10 million in cash and $250,000 yearly in rent

Choosing A Site Some Columbians did not agree. They felt they were worth more than offered and did not like that the US would have control over a 6 mile stretch of Columbian territory Roosevelt was clever: He knew that Panamanians disliked Columbians so the US would help them claim their independance

Getting the Site A revolt takes place and we support the Panamanians We recognize them as a nation With Panamanian support, we sign a treaty granting the US permanent use and control of the 10 mile wide zone. We agreed on our original offer $10 million cash and $250,000 a year rent

Building The Panama Canal President Roosevelt encouraged the engineers to "make the dirt fly!“ The biggest obstacle when building this canal was yellow fever and malaria Although many Americans thought it was caused by damp nights, a Cuban doctor discovered it was transmitted by a certain type of mosquito

"Big Ditch" Construction involves 3 major tasks: Cut through a mountain dam a river build the canal's giant locks Digging the Gaillard Cut (9 mile ditch through the mountain) proved to be the most challenging part Although most supervisors were Americans, the laborers were West Indie from African descent

The Panama Canal despite unexpected delays, the Canal was finished 6 months ahead of schedule The Panama Canal opened on August 15, 1914

Latin America Roosevelt was not shy about his intensions. He wanted everyone to know that if diplomacy failed, he was not afraid to use military force to protect the interests of the US.

Latin America Roosevelt also wanted to let European nations know that they were not going to become too powerful. To prevent these nations from using military force to collect debt, Roosevelt extended the Monroe Doctrine. This became known as the Roosevelt Corollary (logical extension)

Dollar Diplomacy As in everything else, When Taft took the presidency he had a different approach Taft favored dollar diplomacy policy based on economic ties This policy led to just as many military interventions as Roosevelt's plan

Latin American Interference When revolution broke out in Nicaragua, the US sent in Marines We also at a time occupied Haiti and Honduras Many Latin Americans resented the interference with their affairs

Mexico Relations As Woodrow Wilson took office, he had a different idea than both Roosevelt and Taft. He believed that democracy should be spread all over the world Dealing with Mexico, at first Wilson practiced "Watchful Waiting" but he was tested when a group of American sailors were arrested

Mexican Relations Wilson sent in the navy to occupy the port of Veracruz which upset many Mexicans Wilson was drawn back into Mexican affairs in 1916 by actions of Francisco Villa (Pancho Villa) Pancho Villa and his men raided the town of Columbus in New Mexico, killing 18 Americans After 11 months, Wilson ordered withdrawal without the capture of Villa