SPANISH – AMERICAN WAR 1898

Imperialism  A stronger country taking over a weaker country; politically, economically, or socially

Factors that Fueled Imperialism  Desire for military strength  Thirst for new markets  Belief in cultural superiority

Alfred T. Mahan  Urged gov’t officials to build up American naval power

“Seward’s Folly” (Icebox)  Secretary of State under presidents Lincoln & Johnson  Purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million  About 2 cents an acre

Hawaii  Am. Merchants stopped there on their way to China & Sugar Cane  They overthrew Queen Liliuokalani

Election of 1896  President Cleveland opposed expansion by force  President McKinley pushed for expansion

Reasons for War  Businesses wanted to protect their interests in the region  Other Americans were thinking we were being hypocrites  WHY???

Humanitarian Causes  Americans had sympathized with the Cubans during the ten-year struggle  Spanish used savage methods of warfare Known as the “Splendid Little War”

“Yellow” Journalism  Exaggerated news  Joseph Pulitzer & William Randolph Hearst; created “penny press”  Specialized in lurid & sensational news even if it did not exist  “You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war.”

The de Lome Letter  Letter intercepted by the U.S., called President McKinley a weak man

Sinking of the Maine  In Havana Harbor…260 killed  Americans assume that the Spanish sunk the ship  Disaster was really the result of an accidental explosion inside one of the engine rooms  “Remember the Maine!” became the war slogan

Jingoism  A super patriotism and demand for aggressive actions – warlike mood

The War in the Philippines  The Philippine Islands  Filipinos

Problems the Army Faced  Ill-prepared volunteer force  Lacked supplies  Ineffective leaders  Wool uniforms…YUCK!

Rough Riders  Volunteer cavalry under command of Teddy Roosevelt  Teddy Roosevelt considered the hero

Casualities Total service members306,760 Battle deaths385 Other deaths in service (nontheater)2,061 Nonmortal woundings1,662

Treaty of Paris 1898  Cuba granted independence  Teller Resolution  Stated the U.S. had no intention of taking over Cuba  Platt Amendment  Cuba could not make treaties w/out U.S. consent  U.S. set up a naval station  U.S. reserved the right to intervene in Cuba

What else did we get?  U.S. received the Philippines for $20 million  Emilio Aguinaldo had been fighting the Spanish for Philippine independence

 Spain ceded Puerto Rico & Guam to the U.S.  Philippine independence honored in 1946

Foraker Act – 1900  Ended U.S. military rule in Puerto Rico  Set up a civil government

What was the debate??  Treaty violated the Declaration of Independence and what we stood for

Protectorate  A country whose affairs are partially controlled by another power

Open Door Policy  Share trading rights; fear of being shut out of China

Boxer Rebellion  1900 rebellion in which members of a Chinese secret society sought to free their country from Western influence

How did U.S. get the Panama Canal?  Helped Panama rebel from Columbia; in exchange we acquired 10-mile wide zone

Review: Monroe Doctrine (1823)  The U.S will NOT allow any new European colonies in the Western Hemisphere.

Roosevelt Corollary  An extension of the Monroe Doctrine;  The U.S. can intervene in L. America to protect its economic interests by means of military intervention

Dollar Diplomacy  U.S. policy of using the nation’s economic power to exert influence over other countries

Moral/Missionary Diplomacy  U.S. had a moral responsibility to deny recognition to any Latin American gov’t the U.S. viewed as oppressive, undemocratic, or hostile to U.S. interests