AMERICAN EMPIRES CSULB June 2012

Empire and American History A Republic/Democracy not an Empire A Republic/Democracy not an Empire Or an “ Empire for Liberty ” Or an “ Empire for Liberty ” American West (and Westward Expansion) vs. American Foreign Policy/Empire Courses American West (and Westward Expansion) vs. American Foreign Policy/Empire Courses

Frontier/Western History Recast European Empires in the Americas European Empires in the Americas Westward Expansion as Foreign Policy Westward Expansion as Foreign Policy Comparing and Connecting Expansions and Settler Colonialisms Comparing and Connecting Expansions and Settler Colonialisms The Lessons and Legacies of American Expansion The Lessons and Legacies of American Expansion

What do empires do? Occupy/Colonize foreign lands Occupy/Colonize foreign lands Project military and economic power over vast domains Project military and economic power over vast domains Extract tribute from subjugated peoples Extract tribute from subjugated peoples Export cultural norms and practices to subjugated peoples Export cultural norms and practices to subjugated peoples Incorporate foreign ethnicities into imperial fold as vassals, junior allies, and dependents Incorporate foreign ethnicities into imperial fold as vassals, junior allies, and dependents

The Comanche Empire Occupy/Colonize foreign lands Occupy/Colonize foreign lands Project military and economic power over vast domains Project military and economic power over vast domains Extract tribute from subjugated peoples Extract tribute from subjugated peoples Export cultural norms and practices to subjugated peoples Export cultural norms and practices to subjugated peoples Incorporate foreign ethnicities into imperial fold as vassals, junior allies, and dependents Incorporate foreign ethnicities into imperial fold as vassals, junior allies, and dependents

U.N. Definition of “ Ethnic Cleansing ” “ a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror- inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas. To a large extent, it is carried out in the name of misguided nationalism, historic grievances, and a powerful driving sense of revenge. This purpose appears to be the occupation of territory to the exclusion of the purged group or groups. ” “ a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror- inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas. To a large extent, it is carried out in the name of misguided nationalism, historic grievances, and a powerful driving sense of revenge. This purpose appears to be the occupation of territory to the exclusion of the purged group or groups. ”

Counter Colonialism Compared Nineteenth-Century Prophetic Resistance Movements in Global Perspective Nineteenth-Century Prophetic Resistance Movements in Global Perspective Tenskwatawa and Wovoka Tenskwatawa and Wovoka The Caste War in Mexico The Caste War in Mexico Taiping Rebellion Taiping Rebellion Wahabism Wahabism The Indian Mutiny of 1857 The Indian Mutiny of 1857

Mexican North, American West: Common Problems Peopling Frontiers Peopling Frontiers Distributing Lands Distributing Lands Defending against Indians Defending against Indians Administering and Incorporating Territories: Centralization vs. Autonomy Administering and Incorporating Territories: Centralization vs. Autonomy

The Winning of the First American West Indian Policy Indian Policy Land Policy Land Policy From Territory to Statehood From Territory to Statehood

Mexico ’ s Challenges Economic Disruptions and Political Instability in the New Republic Economic Disruptions and Political Instability in the New Republic Isolation, Impoverishment, and Indians Isolation, Impoverishment, and Indians The American Threat The American Threat The Comanche Threat The Comanche Threat

The Problem of Illegal Immigrants in Nineteenth-Century California Governor Pio Pico: “ We find ourselves threatened by hordes of Yankee immigrants who have already begun to flock into our country, and whose progress we cannot arrest.... Shall we remain supine, while these daring strangers are overrunning our fertile plains, and gradually outnumbering and displacing us? Shall these incursions go on unchecked, until we shall become strangers in our own land? ” Governor Pio Pico: “ We find ourselves threatened by hordes of Yankee immigrants who have already begun to flock into our country, and whose progress we cannot arrest.... Shall we remain supine, while these daring strangers are overrunning our fertile plains, and gradually outnumbering and displacing us? Shall these incursions go on unchecked, until we shall become strangers in our own land? ”

Debating War and Destiny American Destiny American Destiny Mexican Perspectives Mexican Perspectives Wars of Choice and Necessity Wars of Choice and Necessity The Comanche Empire and the American Conquest of Mexico The Comanche Empire and the American Conquest of Mexico

NICHOLAS TRIST: “ Could those Mexicans have seen into my heart at that moment, they would have known that my feeling of shame as an American was far stronger than theirs could be as Mexicans. For though it would not have done for me to say so there, that was a thing for every right minded American to be ashamed of, and I was ashamed of it, most cordially and intensely ashamed of it."

The Lessons and Legacies of American Expansion Settler Colonialisms Settler Colonialisms Ethnic Cleansings Ethnic Cleansings Genocides Genocides Imperial Pupils Imperial Pupils