1. Empire and Expansion
Chapter 27

2. Building Support for Imperialism
European countries began to look overseas for raw materials and markets to sell goods
Americans saw what the Europeans were doing and liked it
Supporters of Social Darwinism believed that countries competed with each other and that only the strongest (economically, politically, militarily) would survive
In some cases, missionary work was another way to promote imperialist expansion

3. Opening Japan
The Japanese only allowed the Chinese and the Dutch to trade with their nation because they worried that contact with the West would destroy their culture
In the 1850s Commodore Matthew C. Perry took a naval expedition to Japan
The Japanese had never seen steamships and were impressed by the technology and firepower and were intimidated into signing a treaty to trade with the US
By the late 1800s the Japanese had begun to industrialize and westernize

4. Theodore Roosevelt’s Rise to Power
Election of 1900
Roosevelt became Vice President for McKinley who ran on imperialism
The vice-presidency was a way to keep Roosevelt in the background because the title held little responsibility
An anarchist stepped out from a crowd of people at an appearance in Buffalo, NY and shot the president twice
McKinley died a few days later and Roosevelt became the youngest president ever to hold office and was determined to make the US a world power

5. Trade and Diplomacy in Latin America
Many Americans saw Latin America as the next frontier because of the amount of trade that would be possible
The idea of Pan-Americanism came to be
US and Latin America working together
Conference in Washington, D.C. got 17 Latin American leaders to talk about Pan-Americanism
Formed the Commercial Bureau of American Republics, which is called the Organization of American States (OAS) today

6. Building a Modern Navy
After the US started to become increasingly assertive in foreign affairs, international crises began to pop up
It was determined that the US should have a large navy as a result of belief in Anglo- Saxonism
Belief that English-speaking countries were now destined to dominate the world
By the late 1890s the US was on its way to becoming one of the top naval powers in the world

7. The Cuban Rebellion
Cuba first rebelled against Spain in and continued rebellion until Spain made reforms
In 1895 the Cuban economy collapsed and they rebelled again
Spain sent 150,000 troops to put down the rebellion and forced hundreds of thousands of Cubans into guarded camps where more than 200,000 died
Cuban exiles urged the US to intervene, but Presidents Cleveland and McKinley refused because of the cost
Cuban guerillas started to destroy American sugar plantations and mills in Cuba to get our attention and American business owners pressured the government to act

8. Yellow Journalism
American newspapers reported exaggerated and, sometimes, false stories about the events in Cuba to increase circulation
William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer’s newspapers competed for readers with outlandish headlines
These strengthened Americans’ sympathy for the Cuban rebels

9. Steps to War
A few weeks later the US newspapers published a letter stolen from the Spanish ambassador to Washington, Dupuy de Lôme, which described McKinley as weak and caused an outcry in the US
Then an explosion sank the U.S.S. Maine (stationed in Havana to protect American citizens and property), killing more than 250 sailors
McKinley sent a list of demands to Spain including compensation for the Maine, truce in Cuba, an end to concentration camps, and Cuban independence
Spain agreed to all but the last demand and McKinley asked Congress to declare war

10. “A Splendid Little War”
First action was in the Philippines, where Spain’s entire Pacific fleet was destroyed in just 7 hours
US Army troops gathered in Tampa to prepare for an invasion of Cuba
The group receiving most of the publicity was the First Volunteer Cavalry, aka the Rough Riders
Led by Teddy Roosevelt, the group included cowboys, miners, policemen, and college athletes
The Spanish fleet tried to escape Santiago harbor in Cuba and the US sank every ship
2500 Americans died in the war, but fewer than 400 died in battle (the rest died of food poisoning, yellow fever, malaria, and inadequate medical care)

11. The Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Paris ended the war
Recognized Cuban independence
Spain gave up the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States in return for $20 million

12. The Philippines and Cuba
McKinley had to argue for becoming a colonial power in the Philippines and said that we had to help them govern themselves because if we didn’t they would be worse off than when they were under Spanish rule
The Filipinos wanted independence and fought us in a four year war with occasional fighting after that until 1946 when they gained full independence
We set up a military government in Cuba for three years while we helped them set up schools and recover, economically
They were then allowed to create their own Constitution, but it had to include the Platt Amendment to allow the US to establish naval bases there, to keep Cuba from entering foreign agreements, and to give us the right to intervene in Cuban affairs when we felt it was necessary

13. The US and Puerto Rico The US set up a military government
We removed military control and established a civil government under US control in 1900, and gradually turned over more control to Puerto Ricans
To stem a growing independence movement, the US government gave Puerto Ricans American citizenship in 1917
The US retained the power to appoint key officials, like the governor

14. Annexing Hawaii
Hawaii was attractive as a good midway point on the voyage to Japan and as a good place to grow sugarcane
The US gained exclusive rights to the naval base at Pearl Harbor
American sugar plantation owners in Hawaii pressured the king to sign a new constitution limiting his power, angering the Hawaiian people
After an attempt to regain power, Queen Liliuokalani was forced out of power by American pineapple planter Sanford B. Dole and the US Marines
President Grover Cleveland was against imperialism and refused to annex Hawaii, trying to restore the Queen to power
The American planters decided to wait until the next president took office and he annexed Hawaii

15. An Open Door to China
China was important to American trade, but we weren’t the only ones fighting for trade rights
Countries like Russia, Germany, Britain, France, and Japan wanted Spheres of Influence in China
We fought for an “Open Door Policy” for equal access to China’s millions of consumers, but the other countries didn’t like this
Boxer Rebellion
A secret society, which Americans called the Boxers, formed to get rid of “foreign devils” and their Christian converts who they believed were corrupting Chinese society
In the Boxer Rebellion “Boxers” seized foreign embassies in Beijing, killing more than 200 foreigners and taking others prisoner until the US and other countries stepped in
The US became even more insistent upon the preservation of open trade with China

16. Balancing Power in East Asia
Roosevelt supported the Open Door policy as a way to prevent any single nation from controlling trade in China
Roosevelt helped negotiate a treaty between Japan and Russia, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize
The U.S. and Japan were competing for power in East Asia
Roosevelt sent out 16 battleships of the U.S. Navy to demonstrate the nation’s military power
This didn’t help relations with Japan

17. The Panama Canal
Roosevelt realized the need for a canal to lessen the time and money required for commercial and military shipping
The U.S. had signed a treaty with Great Britain stating that we wouldn’t build a canal without them, but we signed another treaty later that said the opposite
The French had tried to build a canal and failed, but offered to sell their rights to us
The U.S. Secretary of State offered Colombia (who controlled Panama) $10 million and a yearly rent of $250,000 for the right to build the canal and to control a narrow strip of land on either side
Colombia wouldn’t agree to the price, so Panama had to declare independence to get the canal built and they knew they would have support from the U.S.
Roosevelt sent battleships to step in on the side of Panama and we signed a treaty with newly independent Panama for control of the canal zone

18. The Roosevelt Corollary
Roosevelt believed that the U.S. should “speak softly and carry a big stick”
He declared that the U.S. would step into Latin American affairs if necessary to maintain economic and political stability in the Western Hemisphere
This made the U.S. unpopular with Latin American countries, but Taft (who followed Roosevelt as president) continued to use this policy and believed that if American business leaders supported Latin American and Asian development, everyone would benefit
This came to be known as “dollar diplomacy”