1. Let us begin our new unit.
American Imperialism
Let us begin our new unit.

2. What is Imperialism…again…?
Imperialism is when “strong” countries take over “weak” countries.

3. Manifest Destiny…what was that…again…?
Manifest Destiny is the idea that America was “destined” by God to stretch from one ocean to the other.
This concept drives the expansion of America.

4. Now What?
For most of America’s history there had always been the “frontier,” a place of endless possibilities and resources and a place to grow.
But by the late 1800’s that “frontier” had pretty much been all settled.
America needs a NEW frontier!

5. Main Motivating Factors.
Military Might- America needs to expand overseas to keep up with its military might. European countries are doing the same, and we need to keep up.
Economic Might- We have gone through the Industrial Revolution and we need markets to sell all our awesome stuff.
Cultural Might- Americans believed the White, Anglo- Saxon Protestant culture was superior and that it must be spread throughout the world.

6. Let’s Start With Alaska
William Seward, Secretary of State under Lincoln and Johnson, arranged this deal.
We bought Alaska for 7.2 million bucks from the Russians.

7. “Seward’s Folly”
People called the land deal Seward’s Folly because they thought the land was useless.
Turns out we got a piece of land rich in timber, minerals, oil, and Sarah Palin.
For 2 cents an acre.
Take that, haters!

8. On to Hawaii
We’ve had a long history with Hawaii.
American merchants starting making stops on Hawaii on their way to China way back in 1790.
In the 1820’s Christian missionaries began setting up schools and churches on the islands.

9. Sugar
The generations who followed those Christian missionaries often became sugar farmers.
They would bring in laborers from Japan, Portugal, and China.
By 1900 foreigners outnumbered the natives.

10. The McKinley Tariff of 1890
Sugar planters had been exporting sugar to the US duty free, until this tariff.
This caused the planters to want America to “annex” Hawaii, or take it into our country without becoming a state.
This would mean they wouldn’t have to pay the tariff.

11. We already had strong military interest in Hawaii
We convinced them to let us build a naval base at Pearl Harbor in 1887 (more on that later..)
This was a refueling station for our ships who were carrying goods in the Pacific.

12. The Hawaiian Monarchy
Wealthy white land owners forced the King to amend the Hawaiian constitution to grant voting rights only to wealthy land owners.
When he died, his sister took the throne, Queen Liliuokalani
She wanted “Hawaii for Hawaiians.”

13. Nope.
With the help of the US Marines, the landowners threw her off the throne and Sanford B. Dole becomes head of the government.
In 1898 Congress proclaimed Hawaii an American territory.

14. Chapter 10 in the online textbook.
Reading Homework.
Chapter 10 in the online textbook.