1. CHAPTER 21 An Emerging World Power, 1890‒1918
James A. Henretta
Eric Hinderaker
Rebecca Edwards
Robert O. Self
America’s History Eighth Edition America: A Concise History Sixth Edition
CHAPTER 21
An Emerging World Power,
1890‒1918
Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

2. 1. Describe this scene—what is the central action of this photograph
1. Describe this scene—what is the central action of this photograph? (Answer: These are American soldiers in a trench on the Western Front in Europe during World War I.)
2. What does the photograph convey to its audience about the experience of trench warfare for American soldiers in 1918? (Answer: They occupy a devastated landscape, face explosions and gunfire, and confront death all around them. The photograph conveys the difficulty of soldiers’ lives and the ways the experience must have shaped them over the long term.)

3. I. From Expansion to Imperialism
A. Foundations of Empire 1. Josiah Strong 2. Alfred T. Mahan
I. From Expansion to Imperialism
A. Foundations of Empire
1. Josiah Strong – Our Country (1885), Congregationalist minister encouraged Protestants to spread Christianity overseas; example of American “exceptionalism:” United States had a unique destiny to foster democracy and civilization throughout the world; viewpoint linked to racial theories that supported white supremacy and Social Darwinism.
2. Alfred T. Mahan – The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890), U.S. naval officer; argued that naval power was essential to empire building; 1890 Congress approved funding for three battleships; Secretary of State Richard Olney warned that the United States would use these new naval tools in the Western Hemisphere to protect its interests.

4. I. From Expansion to Imperialism
B. The War of Cuban Rebellion 2. “Remember the Maine”
I. From Expansion to Imperialism
B. The War of 1898
1. Cuban Rebellion – In February 1895, Cubans began guerrilla war against Spain; Spanish began policy of concentration camps, 200,000 Cubans died from starvation, disease; William Randolph Hearst publicized the plight of the Cubans in newspaper stories; President Cleveland wanted the Spanish to end the crisis; his successor, McKinley, was ready to take a stand on issue; new Spanish government offered limited self-rule, effort failed.
2. “Remember the Maine” – Publication in the New York Journal of a private letter from Spanish minister, Dupuy de Lôme, critical of McKinley’s policies; de Lôme resigned; public opinion against Spain worsened; Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor, 260 Americans killed; “Remember the Maine” became national chant; no evidence linked Spain to the sinking, probably accidental, but war fever grew.

5. I. From Expansion to Imperialism
B. The War of 1898 (cont.) 3. The Spanish-American War 4. War in the Pacific
I. From Expansion to Imperialism
B. The War of 1898
3. The Spanish-American War – Negotiations failed, in April 1898 war began; Teller Amendment assured Americans that McKinley’s administration would not try to occupy Cuba; more than 200,000 men volunteered (including T. Roosevelt).
4. War in the Pacific – In May 1898, American ships destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay; turned naval attention to Hawaii where the United States had a base at Pearl Harbor; Hawaii annexed in July 1898 (halfway to Philippines); moved to gain Guam and Puerto Rico; T. Roosevelt led Rough Riders; Spanish surrendered in July 1898; more casualties from malaria and yellow fever than battle wounds.

6. 1. This image memorializes a famous battle in the War of 1898
1. This image memorializes a famous battle in the War of Examine this image closely. What do we know about the men who fought at San Juan Hill? (Answer: Appear to be mostly African American soldiers, with white officers leading them on horseback; numerous losses and casualties.)
2. How does this painting challenge the ideas that justified American imperialism in the 1890s?
(Answer: The image, which shows African Americans bearing the brunt of the fighting in the name of Anglo-Saxon superiority, is ironic. By depicting the way the United States relied on black soldiers to defeat the Spanish challenges, the lithograph demonstrates the emptiness of the racial justifications for the war.)

7. I. From Expansion to Imperialism
C. Spoils of War 1. An Armistice 2. The Philippines
I. From Expansion to Imperialism
C. Spoils of War
1. An Armistice – Spain agreed to liberate Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam; McKinley wanted to annex the Philippines because of the harbor at Manila; debate ensued in the United States with many taking an anti-imperialist stand (Jane Addams, Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, Samuel Gompers); growth of anti-imperialist leagues but no mass movement.
2. The Philippines – Spain ceded the country to the United States in the Treaty of Paris for $20 million; in February 1899, fighting began between Americans and Filipinos around Manila; war lasted three years, extremely brutal; 4,200 Americans and 200,000 Filipinos killed; McKinley reelected; questions arose about citizenship for people newly annexed.

8. II. A Power Among Powers
A. The Open Door in Asia 1. The Boxer Rebellion 2. Japan
II. A Power Among Powers
A. The Open Door in Asia
1. The Boxer Rebellion – United States had demanded an “open door” to China in 1899, fearing that Japan and European powers would prevent U.S. economic relations with the Chinese; “Boxers”: secret society of Chinese nationalists, rebelled against European and Japanese rule in China in 1900; United States sent 5,000 troops to aid the Europeans.
2. Japan – Gained strength in Asia in late nineteenth century; defeated Russia in 1905; Root-Takahira Agreement (1908) recognized Japanese authority over Manchuria and open commerce; President Taft wanted a greater role for Americans in Asia, supported Chinese Revolution of 1911.

10. II. A Power Among Powers
B. The United States and Latin America 1. The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty (1901) 2. A “Big Stick” 3. Roosevelt Corollary 4. Wilson and Mexico
II. A Power Among Powers
B. The United States and Latin America
1. The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty (1901) – Efforts to build a canal across Central America; treaty recognized sole right of United States to build and fortify a canal.
2. A “Big Stick” – T. Roosevelt believed United States must have a strong navy with rapid access to the Atlantic and Pacific; needed a canal; Congress allocated $10 million plus $250,000 a year to buy a strip of land across Panama from Colombia; aided the Panamanians’ independence movement and recognized it as a new nation in 1903; canal building took more than eight years; Panama Canal opened in 1914.
3. Roosevelt Corollary – United States had unrestricted right to regulate Caribbean affairs.
4. Wilson and Mexico – Wilson critical of predecessors’ foreign policies, but his was not very different; relations with Díaz positive for investors in late nineteenth century; change of government, supported by United States, in 1911; Francisco Madero murdered in 1913; Wilson feared that U.S. interests would be negatively impacted by Mexican instability; U.S. occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; Huerta’s government collapsed; Carranza victorious; relations worsened when General “Pancho” Villa killed 16 Americans in New Mexico; clashes between U.S. and Mexican troops. 10

13. III. The United States in World War I
A. From Neutrality to War 1. The Struggle to Remain Neutral 2. America Enters the War
III. The United States in World War I (Triple Alliance is Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy; Triple Entente is Britain, France, Russia; June 1914 assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne led the alliances into war; Russia tied to Serbs; Germany to Austria-Hungary; new technology made this the deadliest war to date; long-range high-velocity rifles; millions of soldiers fought in trenches on the Western Front; Germans used poison gas; hundreds of thousands died with no movement of the front line.)
A. From Neutrality to War
1. The Struggle to Remain Neutral – Wilson sought to keep Americans out of the war so that he could influence the postwar settlement; British naval blockade made neutrality nearly impossible; German use of the U-boat began in April 1915; sinking of the Lusitania antagonized Americans; Wilson tried to push for negotiations but also began to build up the U.S. armed forces.
2. America Enters the War – Unrestricted submarine warfare led to a breakup in U.S.-German relations; Zimmermann telegram alleged that Mexico might be persuaded to join a war against the United States to regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona; in April 1917, Wilson asked for a war declaration.

15. III. The United States in World War I
B. “Over There” 1. Americans Join the War 2. The American Fighting Force
III. The United States in World War I
B. “Over There”
1. Americans Join the War – In 1917, the U.S. Army had fewer than 200,000 soldiers; draft began in May 1917; General Pershing lead the American Expeditionary Force; through May 1918, most fighting done by French and British; revolution in Russia led to a peace agreement between Germany and Russia (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) that gave Germany part of central Europe, Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltics; civil war began in Russia; American forces aided the British and French in forcing a German retreat by September 1918; armistice signed on November 11, 1918.
2. The American Fighting Force – Approximately 4 million American men served in the U.S. military; 400,000 African Americans; services were segregated with intense racial discrimination; over 50,000 U.S. soldiers killed in action; 63,000 died of disease (influenza); 8 million deaths combined from the Allied and Central Powers.

17. III. The United States in World War I
C. War on the Home Front
1. Mobilizing the Economy
2. Promoting National Unity
III. The United States in World War I
C. War on the Home Front
1. Mobilizing the Economy – U.S. companies sold grain, weapons, and manufactured items to Europe; U.S. banks lent capital to other nations; War Industries Board (WIB) established in July 1917 to direct military production; Fuel Administration introduced daylight saving time to save coal and oil; Food Administration (August 1917): “Food will win the war”; 1918 National War Labor Board (NWLB) established eight-hour day for workers with time-and-a-half overtime pay and endorsement of equal pay for women; workers made no-strike pledge in exchange for NWLB’s support for their right to organize.
2. Promoting National Unity – Wilson believed it was necessary to suppress dissent; Committee on Public Information (CPI), led by George Creel, propaganda agency to educate people about democracy, assimilating immigrants; campaign for “One Hundred Percent Americans;” American Protective League sent to spy on Americans searching for peace activists, draft evaders; Espionage Act and Sedition Act (1917/1918) led to the convictions of more than 1,000 people; debate over the extensive powers of the federal government during wartime; U.S. Supreme Court mostly supported the legislation.

19. 1. Who is the audience for this war-time advertisement, which asks “Remember Your First Thrill of American Liberty?” (Answer: Immigrants.)
2. According to this poster, what did the nation expect of the foreign-born in the United States?
(Answer: Loyalty; it is their “duty” during wartime to support the U.S. government’s efforts overseas by buying bonds.)
3. What did the artist intend by including an illustration of the Statue of Liberty in this poster?
(Answer: Evokes a sense of nostalgia for that first feeling those who entered the United States through Ellis Island/New York might have had when they saw the statue for the first time—the “thrill of American Liberty.”)
4. Who is depicted on the second poster, which commands “Beat back the Hun with Liberty Bonds”? Who is the intended audience for this advertisement? (Answer: The demonic presence with bloody hands and bayonet is supposed to represent a German soldier, identified as a Hun in this instance. The poster is explicitly anti-German, but it is supposed to appeal to all Americans and convince them to support the war on the basis that the Germans were evil aggressors.)

20. III. The United States in World War I
C. War on the Home Front (cont.)
3. Great Migrations
4. Women’s Voting Rights
III. The United States in World War I
C. War on the Home Front (cont.)
3. Great Migrations – Over 400,000 African Americans moved from South to North for wartime work; many found discrimination and racism in the North, but better living and working conditions than in the South; from 1917–1920 approximately 100,000 Mexicans entered United States for work.
4. Women’s Voting Rights – The National Woman’s Party (NWP) and the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) supported Wilson’s war effort, hoping that patriotism by women would aid the cause of suffrage; Alice Paul led the NWP with a confrontational approach, including protests at the White House in July 1917 that led to the women’s arrests; in January 1918, Wilson announced support of a constitutional amendment for woman suffrage as a “war measure;” House of Representatives passes Nineteenth Amendment in 1919, Senate passed it eighteen months later; United States ratified amendment in August 1920; other countries granted women voting rights after WWI: USSR, Great Britain, and Canada.

23. IV. Catastrophe at Versailles
A. The Fate of Wilson’s Ideas 1. “Peace among equals”? 2. Mandates
IV. Catastrophe at Versailles
A. The Fate of Wilson’s Ideas
1. “Peace among equals”? – At Versailles, leaders of France, Britain, and the United States rejected Japanese declaration of racial equality; desire to punish Germany for the war was intense; Germany forced to pay $33 billion in reparations and give up coal supplies, merchant ships, patents, and some territory to France; nine new independent states.
2. Mandates – Central Powers’ colonies in Africa were dismantled and assigned as mandates instead of being granted freedom; British mandate in Palestine (now Israel) led to thousands of Jews moving there for land; riots between Palestinians and Jews occurred as early as 1920; Wilson suggested a League of Nations.

25. IV. Catastrophe at Versailles
B. Congress Rejects the Treaty 1. Debate 2. Failure
IV. Catastrophe at Versailles
B. Congress Rejects the Treaty
1. Debate – Republican Party was openly hostile toward treaty and toward continued U.S. involvement in world affairs; Wilson traveled extensively to convince people to support treaty; suffered a stroke in September 1919; treaty failed.
2. Failure – Wilson’s health never recovered fully; United States did not ratify treaty or join League of Nations; emerged from the war a world power.