Chapter 271890 – 1899

The Path to EmpireIn short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to

follow is: Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the

line hard.- Theodore Roosevelt

A. Imperialist Stirrings

• Production and agricultural boom looks for new markets

• Growth in– Population– Wealth– Production

• Imperialism, practice by which powerful nations or peoples seek to extend and maintain control or influence over weaker nations or peoples.

**1. Economic

Imperialism

• States are motivated to dominate others by the need to– expand their economies,– acquire raw materials – additional sources of labor, – to find outlets for surplus

capital and markets for surplus goods.

**2. Political Imperialism

• to expand primarily by the desire for power, prestige, security, and diplomatic advantages

**3. Ideological Imperialism

• Political, cultural or religious beliefs force states into imperialism as a “missionary” activity

4. Forces for Expansion

• Manifest Destiny• a belief that territorial

expansion by the United States was both inevitable and divinely ordained

• Remember the “Yellow Press”– Joseph Pulitzer and

William Randolph Hearst

***5. What was the Virginius?• Ship captained by Joseph Fry, an

American soldier of fortune, which was used in an attempt to smuggle arms to Cuban rebels. It sailed fraudulently under the neutral American flag and carried counterfeit American registration.

• On October 31, 1873, the Virginius was captured by Spanish officials in international waters, and 36 crew members and 15 passengers, including several American citizens and British subjects, were executed

• Paid US $80,000 for damages and released ship

6. Social Darwinism• Missionaries look for

new souls overseas– Native Americans no

longer target– Superiority of Anglo-

Saxon race

• Darwinism– Earth belongs to the

strong and fit– Other nations already

had a jump, esp. Africa

7. The Influence of Sea Power

• Book written by Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan– Control of sea is key to world

dominance– Stimulated the naval race

among world powers– Relit isthmus argument

• Also James Blaine– “Big Sister” policy– Encouraged Latin America to

open markets– First Pan-American Conference– Suggested economic

cooperation – NAFTA????

B. Monroe’s doctrine and the Venezuelan Squall

• Gold discovered in area contested with Great Britain

• British defying Monroe Doctrine

• Pres. Cleveland sent Sect. Of State, Olney to protest

• British refuse to respond for 4 months!!!

1. Twisting the Lion’s Tail

• British deny relevance of Monroe Doctrine

• Angry Cleveland sends commission to establish boundary WITHOUT British input

• British anger diverted by capture of 600 British in South Africa by German Boers

2. Patting the Eagle’s Head??

• Strengthened Monroe Doctrine

• England foresees German threat

• Great Rapprochement, reconciliation, between US and England

C. Spurning the Hawaiian Pear“The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is the golden hour for the

United States to pluck it.” – American minister to Hawaii

• Hawaiian Islands used as provisioning stop for ships

• The first New England missionaries reached Hawaii in 1820.

• State Department warned other nations to keep their hands off Hawaii in 1840.

• In 1887 treaty naval-base rights secured at Pearl Harbor

• McKinley Tariff of 1890 used to protect US sugar growers. – Increased tariff on Hawaiian sugar

cultivation – Reduced profits for American

planters in Hawaii

1. Hurrah for President Cleveland

• American planters decided that the best way to overcome the tariff would be to annex Hawaii.  – Opposed by Queen Liliuokalani– Planters organized revolt in

1893 with unofficial support from US.

• The Queen was overthrown•   Treaty to annex Hawaii,

withdrawn from Senate by President Grover Cleveland  

D. Cubans Rise in Revolt

• Tariff of 1894 also affected sugar production of Cuba

• Cubans began revolt against their Spanish in 1895

• Because Spanish began to place Cubans in reconcentration camps

• Cuban revolutionaries hoped to destroy enough of Cuba that Spain would abandon Cuba

• Or United States might move in and help the Cubans with their independence.

1. Once again, President Cleveland

• America had large investment as well as annual trade stake in Cuba.

• Congress passed a resolution in 1896 that recognized the belligerence of the revolted Cubans. 

• President Cleveland refused to budge and fight for Cuba’s independence.

E. The Mystery of the Maine Explosion

•

"You furnish the pictures,  I'll furnish the war!"

• WR Hearst to Frederic Remington

• Who were leaders of “yellow journalism.” ??

• Caused the American people to believe that conditions in Cuba were worse then they actually were.

• Hearst’s Journal published a letter written by Spanish minister in Washington, Dupuy de Lome in 1898.

• The letter, which degraded President McKinley, forced Dupuy de Lome to resign.

Political Cartoon on Spanish Imperialism

1. “Remember the Maine”

• On February 15, 1898, the American ship, Maine blew up in Havana harbor.

• Spanish investigators declared it was an accident (spontaneous combustion in one of the coal bunkers)

• American investigators claimed Spain had sunk it. 

• 254 seamen were dead, and 59 wounded. Eight of the wounded later died.

• American people rally around the flag.

***2. What Really Happened to the Maine?

• Although the Maine was only a second-class battleship, it was the largest ship ever to enter Havana harbor.

• To the Cubans, it was a floating American fortress right in their capital city

• Captain Sigsbee describes what happened next.

• I laid down my pen and listened to the notes of the bugle, which were singularly beautiful in the oppressive stillness of the night. . . . I was enclosing my letter in its envelope when the explosion came.

• It was a bursting, rending, and crashing roar of immense volume, largely metallic in character.

• There was a trembling and lurching motion of the vessel, a list to port. The electric lights went out.

• Then there was intense blackness and smoke. The situation could not be mistaken.

• The Maine was blown up and sinking. For a moment the instinct of self-preservation took charge of me, but this was immediately dominated by the habit of command.

***3. The Maine Explodes• Captain Sigsbee managed to reach the deck, now slanted down sharply toward the

submerged bow. • He climbed aft toward the only part of the ship that was not awash. Fires had broken

out all over the vessel, and they lit the harbor in an eerie red glow. • Most of the crew had been asleep in their berths at the forward part of the ship, which

was already at the bottom of the harbor. The stern sunk more slowly. • Crews from nearby ships manned lifeboats to rescue the surviving crewmen of the

Maine.

***4. The Spanish helped?

• "Chief among them," Sigsbee wrote, "were the boats from the Alfonso XII. The Spanish officers and crews did all that humanity and gallantry could compass." Reluctantly, Captain Sigsbee abandoned the Maine, which continued to burn and explode throughout the night.

F. McKinley Unleashes the Dogs of War

• American diplomats had already gained Madrid’s agreement to Washington’s 2 basic demands– an end to the

reconstruction camps

– armistice with Cuban rebels.

1. Teller Amendment

• American people ready for war• Pres. Cleveland, not convinced, followed their

lead.  • On April 11, 1898.  Congress declared war and

adopted the Teller Amendment.• Told the world when the United States had

overthrown the Spanish, it would give the Cubans their freedom.

G. Dewey’s May Day Victory at Manila

• American army numbered 2,100 officers and 28,000 men compared to the 200,000 Spanish troops in Cuba.

• Navy ranked 5th world-wide• Due to navy secretary John D. Long and his assistant secretary

Theodore Roosevelt.

1. Great White Fleet

• Roosevelt sends Commodore George Dewey’s 6-ship fleet to Spanish Philippines

• On May 1, 1898, Dewey sneaks in at night and attacks and destroys Spanish fleet at Manila.

***2. USS Olympia - Dewey’s Flagship

• The Pacific fleet was visiting Hong Kong when the news of war arrived.

• Commodore George Dewey quickly provisioned his ships and set off to attack the Spanish colony in the Philippine Islands.

• Once at sea, Commodore Dewey had his men paint all the ships. Once a bright white, the ships were soon covered with a dull gray to make them less visible to the enemy.

***3. Dewey in Battle• Next, Dewey ordered that

everything made of wood, including the piano on his flagship Olympia, be tossed over the side. Splintered wood presented a greater danger to his crews than enemy shells.

• Then with chests, chairs, and tables bobbing in the water behind them, the ships went after the Spanish fleet

• After searching throughout an oppressive tropical night, Dewey found the Spaniards in the shallows of Manila Bay.

***4. The War in Motion Pictures

• At dawn on the first of May, the Olympia led the fleet in single file toward its enemy. The Spanish opened fire long before the Americans were within range. When the Olympia reached effective range, it turned sharply to the west, bringing all its guns to bear upon the Spanish

• "You may fire when ready, Gridley," Dewey told his executive officer. With a deafening roar, the huge cruiser's guns erupted. The flagship swung around in a wide circle, and each ship followed, guns blasting as it passed. "We made five trips past the fleet," a gunner on the Boston wrote.

***5. “The destruction we had wrought”

• Just two hours after the beginning of the battle we hauled out and, withdrawing a few miles, the order was given for breakfast. I was exhausted from the heat, loss of sleep, and lack of proper food. I went up on deck. Below the thermometer was at 116°, and the fresh air was a great relief. From this vantage point, I could see the destruction we had wrought.

6. Capturing Manila

• Foreign ships began to gather in the Manila harbor, protecting their nationals. 

• On August 13, 1898, American troops captured Manila.

H. Unexpected Imperialistic

Plums

• After victory in the Philippines US needed Hawaii as supply base for Dewey in the Philippines. 

• Congress passed a joint resolution of Congress to annex Hawaii on July 7, 1898.

I. The Confused Invasion of Cuba

• Shortly after the outbreak of the war, the Spanish government sent a fleet of warships to Cuba, led by Admiral Cervera. 

• He was blockaded in the Santiago harbor in Cuba by American ships.

• Leading the invasion force from the rear was General William R. Shafter.

1. The Landing in Cuba

• Commanded by Colonel Leonard Wood, the group was organized principally by Theodore Roosevelt.

• Landing near Santiago, Cuba was made without serious opposition.

2. The Charge up San Juan Hill

• On July 1st, fighting broke out at El Caney and San Juan Hill, up which Colonel Roosevelt and his Rough Riders charged. 

• The “Rough Riders,” part of the invading army, was a regiment of volunteers consisting of cowboys and ex-athletes. 

J. Curtains for Spain in America• Admiral Cervera’s fleet was

entirely destroyed on July 3, 1898 and shortly thereafter Santiago surrendered. 

• General Nelson A. Miles met little resistance when he took over Puerto Rico. 

• On August 12, 1898, Spain signed an armistice.

• 400 servicemen died in combat during the three-month war, but nearly 5500 died from diseases such as typhoid, malaria, yellow fever, and dysentery. 

K. McKinley Heeds Duty, Destiny, and Dollars

• Spanish and American negotiators met in Paris

• Americans secured Guam and Puerto Rico, but the Philippines presented President McKinley with a problem:–   he didn’t want to give the

island back to Spanish misrule– but America would be turning

its back upon responsibilities if it simply left the Philippines. 

1. McKinley’s Goals:To Christianize and To Civilize

• Spanish negotiators objected to US control of Philippines because Manila had been captured the day after the war

• America therefore agreed to pay Spain $20 million for the Philippines.

• I have been criticized a good deal about the Philippines," McKinley said, "but I don't deserve it. The truth is . . . they came to us as a gift from the gods

• "Congratulations," Andrew Carnegie wrote to a leading expansionist. "You seem to have about finished your work of civilizing the Filipinos. It is thought that about eight thousand of them have been completely civilized and sent to heaven. I hope you like it."

L. America’s Course (Curse?) of Empire

• The Anti-Imperialistic League sprang up and fought McKinley administration’s expansionism. 

• Democratic presidential candidate 1900, William J. Bryan used his influence on senators to get the treaty approved on February 6, 1899.

•   Bryan argued that the sooner the treaty was passed, the sooner the Filipinos could gain their independence.

***1. The White Man’s Burden

Take up the White Man's burden-- Send forth the best ye breed--

Go, bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need;

To wait, in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild-- Your new-caught sullen

peoples, Half devil and half child.

***2. The March of the Flag• "The Opposition tells us that we

ought not to govern a people without their consent. I answer, The rule of liberty that all just government derives its authority from, the consent of the governed, applies only to those who are capable of self- government. I answer, We govern the Indians without their consent, we govern our territories without their consent, we govern our children without their consent. . . . Would not the people of the Philippines prefer the just, humane, civilizing government of this republic to the savage, bloody rule of pillage and extortion from which we have rescued them? " – (Albert J. Beveridge, "March of the

Flag," 16 September 1898)

**3. Mark Twain’s Response

• I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land.- quoted in A Pen Warmed Up in Hell

•

M. Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba• Foraker Act of 1900,

Congress gave the Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government and, in 1917, granted them U.S. citizenship.

• In Puerto Rico the US worked wonders in education, sanitation, transportation, and other improvements.

• In the Insular Cases, the Supreme Court declared the Constitution did not extend to the Philippines and Puerto Rico. 

1. The Platt Amendment

• The United States, honoring the Teller Amendment of 1898, withdrew from Cuba in 1902. 

• The U.S. forced the Cubans to write their own constitution of 1901 (the Platt Amendment). 

• The constitution decreed that the United States might intervene with troops in Cuba in order to restore order and to provide mutual protection.

•   The Cubans also promised to sell or lease needed coaling or naval stations to the U.S.Elihu Root

Sect of War / Sect of State

N. New Horizons in Two Hemispheres• Although the Spanish-American War only lasted 113 days,

American prestige as a world power increased.• One of the greatest results of the war was the bonding between

the North and the South.