Post on 16-Dec-2015
transcript
Is the “New” Imperialism New?
Not new – U.S. continually expanding
New in two senses:Non-contiguous expansion
Colonization, not usurpation
Tied to economic expansionU.S. exports increase from $234 million in 1865 to $1.5 billion in 1900, 2.5 billion in 1914
Particularly in Latin America: by 1914, . . .
• U.S. exported $300 million worth of goods to region
• U.S. investments in region totaled $1.26 billion
American ExceptionalismRev. Josiah Strong (Our Country, 1885):
U.S. chosen by God to uplift the world“As America goes, so goes the world”
Continued belief in “Manifest Destiny” – new frontier was overseasMissionaries spread both Christianity & American culture as package dealUndergirded by racist belief in “White Man’s Burden”
U.S. Imperial ExpansionAlaska purchased from Russia in 1867U.S. divided Samoa with British & Germans in 1889; annexed 1899Sanford Dole led revolution in Hawaii in 1893; annexed in 1898
The Road to War with SpainJosé Martí collected money, men & arms in U.S. to start 1895 revoltAmericans appalled by Gen. Weyler’s brutality & “reconcentration policy”William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal published sensational stories, but only inflamed existing passionsDe Lôme Letter (pub. Feb. 9, 1898) called Pres. McKinley “weak”U.S.S. Maine exploded & sank in Havana Feb. 15, 1898, killing 266 of 354 American sailors
McKinley Forces the IssueMcKinley sent ultimatum to Spain
Demanded end to hostilities & reconcentration
Insisted U.S. mediate a settlement
Rejected by Spain April 10
April 19: Congress passed joint resolution to force resolution
Teller Amendment disavowed annexation
April 22: U.S. Navy began blockade of Cuba
April 24: Spain declared war on U.S.
Pres. William McKinley
The Caribbean Theater
June 22 – siege of Santiago began
July 1 – Battle of San Juan & Kettle Hills
July 13 – Santiago surrendered
Puerto Rico captured without a fight
Aug. 12 – armistice signed
The Philippines Theater
May 1 - George Dewey’s fleet defeats the Spanish in Manila Bay
Dewey joined forces with rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo
Aug. 13 – Manila surrendered
Effects of Imperialism - Caribbean
Treaty of Paris (Dec. 1898; ratified Feb. 1899):U.S. got Philippines, Guam & Puerto Rico
Spain got $20 million
Cuba granted independence (became U.S. protectorate)
Platt Amendment gave U.S. control over Cuba’s foreign policy & right of intervention
Foraker Act (1900) denied U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans (got it in 1917)
Insular Cases – Supreme Court ruled Constitution doesn’t follow the flag
Effects of Imperialism - AsiaDewey denied promising Aguinaldo independence
Guerilla war vs. Aguinaldo’s rebels in the Philippines, 1899-1902
200,000 Filipinos killed
5,000 Americans killed
U.S. soon realized difficulty of defending islands against Japanese aggression, so cut deals:
Taft-Katsura Agreement (1905): U.S. recognized Japan’s conquest of Korea
Root-Takahira Agreement (1907): U.S. recognized Japanese control of Manchuria
Emilio Aguinaldo
George Dewey
The Panama CanalHay-Paunceforte Treaty (1901): Britain allowed U.S. to build canal by itself1903 treaty paying Colombia $10 million and $250 thousand a year in rent rejected by Colombian SenatePhilippe Bunau-Varilla staged revolt in Panama with U.S. helpCanal completed in 1914U.S. ruled Canal Zone