United States HistoryChapter 20: America and the World
Imperialism Imperialism – the desire to colonize – gripped the
United States in the late 1800s It was justified by the need to stay economically
viable and maintain military strength As a result, the US and many other countries of the
world colonized much of Africa, Asia Latin America and the Pacific
The United States also felt they had the duty to spread our way of government, life and religion to “uncivilized” peoples of the world
Hawai’i The Hawaiian Islands were lucrative because of their tropical
climate and they were a good resupply area on the way across the Pacific Ocean
Americans invested heavily in the sugar, eventually forcing King Kalakaua to let the US take over the islands for economic and military purposes
In 1891, the king died, opening the throne to his sister, Liliuokalani She tried to rid the islands of US influence, but was overthrown
in 1893 Samuel Dole became president, but the gov’t refused to annex
Hawai’i until 1898, becoming a territory in 1900
China and Japan China had been fought over by several nations for years
Much of their land had been carved into spheres of influence, areas that were controlled by particular nations
In 1899, the United States called for an Open Door Policy with China This would open trade with all nations and allow the Chinese to collect tariffs
and benefit from trade However, a group of Chinese against foreign intervention known as the
Boxers, organized a rebellion in 1900, attempting to drive foreigners out Eventually, the rebellion was quelled and trade resumed, but China had to
pay millions to European nations for the damages of the Boxer Rebellion In 1854, Matthew Perry sailed to Japan to open trade
Quickly, Japan became and industrial power This led to the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 in a squabble over Chinese lands The war ended in 1905 after President Roosevelt intervened
Spanish-American War Cuba and Puerto Rico, just south of the US, were Spanish colonies in
revolt as of the late 1800s The US had great economic interest in both areas The Spanish rounded up thousands of Cubans into concentration camps,
killing over 200,000 William Randolph Hearst reported the atrocities in American newspapers
Americans became sympathetic to the Cuban cause He also reported a letter from Spain that called President McKinley weak,
outraging Americans Finally, after the USS Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana harbor, Hearst
made headlines read that Spain had caused the explosion On April 25, 1898, at the urging of McKinley, the US declared war on Spain
Spanish-American War The US recognized Cuban independence
Authorized force to uphold independence Passed the Teller Amendment, vowing to leave Cuba to themselves after the war
was over The first battles were fought in Spanish controlled Philippines
Started May 1, 1898 Eliminated the Spanish navy quickly with overpowering firepower and the help of
a Filipino rebel group Fighting ended August 14, 1898
Fighting in Cuba was much more difficult Fighting began on July 1, 1898 Theodore Roosevelt resigned his post in the gov’t to become leader of an army
group known as the Rough Riders in their conquest of San Juan Hill Over the course of a couple of weeks, the Spanish army suffered great losses and
their navy was destroyed in Cuba and Puerto Rico
Spanish-American War The war was very costly for Spain
Gave up Cuba and recognized independence Ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the US Gave the Philippines to the US for $20 million
The US lost 5,400 men in battle during the short war, but gained a great deal of new territory The new territory expanded trade, allowed for military bases
around the world and showed American might as a world power The Philippines fought the Americans after the war for their own
independence, with thousands dying by 1902 Slowly, the US granted government powers to the Filipino people,
but did not grant independence until July 4, 1946
Cuba and Puerto Rico After the war, the United States set up military gov’ts in Cuba
and Puerto Rico Cuba was forced to agree to the Platt Amendment, a promise to
not agree to treaties with other countries and allow the US to intervene at any time Today, Cuba is independent with no ties to the US after the
Communist takeover in 1959 by Fidel Castro Puerto Rico was ruled as a territory, with people becoming US
citizens in 1917 Today, Puerto Rico is self governing, but is US land, with American
benefits In both places, the US took steps to rebuild, eliminate disease
and protect from outside interventions
Panama To make trade easier, the French tried to build a canal across Panama in the
1880s, but failed Panama was a part of Columbia at this point In 1903, a treaty was organized to give the US access to build a canal, but
Columbia refused to ratify Roosevelt was furious and organized a Panamanian revolution The US military stood on hand to assist Panama if needed, but did not participate
in the revolution The US very quickly recognized the newly independent Panama Panama gave the US control of a 10 mile wide strip across the nation to build the
canal Building began in 1904, but was hampered by yellow fever and malaria After eliminating the diseases, work resumed and the canal was completed in
1914 The first ship to use the canal did so on August 15, 1914
Panama Canal
Latin America The Monroe Doctrine (1823) promised intervention if European powers tried
anything in Latin America The Roosevelt Corollary was added in 1904 to ensure Latin American
countries that the US would use force to protect them This was also to protect American interests in those nations Protests were common but the US continued to intevene
President Taft implemented a new policy of helping nations called dollar diplomacy Instead of European banks loaning money, he encouraged American
investment in Latin America This allowed for American business to thrive and the military to intervene
when they saw fit President Wilson ended dollar diplomacy, but he encouraged democratic
government, and used the military to enforce democratic government
Mexico Mexican president Porfirio Diaz used corruption to rule Mexico, but was
overthrown in the 1910 Mexican Revolution However, fighting continued between the new democratic government and
rebels such as Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata Eventually, the US intervened, landing troops at Veracruz to stop arms going to
the rebels The new president, Victoriano Huerta resigned and fled to Spain in 1914 At this point, Mexico was nearly lawless, but the new president, Venustiano
Carranza, promised to protect Americans, so the US recognized the new government
Pancho Villa was outraged at this recognition He crossed into New Mexico, killing 17 Americans as retaliation President Wilson sent the army into Mexico to find Pancho Villa, but that only
escalated a potential war with Mexico Finally, in 1917, a new Mexican constitution went into effect, calming the nation