Competency Goal: The Emergence of the United States in World Affairs (1890-1914), analyze causes and effects of the United States emergence as a world power

1: Examine the factors that led to the U.S. taking an increasingly active role in world affairs 2: Identify the [geographic] areas of the U.S. military, economic, and political involvement and influence 3: Describe how the policies and actions of the U.S. government affected the affairs of other countries

An Emerging World Power

Imperialism: One nation’s domination of the political, social, and economic elements of another nation: e.g. U.S. control over the Philippines from the early 1900s to 1946

“Spreading the American Dream”: Emily Rosenberg’s summing up of U.S. motives for global expansion. America’s growth overseas does not neatly fit the usual themes of imperialism. Historically, empires ruled foreign territories and dominated their people. The U.S., having once fought a war for independence, tries to avoid directly governing territories. Instead, it tries to convince citizens of foreign lands to be friendly and to copy American development, politically, culturally, and economically. Because Americans believe their system is superior, they want the rest of the world to be more like them. Rosenberg insists the expansion was driven by an ideology (system of

beliefs) she calls “liberal developmentalism.” The ideology consists of five elements:• (1) belief that other nations could and should replicate

America’s own developmental experience

• (2) faith in private free enterprise

• (3) support for free or open access for trade and investment

• (4) promotion of free flow of information and culture

• (5) growing acceptance of governmental activity to protect private enterprise and to stimulate and regulate American participation in international economic and cultural exchange.

“Imperialism of Righteousness”: Phrase of Josiah Strong, a Congregationalist minister who called for the U.S. to create an empire to bring “civilization” to remote parts of the world. He suggested that the Anglo-Saxon “race” had an obligation to evangelize the world – what became known as the “white man's burden” to bring liberty and Christianity to the “darker races.”

International Rivalry

Alfred Thayer Mahan: Author of The Influence of Sea Power upon History. The book influenced policy-makers, notably Theodore Roosevelt. As a result, the U.S. built a new steel navy and took Pacific islands to provide coaling stations to fuel ships and for the country's security and economic strength. In late 1800s, Samoa became a U.S. protectorate. The U.S. took control of Guam, Wake Island, and the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Mahan’s book also influenced America to build the Panama Canal.

Anti-Imperialist League: Not all Americans agreed that the U.S. should become an imperial power. Many said that it was hypocritical for America to talk about a right of self-government and then take over foreign lands. Among those who criticized expansion were William Jennings Bryan, Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, and Grover Cleveland.

Annexation of Hawaii, 1898: In 1887, the U.S. took control of the port at Pearl Harbor to build a naval base and coaling station. By the 1890s, Americans living in Hawaii rebelled against Queen Liliuokalani leading to the Republic of Hawaii and opening the door for annexation by the U.S. in 1898.

Open Door Policy: The traditional policy of imperial powers was to divide the world into spheres of influence. This locked new powers out of opportunities for new markets. To open up opportunities, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay advanced the “Open Door” policy in China. It called for free and equal access to Chinese ports and markets for all the “Western” powers.

Boxer Rebellion: brief, bloody (for the Chinese) war led by a group named “Fists of Righteous Harmony,” Chinese nationalists expert in the art of kung fu. The Boxers wanted to rid China of foreigners and allow the Chinese to govern themselves.

Jose Marti: Cuban poet; exiled from Cuba, he led the Cuban independence movement from New York. When the revolution began, Marti returned to Cuba and he was killed by Spanish troops. Marti became a martyr and his death created great sympathy for Cuba among Americans. Marti is also famous for the poem “Guantanamera.”

Yellow Journalism: type of news reporting that exaggerates events to get more readers or viewers and thus sell more newspapers. It was used by William Randolph Hearst's paper, the New York Journal, and by Joseph Pulitzer's paper, the New York World, to create support for Cuban independence by misrepresenting the actions of Spain

Spanish-American War (1898-1901)

The De Lome Letter: Letter written by the Spanish foreign minister, Dupuy de Lome, to a friend in Havana. In it de Lome calls POTUS William McKinley “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd, . . . who tries to leave a door open behind himself while keeping on good terms with the jingoes of his party.” A Cuban spy intercepted the letter and the Hearst’s newspapers published it. American outrage at the insult caused de Lome to resign.

Jingoism: Term from the de Lome Letter that means extreme nationalism, marked by an aggressive foreign policy. Many considered TR jingoistic.Battleship Maine: U.S. gunboat that blew up and sank in Havana Harbor a few days after de Lome’s resignation. It killed 260 sailors. Americans were shocked and blamed Spain for the loss. McKinley tried to avoid war, but public pressure mounted and so America went to war on April 25th, 1898. An investigation proved that the Maine sank because its own boiler blew up; so Spain had nothing to do with it.

The “Splendid Little War”: John Hay’s description of the Spanish American War because the U.S. took only nine months (from declaration to peace treaty) to win it and reap significant rewards. The first battle of the war, Battle of Manila Bay, occurred in April 1898, not in Cuba, but halfway around the world. Undersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt urged Admiral George Dewey to steam the Pacific Fleet from Hawaii to the Spanish colony of the Philippines to take advantage of a Filipino uprising (led by Emilio Aguinaldo) and take the islands for America. Dewey’s fleet destroyed or captured every Spanish ship in one day. Some action of the war did occur in Cuba, notably the Battle of San Juan Hill in which Roosevelt’s First Volunteer Cavalry, the “Rough Riders,” charged up the hill (on foot since their horses had been misplaced) and routed the Spanish. Spain sued for peace on July 26th. In the Treaty of Paris (1898), the U.S. gained control of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, Aguinaldo turned his anti-imperialist attention against the U.S. and America would face years of guerrilla combat trying to pacify the Filipinos. Because the U.S. had fought for “Cuban independence,” it could not legitimately take control of Cuba.

May 1898Commodore Dewey defeats Spanish warships in Manila.

CONFLICT IN THE PHILIPPINES

August 1898The United States and Spain agree on a cease-fire.

December 1898The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War. Filipinos begin a guerrilla resistance to American control. February 1899

The Senate ratifies the Treaty of Paris.

March 1901U.S. troops capture Emilio Aguinaldo, the Filipino guerrilla resistance leader. April 1902

All Filipino resistance ends.

Teller Amendment: Added to the declaration of war with Spain, it declared that when the U.S. defeated Spain Cubans would be given complete independence.

Platt Amendment: Negotiated by Secretary of State Elihu Root, it was added to the treaty giving sovereignty to Cuba after the Spanish-American War. It specified that (1) Cuba could not make a treaty with another nation that would weaken its power or allow a foreign power to gain territory in Cuba; (2) Cuba had to let the U.S. to buy or lease naval stations in Cuba; (3) Cuba’s debts had to be kept low to prevent foreign countries from landing troops to enforce payment; and (4) the U.S. had the right to intervene to protect Cuban independence and keep order. It showed the U.S. still wanted to control Cuba despite the Teller Amendment. Cuba reluctantly accepted the Amendment. It was repealed in 1934.

Walter Reed and William Gorgas: In the Spanish-American War many more Americans died of yellow fever than were killed in battle. In 1899, Walter Reed, a doctor and researcher at the Army Medical School in Washington, D.C., traveled to Cuba to study the causes of tropical diseases. Building on the work of Cuban doctor, Carlos Finley, Reed proved that mosquitoes carried the disease and suggested the best defense against the fever was to drain swampy land and cut back the jungle. Reed died in 1902, but his work was continued under the direction of William Gorgas, Chief Sanitary Officer of the Army. The work of Reed and Gorgas was instrumental in making it possible to build the Panama Canal. Gorgas was made Surgeon General of the Army in 1914 and was knighted by King George V of England in 1920.

Theodore Roosevelt (T.R.): A larger than life figure: born to wealth in New York City (1858), a sickly boy, he built himself into a robust physical dynamo. He gained national celebrity as a hero of the Spanish-American War, leading the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill, and became Republican Vice-POTUS in 1901. He took the presidency when McKinley was assassinated. As POTUS he asserted an aggressive, “imperialistic” foreign policy. He initiated “gunboat diplomacy” -- sending ships to the Caribbean to intimidate Colombia into giving Panama its independence, and sending the “Great White Fleet” on a worldwide tour to tell the world that the U.S. “carried a big stick” no matter the volume of its speech. He signed a series of treaties that enabled the U.S. to build and control the Panama Canal. He mediated a dispute between France and Germany in Morocco (Algeciras Conference), and negotiated the Treaty of Portsmouth ending the Russo-Japanese War —for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. TR is considered one of the top five Presidents in U.S. history – his face is on Mt. Rushmore.

Pan-American Policy to 1920

Roosevelt Corollary: Theodore Roosevelt’s addition to the Monroe Doctrine (1823 decree that said European Powers could not create new colonies in the Western Hemisphere). Specifically, it asserted America’s power to enforce debt repayment by Latin American nations. More broadly, it said the U.S. would use its police power to intervene in political disputes in any country in the Americas in order to protect American economic and strategic interests.

U.S. Intervention in Latin America, 1890-1935

Gentlemen’s Agreements: The U.S. and Japan began a special relationship when Commodore Matthew Perry opened trade with Japan in 1853. But as the two grew into Great Powers, tensions arose. Japan went to war with China in 1894-95 and Russia ten years later, defeating both and taking control of Korea and the Chinese province of Manchuria. In 1905, Roosevelt negotiated the Treaty of Portsmouth ending the Russo-Japanese War: it recognized a Japanese protectorate in Korea but ordered Russia and Japan out of Manchuria; it also won TR a Nobel Peace Prize. That same year, the U.S. and Japan agreed to allow Japan to dominate Korea in return for Japan’s recognition of U.S. control of The Philippines.

Root-Takahira Agreement: In 1908, the U.S. agreed to recognize Japanese expansion into Manchuria in return for Japanese recognition of the U.S. annexation of Hawaii; Japan also promised to stop emigration of Japanese workers to America; and TR promised to end discrimination against Japanese immigrants in California (such as San Francisco’s policy of segregating Japanese-American school children).

Fearing the concessions would make him seem weak, TR sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour (including to Tokyo) to impress and intimidate potential foes. Japan demurred. The U.S-Japanese relationship epitomized TR’s “velvet and iron” foreign policy summed up in his favorite proverb: “Speak softly, but carry a big stick.”

Panama Canal: Man-made waterway through the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Completed in 1914, it enabled the U.S. to defend itself more effectively and improved transport of goods throughout the world. Notably, it shortened the voyage from New York to San Francisco by 8000 miles

Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty (1903): To gain control of land in the isthmus, TR pushed Colombia with “Big Stick” or “Gunboat" Diplomacy.”

He sent the Navy to anchor off the Colombian coast to force Bogotá to allow Panama's independence. He then had Secretary of State John Hay negotiate with the Panamanians to grant the U.S. control of a Panama Canal Zone through which to build the canal.

William Howard Taft: T.R.’s Hand-picked successor. Before becoming POTUS, he was the first civil governor of The Philippines. After his presidency, he contributed in WWI as head of the labor board and later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court – the job he had wanted all along.

Dollar Diplomacy: Foreign policy of President Taft, established in China and carried into Latin America. Rather than use troops to intervene in disturbances in foreign countries as TR had, it encouraged U.S. banks to prop up foreign economies by investing in foreign banks or setting up banks in foreign countries, such as Nicaragua and Honduras. It encouraged American business investment in the region, such as United Fruit Co. in Costa Rica. Dollar diplomacy worked well for the U.S., but not so well for Latin America as companies dominated the politics of the host countries. The U.S. did still use troops to enforce its interests. When Nicaraguans rose up against a regime friendly to the U.S., Taft sent troops to put down the rebellion; they stayed in until 1933.

Woodrow Wilson: Democratic POTUS from 1913-1921. Born in Staunton, Virginia, he rose to political prominence in New Jersey as Governor and President of Princeton. He advocated a more moralistic foreign policy to mixed results. he opposed the war in Europe and tried to develop a system that would end war by eliminating the causes of war. At times, however, he contradicted his own views, such as in Mexico.

Although he promised to keep the U.S. out of WWI, in 1917, he sent in troops at the critical point to defeat Germany and its allies. He gained a seat at the peace conference at Versailles, offering “Fourteen Points”, but achieving only one (the League of Nations). Facing strong opposition to the League at home, he went on a national campaign to win support for the Treaty of Versailles. He failed to convince Republicans to ratify the treaty and so never brought the U.S. into the League. The physical strain was too much for Wilson; he suffered a stroke. His wife, Edith, (sometimes called the “Secret President”) took over the daily running of the government for the duration of his presidency. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Invasion at Veracruz: Despite Wilson's declarations of a moralist foreign policy and his criticism of the policies of TR and Taft, the invasion of Veracruz demonstrates that he too could abuse the ideals of national self-determination. In 1914 Wilson sent troops to Mexico to force the Mexicans to select a leader friendlier to the U.S. and Wilson's vision of democracy. In 1913, Mexican general Victoriano Huerta led a coup d’etat. Wilson declared the coup illegal. When Huerta had some drunk and disorderly U.S. sailors arrested in Tampico, Wilson used the incident to send in U.S. Marines. In the ensuing battle 19 Americans and 300 Mexicans died. Huerta was overthrown by Wilson's preferred Mexican leader, Venustiano Carranza. But Carranza rejected Wilson's efforts to shape the new government and nationalized the oil fields, costing American oil companies. Wilson ordered troops to back a third faction led by Francisco “Pancho” Villa, but Carranza's forces defeated Villa’s. Wilson abandoned the whole mission.

Villa got revenge by killing 18 Americans on a train in northern Mexico and attacking the bordertown of Columbus, New Mexico, killing 17 more, as well as towns in Texas. With Americans outraged at the attacks, Wilson sent the cavalry to capture Villa. The troops never found him. The futile search in the mountains of northern Mexico embarrassed the Wilson administration and severely strained U.S.-Mexican relations.