Chapter 6- Rise to World Power (1865-1917) Lesson 1- Seeking New Frontiers Changing Foreign Policy
Washington warned against permanent alliances
Guided US foreign policy for about 100 years
Disagreement about what Washington meant
Isolationism (the belief that a nation should stay out of the affairs of other nations) or trade with other countries
Expansionism (the practice of spreading a nation’s territorial or economic control beyond its borders) after Washington
Settled most of the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Americans looked beyond the nation’s borders
Trade with China
Japan had been isolated from the West
Commodore Matthew Perry went to Japan in 1853
Treaty of Kanagawa (1854)- Japan opened two ports to American ships
An Age of Imperialism
Imperialism- the policy of extending a nation’s rule over other territories and countries
European nations competed for influence in Asia and Africa
Helped lead to World War I
Visions of American Empire
Some Americans wanted the US to build an empire to become a great power
Secretary of State William H. Seward wanted an American empire that dominated the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific
Canal across Central America
Communication by telegraph
The Purchase of Alaska
Seward bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867
Mocked at first (Seward’s folly)
Gold discovered there in the 1890s
Alaska became a US territory in 1912
“Lifting Up” the World
Josiah Strong proposed an “imperialism of righteousness”
Americans would bring their religion and culture to Africa, Asia, and Latin America
American Interest in Latin America
Strong trading relationship with Latin America
Pan-American Union created in 1889- promoted cooperation among members
A Stronger Navy
Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan wanted to improve the navy
Colonies to use as bases to refuel ships
Shift from sails to steam power and from wooden to steel hulls
Lesson 2- Imperialism in the Pacific Hawaii and the United States
William H. Seward acquired the islands of Midway in 1867
Stopping place for American ships en route to China
A Growing American Presence
Americans and Hawaiians began trading in the 1790s
Christian missionaries went to Hawaii
American merchants in the whaling trade went to settle in Hawaii
Americans started growing sugarcane in Hawaii in the 1830s
Missionaries and traders began buying land and setting up sugar plantations
Americans took control of most of the land and businesses
American Planters’ Revolt
Queen Liliuokalani wanted Hawaiians to regain control of the islands
American planters forced her out of power
Set up their own provisional government (temporary government) in 1893
The United States Annexes Hawaii
Provisional government asked the US to annex Hawaii
Most Hawaiians opposed annexation
President Benjamin Harrison signed an annexation treaty
Not ratified by the Senate before Harrison left office and withdrawn by Grover Cleveland
Annexation approved after William McKinley became president
Hawaii became a US territory in 1900
Samoa
About 3,000 miles south of Hawaii
Allowed the US to build a naval station and gave special trading rights to the US
Great Britain and Germany also given trading rights
US, Britain, and Germany divided Samoa
US annexed its portion, Britain withdrew in return for rights in other islands
An Open Door to China
War and lack of industry made China too weak to resist foreign powers
Rivalries in China
Japan and European nations had spheres of influence (sections of a country in which foreign nations enjoy special rights and powers) in China
Caused tension between the countries
Hay’s “Open Door”
Secretary of State John Hay proposed an Open Door policy
Each foreign nation in China could trade freely in the other nations’ spheres of influence
Opposed by other nations
The Boxer Rebellion
Chinese society (the Boxers) rose up against foreigners in 1899
Put by foreign troops in 1900
Open Door policy accepted after the rebellion
Relations with Japan
Japan ignored the Open Door policy
Japan and Russia fought over Manchuria
Led to the Russo-Japanese War in 1904
Treaty of Portsmouth
President Roosevelt met with Russian and Japanese leaders in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Treaty of Portsmouth ended the conflict in 1905
Japan built up its naval power and challenged the US in Asia
Strained Relations
Japanese in the US faced discrimination
Separate schools from white students in San Francisco
Roosevelt got them to change this policy
Gentlemen’s Agreement resented by the Japanese
Some Americans called for war
Roosevelt sent 16 battleships (“Great White Fleet”) on a cruise around the world
US and Japan resolved many of their differences by 1909
Lesson 3- War With Spain “A Splendid Little War”
People in Cuba rebelled against Spain in the late 1800s
Thousands of Cubans died of starvation and disease
Yellow Journalism
Americans worried about the rebellion in Cuba and were horrified by Spain’s treatment of the Cubans
American newspapers published shocking reports about the revolution (yellow journalism)
Made Americans eager for war
“Remember the Maine”
McKinley sent the Maine to Havana to protect American citizens and property
260 Americans killed when the Maine exploded on February 15, 1898
American newspapers blamed Spain, but it was probably an accident
McKinley demanded an end to Spanish brutality against the Cubans
Spanish agreed to some demands, but Congress declared war on April 25, 1898
Fighting in the Philippines
Commodore George Dewey attacked the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay
American troops and Filipino rebels captured Manila in July 1898
Filipinos wanted independence
The War in Cuba
Spanish fleet trapped by American ships in the harbor of Santiago
Theodore Roosevelt- leader of the Rough Riders in Cuba
Rough Riders and African American soldiers won the Battle of San Juan Hill in July
Spanish fleet defeated in Santiago
End of Spanish resistance in Cuba
American troops took control of Puerto Rico
Spain signed an armistice (an agreement to end fighting) on August 12, 1898
Impact of the War
War lasted less than four months
About 400 Americans killed in battle or from wounds
More than 2,000 Americans died from diseases (yellow fever, malaria, etc.)
African American soldiers faced discrimination
US recognized as a major military power
Acquiring New Lands
Treaty of Paris officially ended the war on December 10, 1898
Broke up most of the Spanish empire
Cuba became an American protectorate (a country under the control of a different country)
Puerto Rico and Guam became US territories (areas completely controlled by a country)
Spain gave the Philippines to the US for $20 million
Cuban Protectorate
US debated what to do with Cuba
US granted full independence in 1901, but Congress adopted the Platt Amendment
US naval base at Guantanamo Bay
US had the right to take action if Cuba’s independence was threatened
New Government for Puerto Rico
US set up a new government for Puerto Rico in 1900
Jones Act in 1917 made Puerto Rico a US territory
American citizenship for all Puerto Ricans
Debate Over the Philippines
Anti-imperialists argued that rule of the Philippines went against democratic principles
Imperialists argued that the Philippines would give the US another Pacific naval base
Treaty of Paris made the Philippines a US territory
Filipinos Rebel
Filipinos fought for independence starting in 1899
Led by Emilio Aguinaldo
More than 4,000 US soldiers and about 220,000 Filipinos dead
Aguinaldo captured in 1901
William Howard Taft led a new government
Prepared the Philippines for eventual self-rule
Independence in 1946
Lesson 4- Latin American Policies The United States in Panama
France attempted to build a canal in Panama but failed
Panama is an isthmus (a narrow strip of land connecting two larger bodies of land)
US wanted a canal
Revolution in Panama
John Hay negotiated with Colombia for a 99-year lease on a strip of land across Panama
US would pay $10 million and an annual rent of $250,000
Colombian senate rejected the treaty
US supported a Panamanian revolt against Colombia in 1903
The Panama Canal
US recognized Panama’s independence
Hay signed a treaty with Panama (same as before)
Many Latin Americans and some Americans were angry with Roosevelt
Difficult to build the canal
Damp, tropical jungle
Mosquitoes carried yellow fever and malaria
Colonel William Gorgas developed mosquito control measures
Opening the Canal
Panama Canal opened on August 15, 1914
Reduced shipping costs
Helped extend US naval power
Canal turned over to Panama at the end of 1999
Policing the Western Hemisphere
Roosevelt believed the US should deal with foreign crises with military action (“big stick”)
US as “international police power” to preserve order and prevent anarchy (disorder and lawlessness caused by lack of effective government)
Roosevelt Corollary
Monroe Doctrine- aimed to keep European powers from getting involved in Latin America
Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary in 1904- US had the right to get involved in the affairs of Latin American nations whenever they seemed unstable
US would act as a “police power” in Latin America
First used when the US took control of the Dominican Republic’s finances following a revolution in 1905
Used again when troops were sent to Cuba to stop a revolution in 1906
Dollar Diplomacy
Taft wanted to substitute “dollars for bullets” in American foreign policy
Dollar diplomacy- the policy of using economic investment to protect US interests abroad
American investments in Latin America grew
Built roads and harbors; increased trade
Increased anti-US feelings
Relations with Mexico
Rich landowners and US investors controlled Mexico
Francisco Madero led a successful revolution in 1911
Madero killed two years later by General Victoriano Huerta
Huerta favored the wealthy and foreign interests
Wilson refused to recognize Huerta’s government
Wilson’s “Moral Diplomacy”
Woodrow Wilson wanted to promote democracy in other nations to prevent war and revolution
Wilson wanted a foreign policy based on moral principles
Civil war broke out in Mexico after Huerta took power
Wilson hoped Huerta’s government would fall
Wilson authorized arms sales to Venustiano Carranza (Huerta’s rival)
Wilson ordered US troops to seize the port of Veracruz after US sailors were arrested in April 1914
Carranza took power
Francisco “Pancho” Villa
Pancho Villa led an uprising against Carranza
Villa shot 16 Americans in January 1916
Villa’s rebels burned a town in New Mexico, killing 18 Americans
General John J. Pershing sent to Mexico to capture Pancho Villa
American troops left Mexico in 1917 because of World War I