US.22 Assess the causes of American imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the desire for raw materials and new markets, yellow journalism, and the desire to spread American democratic and moral ideals. (E, G, P)
US.24 Describe the consequences of American imperialism of the period, including the following events: (E, G, H, P) annexation of Hawaii, Spanish-American War (Teller, Platt, and Foraker Acts), Philippine Insurrection, Roosevelt Corollary, Panama Canal
16. (US.22,24) American Imperialism: (part 1) Conquest
a. Raw Materials and New Markets
b. Yellow Journalism
c. Spreading Democracy
d. Annexation of Hawaii
e. Spanish American War
f. Teller, Platt, Foraker Acts
g. Philippine Insurrection
h. Roosevelt Corollary
i. Panama Canal
A
B
C
On December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland announced to Congress, “Thus it appears that Hawaii was taken possession of by the United States forces without the consent or wish of the government of the islands, or of anybody else so far as shown, except the United States Minister."
Hawaii was an independent monarchy when Boston missionaries arrived in 1820. Loving the island paradise, many stayed and became wealthy and powerful sugar planters; the U.S. became Hawaii's biggest sugar customer.
Not wanting to pay tariffs on sugar exported to the U.S., the planters and the U.S. foreign minister wanted the U.S. to annex Hawaii. The planters and the foreign minister took control of the Hawaiian government. Queen Liliuokalani was jailed. U.S. troops landed to prevent violence.
President Cleveland did not support annexation and profusely apologized to the queen. When Cleveland left office, Hawaii was annexed in 1898. Plantation owners gained much but the impact on the Hawaiian language, culture, and society were far-reaching. In 1959, Hawaiians voted for statehood, and Hawaii became our 50th state.
The annexation of Hawaii was an example of imperialism, a practice by which a foreign power extends political and economic influence or control over another country.
An uprising of the native Cuban people against the Spanish-ruled Cuban government occurred in 1895. Though President Cleveland declared United States neutrality, many in Congress wanted to intervene.
Interest in Cuba was bolstered by the yellow journalism of newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Both men sensationalized events in Cuba as a way to boost sales and incite public opinion.
In 1898, the USS Maine, anchored in Havana harbor, the capital of Cuba, mysteriously blew up. Some 266 American sailors died. Though an investigation found that Spain had not attacked the ship,
American newspaper journalists jumped at the chance to capitalize on passions for war against Spain. Pro-war legislators saw a free Cuba as an opportunity for economic development. Proponents of a large American navy and overseas expansion saw war with Spain as an opportunity to extend influence and gain territories.
The Spanish-American War erupted two months after the sinking of the USS Maine. During what Secretary of State John Hay described as "a splendid little war," future President Theodore Roosevelt led his cavalry unit, the Rough Riders, at the Battle of San Juan Hill.
In 1901, the United States granted Cuba independence, providing Cubans agreed to the Platt Amendment to Cuba's new constitution. This said that Cuba would not make treaties with other nations that were against America's interests and gave America control of the naval base at Guantánamo Bay.
The treaty was canceled in 1934, but the U.S. kept its Guantánamo base.
F
G
The first shots of the Spanish-American War occurred in the far-off Spanish-ruled Philippines. There the U.S. defeated the Spanish navy and took over the city of Manila. Filipino rebels seized the island of Luzon. The Americans captured the city of Manila with rebel help. The rebels declared the Philippines independent of Spain. A failed revolt against American rule followed. The Philippines eventually achieved complete independence in 1946.
The building of the Panama Canal was part of American foreign policy to extend American influence throughout the Western Hemisphere. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt issued his Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The policy established the United States as the policing power of the Western Hemisphere. President Roosevelt and his political and military advisors believed that United States should intervene in order to stabilize the political and economic affairs of small countries in Central America and the Caribbean. Roosevelt wanted these countries to be able to collect tariffs and taxes so they could pay their international debts, and especially wanted to keep Europeans from interfering.
President Roosevelt often used "big stick diplomacy" as a foreign policy tactic.
"In asserting the Monroe Doctrine, in taking such steps as we have taken in regard to Cuba, Venezuela, and Panama, and in endeavoring to circumscribe the theater of war in the Far East, and to secure the open door in China, we have acted in our own interest as well as in the interest of humanity at large...."
- Theodore Roosevelt, Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, 1904
16I. The Panama Canal
From 1881 to 1887, France attempted to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Eager to take over the project, in 1903 the United States signed a treaty that granted it a permanent lease over a 10-mile-wide swathe across the isthmus for $10 million and an annual rent of $250,000. Work on the Panama Canal began the next year. Over 40,000 people worked on the canal, which opened on August 15, 1914. The canal itself was about 50 miles long. However, it reduced the voyage of a ship traveling from New York to San Francisco by almost 8,000 miles.