Chapter 20 Politics and Expansion in an Industrializing

Chapter 20 Politics and Expansion in an Industrializing Age 1877 -1900

Expansionist Stirrings and War with Spain, 1878 -1901 • Roots of Expansionist Sentiment – In the late 19 th century the U. S. A. showed heightened interest in overseas empire – The example of European nations and Japan, which were seizing colonies in Asia and Africa, stimulated U. S. expansionism – During the depression of 1893 -1897, American businessmen and politicians argued that the U. S. A. must capture overseas markets to maintain prosperity

Roots of Expansionist Sentiment (cont. ) • Republican politicians claimed that to be a great power the U. S. must: – build up its navy – obtain far-flung colonies • to establish fueling stations and bases – Show its influence in the world as a superior county • Inspired by: – Alfred T. Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power upon History – Social Darwinist ideas

Roots of Expansionist Sentiment (cont. ) • Leading Republicans were: – Theodore Roosevelt – Henry Cabot Lodge – John Hay

Roots of Expansionist Sentiment (cont. ) • Our Country – 1885 – Josiah Strong – Combined religion and Social Darwinism racism – Told Americans that, as members of the superior Anglo-Saxon race, they were destined to spread Christianity and civilization to “inferior” people

Pacific Expansion • Expansionist enthusiasm led the United States to overtake some Pacific Islands: – Samoan Island • U. S. established a joint protectorate with Germany and Great Britain – Hawai’i • American sugar plantation owners overthrew the govt. of Queen Liliuokalani • Asked U. S. to take over the island • President Cleveland, who was not an expansionist, declined to do so • President Mc. Kinley requested Congress to annex Hawai’i • 1898

Crisis over Cuba • The Cubans revolted against Spanish rule in 1895 • The Spanish authorities brutally attempted to suppress the rebellion • Public opinion in the U. S. turned against the Spanish because of yellow-journalism – William Randolph Hearst=Journal – Joseph Pulitzer=World – Both featured daily accounts of Spanish atrocities

Crisis over Cuba (cont. ) • President Mc. Kinley did not want to intervene in Cuba • He did send the battleship Maine to Havana to protect the lives and property of Americans on Cuba • On Feb. 15, 1898, an explosion the Maine killed 266 of its crewmen

USS Maine

USS Maine

Crisis over Cuba (cont. ) • The yellow press immediately accused the Spanish of blowing up the ship • The public demanded revenge • Giving in to popular pressure, Mc. Kinley asked Congress to declare war on Spain • Congress declared war on April 1898

Crisis over Cuba (cont. ) • Congress also passed the Teller Amendment – Proclaimed that the U. S. had no desire to overtake Cuba and would leave the island as soon as its independence was ensured – Teller Amendment

The Spanish-American War, 1898 • The fighting against Spain lasted less than 4 months • Admiral George Dewey attacked the Spanish fleet in the Philippines • American troops took Manila Bay in August • By July, the Spanish were driven from Cuba • The defeated Spanish: – Recognized Cuba’s independence – Ceded to the United States: • Philippines • Puerto Rico • Guam

The Spanish-American War, 1898 (cont. ) • Contrary to the Teller Amendment, the U. S. occupied Cuba from 1898 to 1902 • The U. S. withdrew its forces only after Cuba agreed to the conditions set forth in the 1901 Platt Amendment – It limited Cuba’s sovereignty by: • Reserving to the U. S. the right to intervene in Cuba • The U. S. could maintain a naval base on Cuba

The Spanish-American War, 1898 (cont. ) • Although the Platt Amendment was abrogated in 1934, the United States still retains the base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba

Critics of Empire • Some Americans were horrified by their nation’s actions in the Spanish-American War • They founded the Anti-Imperialist League – Pointed out that imposing U. S. rule on other peoples by military force violated the principles of human equality and liberty championed in our own Declaration of Independence

Critics of Empire (cont. ) • Some members of the Anti-Imperialist League: – – – Carl Schurz (civil-service reformer) E. L. Godkin (civil-service reformer) William Jennings Bryan (ag. spokesman) Jane Addams (settlement house founder) Mark Twain (writer) William James (writer)

Critics of Empire (cont. ) • Despite the League’s efforts, the Senate ratified the treaty annexing the Philippines • In 1900 pro-expansionist Mc. Kinley again defeated anti-imperialist Bryan for the presidency

Guerrilla War in the Philippines, 1898 -1902 • Pres. Mc. Kinley was persuaded that the U. S. should keep the Philippines by the arguments of: – the expansionists – businessmen to use the islands as a way of penetrating nearby Chinese markets • This U. S. decision led to a war against Filipino independence fighters

Guerrilla War in the Philippines, 1898 -1902 (cont. ) • To crush the guerrilla resistance of the Filipinos, the U. S. used brutal tactics • The U. S. lost many more soldiers than it had in the Spanish-American War • In 1946, the U. S. granted the Philippines their independence