2. American Expansionism
• The Monroe Doctrine (1823) warned
European countries to stay out of
“Latin” America – this opened much of
the South American market for US
influence only
• The idea US expansion stopped during
the Civil War – in fact, expansion was
one of the causes that led up to the
Civil War
• After the Civil War, the US quickly
became a heavily industrialized nation
• The U.S. was producing more goods
than it could use
• This surplus led the U.S. to look for
new markets abroad
3. American Expansionism
• The search for raw materials and
markets drove the idea of
imperialism – when one nation has
political and economic control over
another
• European nations such as England
and France had already carved up
Africa and parts of Asia into colonies
and "spheres of influence”
• Secretary of State William Seward
believed the should expand in the
Pacific Ocean in its effort to reach
Asia
• He arranged for the purchase of the
Midway Islands and Alaska
4. American Expansionism
• The purchase of Alaska was known as
“Seward’s Ice Box” until gold was
discovered in the 1890’s
• The Midway Islands that would serve as a
stopping place for US ships headed to
China
• Hawaiian sugar plantations were very
profitable - eventually most of the business
came under the control of the US
• In 1893 US planters staged a revolt and
overthrew Queen Liliuokalani and in 1898
the US annexed the islands
• In 1898 the US annexed part of the Samoa
Islands – they would serve as a stopping
place for US ships headed to Australia
5. American Expansionism
• The US’s ultimate goal was China
• China was divided up into “spheres of
influences” by several European
countries – sections of a country where a
foreign nation has political and economic
powers
• The chinese staged a revolt known as
the Boxer’s Rebellion – the rebellion
was crushed, but led to the Open Door
Policy
• The Open Door Policy which allowed
each foreign nation in China to trade
freely and other nation’s spheres – US
gained much with this agreement
6. Spanish - American War
• In the late 1800’s, Cuba led many
unsuccessful revolts against Spanish
rule
• This attracted US attention:
businesses were worried about US
investments in Cuba and newspapers
printed graphic details about the
atrocities committed against the
Cuban people
• Newspapers tried to out do each
other with shocking stories. “You
furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish
the war.” William Randolph Hearst
• This type of sensational, biased, and
sometimes false reporting became
known as yellow journalism
8. Spanish - American War
• In January of 1898, the US sent the
battleship the Maine to the Havana
harbor to protect US citizens and
property
• 3 weeks later the ship blew up
• Newspapers quickly came up with
the slogan “Remember the Maine, to
hell with Spain”
• In April the US declared war on
Spain
• The first place the US attacked was
the Philippines – within a matter of
hours the Spanish navy was
destroyed
10. Spanish - American War
• The US then turned its attention to Cuba -
after taking Cuba, the US attacked Puerto
Rico
• By August the war was over - “US Secretary
of State called it “a splendid little war”
• The war lasted 4 months and about 400
soldiers were killed in battle
• Cuba became an American protectorate -
independent yet under the control of the US
• Platt Amendment – part of Cuban
constitution that gives US the right to
intervene in Cuban affairs and control of
Guantanamo Bay
11. Spanish - American War
• Puerto Rica and Guam became
American territories
• The US paid Spain $20 million for
Philippine Islands
• US occupation of the Philippines
led to the Philippine – American
War – ultimate the US had to pull
out (1946)
• Anti-Imperialists League - not
everyone in the US supported the
war
16. U.S. & Panama Canal
• US controlled territory in both the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans – US wanted to build a canal
connecting the two oceans
• Panama was an isthmus – a narrow strip of
land connecting two larger bodies of land
• When Colombia refused to sell or rent the land
to the US – the US supported the
Panamanians in rebelling against Colombia
• Two weeks later the US signed a treaty with
the newly created Panama for the construction
of the Panama Canal
• These events upset many of the countries in
Latin America, and caused them to mistrust
the US
• The canal opened in August of 1914
17. Policing the Western Hemisphere
• Teddy Roosevelt’s philosophy was “Speak
softly and carry a big stick” – he believed US
should respond to problems with military force
rather than threats
• America should exercise “an international
police power” to preserve order and prevent
the world from falling into anarchy
• Instability in the Carribbean and South
America (revolts) caused Roosevelt to worry
about European intervention
• Roosevelt Corollary – America has the right
to act as a “policeman” in Latin America in
cases of wrongdoing or when a nation seemed
“unstable”
18. Dollar Diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere
• William Howard Taft replaced Teddy
Roosevelt as president of the US
• He did not want to “police” Latin America and
hoped to change US foreign policy by
“substituting dollars for bullets.”
• American investments would bring stability to
trouble areas as well as power and wealth to
the US
• Linking business interest to political interest
was known as Dollar Diplomacy
• This policy helped build roads,railroads,
harbors, and stimulated trade
• However, when American businesses were
endangered often led to military intervention
• Which in turn led to resentment
