1. The United States Looks Overseas
1853-1915

2. Eyes on the Pacific

3. Opening Japan to Trade
 U.S.
 Merchants were eager to trade w/ Japan
 Japan
 Had blocked outside trade & barred foreigners from entering or leaving
country for 250 years
 1853
 U.S. warship commanded by Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into
Tokyo Bay
 Presented Japanese w/ a Presidential letter calling for trading rights to Americans
 Japanese were amazed by U.S. warship & its guns
 1854
 Perry returned to Japan & signed a treaty opening Japan for trade
 Japan also recognized their weakness w/ Perry visit
 Set out to transform Japan into an industrial nation that could compete
in modern world

4. Purchasing Alaska
 1867
 Alaska purchased from Russia for $7.2 million
 Alaska was viewed as a stepping stone for trade w/ Asia
& the Pacific
 Increased the area of the U.S. by almost 1/5
 Purchase was opposed by many Americans
 Was a frozen wasteland
 Views changed when gold was discovered in 1897

5. The Expansionist Mood
 Until late 1800s
 Americans followed George Washington’s advice to steer clear of
permanent alliances
 Isolationism policy followed
 Avoiding involvement in other countries’ affairs
 European nations undertook policy of imperialism during this time
 Building empires by imposing political & economic control over peoples
around the world
 Late 1800s
 New spirit of expansionism
 Arguments for increased involvement in world affairs
 Promoting economic growth & spreading American values
 New view of history also encouraged expansionism

6. The Turner Thesis
 1893
 Frederick Jackson Turner
 Thesis: western frontier had defined
American history, built individualism &
democratic values
 Conclusion: “And now, four centuries from
the discovery of America, at the end of a
hundred years of life under the
Constitution, the frontier has gone, and
with its going has closed the first period of
American history.”
 Few historians accept his thesis
 Idea of a closing frontier influenced
expansionists like Theodore Roosevelt
 Overseas expansion was the new frontier
 Would help renew nations vitality & strength

7. Promoting Economic Growth
 U.S.
 Powerful industrial economy
 Produced more than would be
bought in U.S.
 Nervous that expanding European
empire would close global
markets & access to raw materials
 Alfred T. Mahan
 Expansionist support
 Naval captain & author
 U.S. prosperity depended on trade
 Key was a strong navy to control
world’s sea lanes, protecting U.S.
access to foreign markets

8. Spreading American Values
 Late 1800s
 Americans
 Believed “Anglo-Saxon race” was superior
 American had divine duty to spread Christian values &
western civilization around the world

9. Gaining Footholds in the Pacific
 Pacific Islands
 Essential for expanding trade & U.S. influence
 Rivalry for Samoa
 U.S. Steamships Co. & Navy wanted to set up coaling stations
 Britain & Germany also wanted Samoa
 1889
 Warships from 3 countries were sent to Samoa
 Typhoon struck & destroyed most of the warships
 1899
 U.S. & Germany divided the islands of Samoa
 People of Samoa had no say in the matter

10. Interest in Hawaii
 Location between Asia & U.S.
 Could serve as U.S. military outpost
 1st people
 Came by canoe from other Pacific islands in 600s
 1778 Captain James Cook arrived
 1820 1st American missionaries arrived
 To convert Hawaiians to Christianity
 Later other Americans acquired land & set up plantations
 Sugar industry
 As it grew so did power of American planters
 1887
 American planters forced Hawaiian king Kalakaua to accept a new
constitution that gave them great influence
 1891
 Kalakaua died & was succeeded by his sister Liliuokalani
 She was a strong advocate for Hawaiian independence & refused to recognize the
1887 constitution
 Wanted to restore power of monarchy & reduce foreign influence

11. Annexing Hawaii
 1893
 American planters organized an uprising
 w/o U.S. gov’t consultation they had 50 U.S. Marines
overthrow the queen & set up a pro-American gov’t
 Annex proposal was rejected by President Grover
Cleveland
 Revolt was illegal & not supported by Hawaiian people
 William McKinley, Cleveland’s successor supported
annexation & a treaty to do so
 July 7, 1898
 Congress voted to make Hawaii a territory of the U.S.

12. Carving up China
 Later 1800s
 China just finished an unsuccessful war
 European powers & Japan seeing China’s weakness
forced Chinese empire to grant them land & trading
rights
 Divided China into spheres of influence
 Areas where another nation has economic & political control

13. Open Door Policy
 U.S. excluded from initial
dividing of China
 Feared to be excluded from
the China trade
 1899
 U.S. Secretary of Sate John
Hay issued to other powers
 Called for open door in China
 Wanted the guarantee for all
nations to be able to trade w/
China on an equal basis
 Response was quick, mostly
saying neither yes or no
 Hay publicly announced the
Open Door Policy had been
accepted

14. Boxer Rebellion
 Many Chinese resented foreign influences
 Secret society, Righteous and Harmonious Fists, was formed
 Called Boxers by Europeans
 1900
 Boxers rebelled to expel foreigners
 Back by Chinese gov’t they attacked & killed westerners & Chinese
Christians
 Churches were burned & homes of foreigners
 Outside powers, including U.S., sent 18,000 troops w/ modern
weapons in
 Freed trapped foreigners, crushed the rebellion, looted the
capital, & killed thousands of Chinese

15. The Open Door Again
 Secretary Hay feared Boxer rebellion would cause
powers to seize more Chinese territory
 Issued 2nd Open Door note
 Repeated principle of open trade & made stronger
statement about American intentions to preserve trade
 China should remain one country & not be broken up

16. The Spanish-American War

17. War Clouds Loom
 Cuba
 Under Spanish rule since 1492
 Discontent w/ Spanish harsh rule
 1868 Cuban uprising began, but put down 10 years later

18. Rebellion in Cuba
 1895
 Cuban uprising
 Spanish began reconcentration policy
 Forced movement of large numbers of people into detention
camps for military or political reasons
 Food was scarce & sanitation poor
 200,000 died
 Cuban exiles in U.S.
 Led by Jose Marti
 Urged U.S. to help rebels

19. Americans React
 Americans were sympathetic to Cuban rebels
 Urged U.S. gov’t to help oust Spain
 Others for economic reasons
 Safeguard U.S. investments in Cuba ($50 million invested in Cuban sugar & rice
plantations, railroads, & iron mines)
 President Cleveland
 Ignored calls for intervention
 William McKinley
 Became President in 1897
 Also ignored calls for intervention
 New York press
 Loudest supporters of intervention
 William Randolph Hearst
 Rival of Joseph Pulitzer
 Worked for New York Journal
 Used sensational stories & headlines
 Both Pulitzer & Hearst focused their attention on Cuba in their writings

20. “Remember the Maine”
 1898
 Fighting broke out in Havana, Cuba
 McKinley ordered battleship Maine to Havana harbor to
protect American lives & pr0perty
 February 15 @ 9:40 p.m.
 Great explosion sank the Maine & killed 260 men
 Cause unknown to this day
 Press & public blamed Spain; demanded revenge

21. The U.S. Goes to War
 McKinley
 Favored peace @ 1st
 War would disrupt U.S. economy
 Gave in to public pressure
 April 11, 1898
 Asked Congress to declare war on Spain
 9 days later they did

22. Surprise in the Philippines
 1st great battle not fought in Cuba
 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt
 Eager to expand U.S. naval power
 After Maine sunk, ordered Commodore George Dewey
(head of Pacific fleet) to move ships to Philippines
 May 1
 Dewey & small fleet of American warships sunk entire
Spanish squadron at Manila Bay
 No American ship or life was lost

23. Fall of Manila
 Filipinos
 Also revolting against Spain
 Emilio Aguinaldo
 Rebel leader
 Enlisted by Dewey to seize Manila
 U.S. quickly gained control of Philippines
 Aguinaldo was major help
 Overlooked that he was fighting for Philippine
independence
 Soon he would be fighting the U.S.

24. War in the Caribbean
 Santiago & Sea
 Main place fighting took place
 American ground forces arrived in June
 Poorly trained & equipped, eager to fight though
 Rough Riders
 Led by Theodore Roosevelt
 Best known unit
 July 1st led his men on a successful charge up San Juan Hill
 Most celebrated event of war
 Americans black & white fought in Santiago
 U.S. ships trapped Spanish fleet in Santiago
 Tried to escape & was destroyed by U.S.; 24,000 surrendered two weeks
later
 U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico next
 Quickly brought under U.S. control

25. An American Empire
 December 1898
 Spain & U.S. signed peace treaty
 Spain: accepted Cuban independence
 U.S. : acquired Puerto Rico, Philippines, Guam, & Wake
 Paid Spain $20 million

26. Debating the Treaty
 Angry debate followed treaty signing
 Taking colonies violated principle of the Declaration of
Independence
 Also brought risk of future wars
 Expansionists: gave U.S. important bases & provided
new business opportunities
 Duty to spread the ideas of democratic government
 Treaty ratified on February 6, 1899
 U.S. now had overseas empire

27. Governing Cuba & Puerto Rico
 U.S. new Caribbean power
 Cuba did not gain independence sought
 Forced to sign Platt Amendment in 1902
 Limited Cuba’s power to make treaties or borrow money & gave U.S. right
to intervene in Cuban affairs
 U.S. could also have naval base @ Guantanamo Bay
 Cuba was made a protectorate of the U.S.
 An independent country whose policies are controlled by an outside
power
 Foraker Act of 1900
 Set up gov’t in Puerto Rico w/ U.S. appointed governor
 Limited self-rule
 U.S. developed Puerto Rico’s economy & educational system
 1917 were made citizens of the U.S.
 Many still wanted to be free from outside control

28. Revolt in the Philippines
 Emilio Aguinaldo
 Renewed Filipinos fight
for independence
 3 year war followed
 4,000 American & 20,000
Filipinos were killed
 1901 Aguinaldo was
captured & fighting
came to an end
 1946 Philippines gained
independence

29. The U.S. & Latin America

30. Linking the Oceans
 During Spanish-American war
 Took naval ships too long to sail around South America
 Faster Way?
 Canal across Central America
 President Theodore Roosevelt was determined to build that
canal
 Would improve global shipping
 Easier for navy to defend the nation’s new overseas empire

31. Choosing a Site
 Isthmus of Panama
 50 miles wide
 Perfect place for canal
 1902
 Panama was province of Colombia
 Roosevelt offered Columbia $10 million in cash & $250,000
yearly in rent to allow U.S. to build canal
 Some opposed
 Give U.S. permanent control over stretch of land & land was
worth more money
 Gov’t held out for more money; Roosevelt was impatient &
did not want to lose time in bargaining

32. Revolt in Panama
 Roosevelt Plan
 Knew Panamanians disliked Colombia
 Secretly let them know U.S. would help them claim
independence
 Panamanians would reap rewards of canal
 November 3, 1903
 U.S. gunboats waited in harbor to provide support
 U.S. marines landed to prevent Colombian troops from
reaching Panama City
 Americans criticized Roosevelt’s “gunboat diplomacy”

33.  U.S. recognized independent Republic of Panama
 3 days later a Frenchman acting for Panama signed a
treaty
 Gave U.S. Permanent use & control of 10 mile wide zone
 U.S. paid $10 million plus $250,000 yearly rent

34. The Panama Canal
 1904
 U.S. began building canal
 Fighting Disease
 1st obstacle was malaria & yellow fever
 Worked could not start until these were controlled
 William C. Gorgas
 U.S. expert on tropical diseases
 Took challenge of fighting diseases
 Carlos Juan Finlay
 Cuban doctor
 Discovered a certain type of mosquito transmitted diseases
 Ronald Ross
 English doctor
 Found another type of mosquito that transmitted diseases
 William Gorgas ordered workers to clear brush & drain swamps were
mosquitoes lived
 1906
 Gorgas wiped out yellow fever & reduced malaria

35. The “Big Ditch”
 3 Construction Tasks
 Cut through a mountain
 Dam a river
 Erect the canal’s giant locks
 Big Challenge
 Digging Gaillard Cut
 9 mile ditch through the mountains
 Thousands worked under extreme temps & rainstorms & constant
mudslides
 Engineers & supervisors were from U.S.
 Laborers were West Indians of African descent
 6,000 lost their lives during construction
 Work on canal finished 6 months early
 August 15, 1914
 Panama Canal opened

36. Wielding a “Big Stick” in Latin
America
 Roosevelt wanted the world to know that if diplomacy
failed U.S. would not hesitate to use military force to
protect its interests
 “Big Stick Policy”

37. Roosevelt Corollary
Big Stick Policy
 Applied in Latin America
 U.S. was leader in Western Hemisphere
 Wanted to prevent European nations from becoming too powerful in the region
 1904
 European nations
 Considered using force to collect overdue debts from Dominican Republic
 Roosevelt announced new policy
 Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
 Corollary: logical extension of a doctrine or proposition
 Theory
 When U.S. neighbors got in disputes
 U.S. had right to “exercise…an international police power” to restore order
 Marines sent in to Dominican Republic & took over country’s finances

38. Dollar Diplomacy
 William Howard Taft
 Dollar Diplomacy: policy based on the idea that
economic tie were the best way to expand American
influence
 Want U.S. bankers & businesses to invest in Asia & Latin
America
 Led to more military interventions
 Nicaragua, Haiti, & Honduras
 Latin Americans resents U.S. involvement

39. Relations With Mexico
 Woodrow Wilson
 Became President in 1913
 Own foreign relation ideas
 Aim to support & nurture democracy
 1st test of policy was w/ Mexico
 Mexico
 Overthrew dictator Porfirio Diaz
 Violent revolution followed until 1917
 Wilson followed watchful waiting policy
 1914
 U.S. sailors who went ashore were arrested in Mexico
 Later released w/ apology
 Wilson sent navy to occupy port of Veracruz
 100 Mexicans died ; U.S. & Mexico close to war; peace talks cooled
tempers

40.  Francisco “Pancho” Villa
 Mexican rebel general
 1916 rebels crossed into New Mexico
 Raided & burned town of Columbus, killing 18 Americans
 Mexican president allowed U.S. pursue Villa into Mexico
 General John J. Pershing led thousands of soldiers across
the border
 11 months later they withdrew w/o capturing Villa