1. Imperialism….
how the U.S. acquired territories
Imperialism: the economic and
political domination by a strong
nation OVER a weaker nation

2. The Need for More Markets
Productivity created surpluses
 Export to foreign markets
 Spurring of US expansionism
Acquisition of new lands
 Increase American glory and prestige
 Led to growing involvement in Latin America
and Hawaii and Samoa

3. Commercial/Business Interests
U. S. Foreign Investments: 1869-1908

4. Commercial
Business
Interests
American Foreign
Trade:
1870-1914

5. 2. Military/Strategic Interests
Have a two ocean
navy
Modernize our navy,
from wood to Steel.
Acquire possessions
in the Pacific for use as
coaling and
resupplying stations.
Acquire islands in the
Caribbean.
Build a canal in
Central America.
Alfred T. Mahan  The Influence of Sea
Power on History: 1660-1783

6. Henry Cabot Lodge
“Our Blundering
Foreign Policy,”
(March 1895)
“Small states are of the
past and have no future.
. . . The great nations
are rapidly absorbing for
their future expansion
and their present
defense all the waste
places of the earth. It is
a movement which
makes for civilization
and the advancement o
the race. As one of the
great nations of the
world, the United states
must not fall out of the
line of march.”

7. Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani
Hawaii becomes a U. S.
Protectorate in 1849
by virtue of economic
treaties.

8. U. S. Business Interests In Hawaii
1875 – Reciprocity
Treaty
1890 – McKinley Tariff
1893 – American
businessmen backed an
uprising against Queen
Liliuokalani.
Sanford Ballard Dole
proclaims the Republic
of Hawaii in 1894.

9. To The Victor Belongs the Spoils
Hawaiian
Annexation
Ceremony, 1898
Annex: To incorporate
into country/state

10. Annexation of Alaska:
“Seward’s Folly”: 1867
$7.2 million

11. Cuba
Cuba under harsh Spanish rule
Seen as natural expansion for US territory
US imposed sugar tariff caused economic
chaos
Cuban rebels launched revolution against
Spain
 Caused economy to fall apart
 Massive destruction of countryside
American concerns rose
 $50 million invested in sugar industry
 Exports to US plummeted

12. Spanish Misrule in Cuba

13. Spanish-American War 1898
REMEMBER
 USS Maine in Havana Harbor THE
 Exploded February 1898 MAINE!!!
 Spanish blamed, although was determined an
accident (YELLOW JOURNALISM: exaggeration
of conditions by the U.S. press in order to sell
more newspapers)
 US troops sent in
Battle of San Juan Hill
Theodore Roosevelt and Rough Riders
First and last major battle
 Treaty of Paris
Cuba gained independence
US acquired Guam and Puerto Rico and
purchased Philippines

14. “Yellow Journalism” & Jingoism
Joseph Pulitzer
Hearst to Frederick Remington:
You furnish the pictures,
and I’ll furnish the war!
William Randolph Hearst

15. Remember the Maine
and to Hell with Spain!
Funeral for Maine
victims in Havana

17. The Treaty of Paris: 1898
Cuba was freed from Spanish rule.
Spain gave up Puerto Rico and the island of
Guam.
The U. S. paid Spain
$20 mil. for the
Philippines.
The U. S. becomes
an imperial power!

18. Cuban Independence?
Started as Teller Amendment (1898)
Senator
Orville Platt
Platt Amendment (1903)
1. Cuba was not to enter into any agreements with foreign
powers that would endanger its independence.
2. The U.S. could intervene in Cuban affairs if necessary
to maintain an efficient, independent govt.
3. Cuba must lease Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. for naval
and coaling station.
4. Cuba must not build up an excessive public debt.

19. The Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine: 1905
“Speak softly and carry a big
stick”
Roosevelt Corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine
Asserted right of US to act
as international police power
in Latin America
Chronic wrongdoing… may in America, as
elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by
some civilized nation, and in the Western
Hemisphere the adherence of the United
States to the Monroe Doctrine may force
the United States, however reluctantly, in
flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or
impotence, to the exercise of an
international police power .

20. Speak Softly,
But Carry a Big Stick!

21. Panama Canal
TR in Panama
(Construction begins in 1904)
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty signed with Great Britain gave US
exclusive right to build and control any proposed canal
through Central America

22. US assisted with presence-only in
Panama’s fight for independence
US recognized Panama as independent
nation
 Signed treaty to build canal
Viewed construction of canal through
Central America as vital to American world
power
**opened up Asia as efficient trading
market… MORE $$$**

23. Panama
Canal:
Efficiency

24. America as a Pacific Power

25. The Great White Fleet: 1907

26. The Open Door Policy
Secretary John Hay.
Give all nations equal
access to trade in China.
Guaranteed that China would NOT be taken
over by any one foreign power.

27. The
Open Door
Policy

28. William H. Taft’s Policy
“Dollar Diplomacy”
 Encourage US
businesses to invest in
foreign regions
 Use dollars—not
bullets—to advance
US authority and
prosperity while
promoting worldwide
economic stability

29. Woodrow Wilson
US should champion
democracy around
globe and help
maintain world peace
“Moral Diplomacy”—
self-determination
 Allowed US to meddle
in Latin America and
Asia

30. Understanding Imperialism
Industrial Revolution  surplus products 
export goods  foreign trade (expansion of
economic markets)
Cuba—area of expansionism for many US businesses;
sought independence from Spain;
Explosion of U.S.S. Maine led to Spanish-American
War  Cuban independence and US gained Puerto
Rico, Guam, Philippines thus becoming imperial nation

31. The End