A.P.
U.S. History Notes
Chapter 27: “The Path of Empire”
~
1890 – 1899 ~
I.
Imperialist
Stirrings
1.
From
the end of the Civil War to the 1880s, the United States was very
isolationist, but in the 1890s, due to rising exports, manufacturing
capability, power, and wealth, it began to expand onto the world stage, using
overseas markets to send its goods.
i.
The
“yellow press” of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst
also influenced overseas expansion, as did missionaries inspired by Reverend Josiah
Strong’s Our Country: It’s Possible Future and Its Present Crisis.
ii.
People
were interpreting Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest to mean
that the United States was the fittest and needed to take over other nations to
improve them.
a.
Such
events already were happening, as Europeans carved up Africa and China at this
time.
2.
Captain
Alfred Thayer Mahan’s 1890 book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon
History, 1660-1783, argued that every successful nation had a great
navy, starting a naval race among the great powers.
3.
James G. Blaine pushed his “Big Sister” policy, which sought better relations
with Latin America, and in 1889, he presided over the first Pan-American
Conference, held in Washington D.C.
4.
However,
in other diplomatic affairs, America and Germany almost went to war over the
Samoan Islands (over which could build a naval base there), while Italy and
America almost fought due to the lynching of 11 Italians in New Orleans, and
the U.S. and Chile almost went to war after the deaths of two American sailors
at Valparaiso in 1892.
i.
The
new aggressive mood was also shown by the U.S.-Canadian argument over seal
hunting near the Pribilof Islands off the coast of Alaska.
II.
Monroe’s
Doctrine and the Venezuelan Squall
1.
British Guiana and Venezuela had been disputing their border for many years,
but when gold was discovered, the situation worsened.
i.
Thus,
the U.S., under President Grover Cleveland, sent a note written by
Secretary of State Richard Olney to Britain informing them that the
British actions were trespassing the Monroe Doctrine and that the U.S.
controlled things in the Americas.
ii.
The
British replied four months later saying that the Monroe Doctrine didn’t exist.
2.
Uproar
resulted, and the two nations almost went to war, but after second thoughts by
both sides, the issue was settled with the British getting most of the land
that they had wanted in the beginning.
i.
Britain
didn’t want to fight because of the damage to its merchant trade that could
result, as well as the vulnerability of Canada; plus, after the Dutch Boers
of South Africa captured 600 British, Germany’s Kaiser Wilhem cabled his
congratulations, sending British anger to Germany, not to America.
ii.
The
result was that the Monroe Doctrine was strengthened, the Latin American
nations appreciated the U.S. effort to protect them, and Britain sought better
relations with the U.S. afterwards, since it had many enemies in Europe.
III.
Spurning
the Hawaiian Pear
1.
From
the 1820s, when the first U.S. missionaries came, the United States had always
liked the Hawaiian Islands.
i.
Treaties
signed in 1875 and 1887 guaranteed commercial trade and U.S. rights to
priceless Pearl Harbor, while Hawaiian sugar was very profitable, but in
1890, the McKinley Tariff raised the prices on this sugar, raisin its
price.
ii.
Americans
felt that the best way to offset this was to annex Hawaii—a move opposed by its
Queen Liliuokalani—but in 1893, desperate Americans revolted.
2.
They
succeeded, and Hawaii seemed ready for annexation, but Grover Cleveland became
president again, investigated the coup, found it to be wrong, and delayed the
annexation of Hawaii until he basically left office.
i.
Cleveland
was bombarded for stopping “Manifest Destiny,” but his actions proved to
be honorable for him and America.
IV.
Cubans
Rise in Revolt
1.
In
1895, Cuba revolted against Spain, citing years of misrule, and the
Cubans torched their sugar cane fields in hopes that such destruction would
either make Spain leave or America interfere (the American tariff of 1894 had
raised prices on it anyway).
i.
Sure
enough, America supported Cuba, and the situation worsened when Spanish General
Weyler came to Cuba to crush the revolt and ended up putting many civilians
into concentration camps that were terrible and killed many.
ii.
The
American public clamored for action, but Cleveland would do nothing.
V.
The
Mystery of the Maine Explosion
1.
The
yellow presses competed against each other to come up with more sensational
stories, and Hearst even sent artist Frederick Remington to draw
pictures of often-fictional atrocities
i.
Example,
he drew Spanish officials brutally stripping and searching an American woman,
when in reality, Spanish women, not men, did such acts.
2.
Then,
suddenly, on February 9, 1898, a letter written by Spanish minister to
Washington, Dupuy de Lôme, which totally ridiculed president McKinley
was published by Hearst.
3.
On
February 15th of that year, the U.S. battleship Maine
mysteriously exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 260 officers and men.
i.
America
was war-mad, and Spain was about to be crushed.
4.
Actually,
what really happened was that an accidental explosion had basically blown up
the ship—a similar conclusion to what Spanish investigators suggested—but
America ignored them.
VI.
McKinley
Unleashes the Dogs of War
1.
The
American public wanted war, but McKinley privately didn’t like war or the
violence, since he had been a Civil War major; in addition, Mark Hanna
and Wall Street didn’t want war because it would upset business.
2.
However,
on April 11, 1898, the President sent his war message to Congress anyway,
since: war with Spain seemed inevitable, America had to defend Democracy,
opposing a war could split the Republican Party and America.
3.
Congress
also adopted the Teller Amendment, which proclaimed that when the U.S.
had overthrown Spanish misrule, it would give the Cubans their freedom.
VII.
Dewey’s
May Day Victory at Manila
1.
On
paper, at least, the Spanish had the advantage over the U.S., since it had more
troops and a supposedly better army, as well as younger (less senile) generals.
2.
Navy
Secretary John D. Long and his assistant secretary, Theodore
Roosevelt had modernized the U.S. navy, making it sleek and sharp.
i.
On
February 25, 1898, Roosevelt cabled Commodore George Dewey, commanding
the American Asiatic Squadron at Hong Kong, and told him to take
over the Philippines.
ii.
Dewey
did so brilliantly, completely taking over the islands from the Spanish.
VIII.
Unexpected
Imperialistic Plums
1.
Dewey
had naval control, but he could not storm the islands and its fortresses, so he
had to wait for reinforcements, but meanwhile, other nations were moving their
ships into Manila Harbor do protect their men.
i.
The
German navy defied American blockade regulations, and Dewey threatened the navy
commander with war, but luckily, this episode blew over, due in part to the
British assistance of America.
2.
Finally,
on August 13, 1898, American troops arrived and captured Manila, collaborating
with Filipino insurgents, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, to overthrow the
Spanish rulers.
3.
On
July 7, 1898, the U.S. annexed Hawaii (so that it could use the islands to
support Dewey, supposedly), and Hawaii received full territorial status in
1900.
IX.
The
Confused Invasion of Cuba
1.
The
Spanish sent warships to Cuba, panicking Americans on the Eastern seaboard, and
the fleet, commanded by Admiral Cervera, found refuge in Santiago
harbor, Cuba.
i.
Then,
it was promptly blockaded by a better American force.
2.
American
ground troops, led by fat General William R. Shafter, were ill-prepared
for combat in the tropical environment (i.e. they had woolen long underwear).
3.
The
“Rough Riders,” a regiment of volunteers led by Theodore Roosevelt and
Colonel Leonard Wood, rushed to Cuba and battled at El Caney San Juan
Hill.
i.
TR
had lots of fun.
X.
Curtains
for Spain in America
1.
Admiral
Cervera was finally ordered to fight the American fleet, and his fleet was
destroyed.
2.
On
land, the American army, commanded by General Nelson A. Miles, met
little resistance as they took over Puerto Rico.
3.
Soon
afterwards, on August 12, 1898, Spain signed an armistice.
4.
Note
that if the Spaniards had held out for a few more months, they might have won,
for the American army was plagued with dysentery, typhoid, and yellow fever.
i.
Finally,
TR wrote a “round-robin” letter demanded that the U.S. government take the
troops out before they all died.
XI.
McKinley
Heeds Duty, Destiny, and Dollars
1.
In
negotiations in Paris, America got Guam and Puerto Rico and freed Cuba,
but the Philippines were a tough problem, since America couldn’t honorably give
it back to Spain after decades of misrule, but the U.S. couldn’t just take it
like an imperialistic nation.
2.
Finally,
McKinley decided to keep the Philippines, even though they had been taken one
day after the end of the war, but he did so because of popular public opinion,
not to mention the urging of his wife, an invalid.
i.
The U.S. paid $20 million for the islands.
XII.
America’s Course (Curse?) of Empire
1.
Upon the U.S. taking of the Philippines, uproar
broke out, since until now, the United States had mostly acquired territory
from the American continent, and even with Alaska, Hawaii, and the other
scattered islands, there weren’t many people living there.
2.
The Anti-Imperialist League sprang into
being, firmly opposed to this new imperialism of America, and its members
included Mark Twain, William James, Samuel Gompers, and Andrew
Carnegie.
i.
Even the Filipinos wanted freedom, and denying that
to them was un-American.
3.
However, expansionists cried that the Philippines
could become another Hong Kong.
i.
British writer Rudyard Kipling wrote about
“The White Man’s Burden,” urging America to keep the Philippines and “civilize
them.”
4.
In the Senate, the treaty almost was not passed,
but finally, William Jennings Bryan argued for its passage, saying that
the sooner the treaty was passed, the sooner the U.S. could get rid of the
Philippines; the treaty passed by ONE VOTE.
XIII.
Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba
1.
The
Foraker Act of 1900 gave Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government,
and in 1917, Congress granted Puerto Ricans full American citizenship.
i.
U.S.
help also transformed Puerto Rico and worked wonders in sanitation,
transportation, beauty, and education.
2.
In
the Insular Cases, the Supreme Court barely ruled that the
Constitution did not have full authority on how to deal with the islands (Cuba
and Puerto Rico), essentially letting Congress do whatever it wanted with them.
3.
America
could not improve Cuba that much, other than getting rid of yellow fever with
the help of General Leonard Wood and Dr. Walter Reed.
4.
In
1902, the U.S. did indeed walk away from Cuba, but it also encouraged Cuba to
write and pass the Platt Amendment, which became their constitution.
i.
This
said that the U.S. could intervene and restore order in case of anarchy, that
the U.S. could trade freely with Cuba, and that the U.S. could get two bays for
naval bases, notably Guantanamo Bay.
XIV.
New
Horizons in Two Hemispheres
1.
The
Spanish-American War lasted only 113 days and affirmed America’s
presence as a world power.
2.
However,
America’s actions after the war made its German rival jealous and its Latin
American neighbors suspicious.
3.
Finally,
one of the happiest results of the war was the closing of the bloody chasm
between the U.S. North and South, which had been formed in the Civil War.
i.
General
Joseph Wheeler was given a command in Cuba.
