The Birth of Imperialism 1890 – 1915 Topic 3.5

Imperialism What is imperialism? –Political, military, and economic domination of strong nations over weaker territories

Why Imperialism Grew –Late 1800s 1. Economic Factors Big Business and Growth of industry Many factories needed new supplies of natural resources. Big Business needed new markets (groups of people) to sell to

Why Imperialism Grew 2. Nationalistic factors Nationalism-devotion to one’s nation Nation’s people believe in themselves, their ideals and their goals to be superior to those of OTHER nations Nationalism is a great pride in one’s country and heritage.

Why Imperialism Grew 3. Military factors Advances in military technology produced European armies and navies Superior to those in Africa and Asia Growing navies required bases around the world Fuel Supplies

Why Imperialism Grew 4. Humanitarian factors Believed they had a duty to spread the blessings of Western civilization –Law/Democracy –Education –Medicine –Christian religion To places like Africa and Asia.

Europe Leads the way! European Expansion –Countries were competing in Africa and Asia for control of large empires Improved transportation and communication –Great Britain “The sun never sets on the British Empire” –France –Russia All with long imperialist traditions United States was eager to join the competition for new territories

Illustrates US imperialism

Arguments for U.S. Expansion Late 1800s industrialists, inventors, and workers of the United States built a powerful industrial economy Americans alone could not consume everything produced Overproduction of food and goods let to financial panics and frequent economic depressions United States- expanding markets –Some already dominated international markets (Rockefeller’s Standard oil)

Arguments for U.S. Expansion Other United States business leaders took another step Invested directly in the economies of other countries Gave them political influence in those countries

ALFRED T. MAHAN 1890-Writes “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History” Convinces the US we need a much stronger Navy! Argued the nation’s economic future=gaining new markets abroad United States needed a powerful navy to protect these markets from foreign rivals

Naval Expansion 1881-Congress established a Naval Advisory Board Pushed to increase the navy’s budget Two years later-Authorized the building of three cruisers and two battleships Naval Act 1890-construction of battleships, gunboats, torpedo boats, and cruisers By 1900-US had one of the most powerful navies in the world

The Great White Fleet The Fleets circumnavigation of the world showed that the US was now a Naval Power!

Social Darwinism and Racism: Supported Imperialism Social Darwinism Herbert Spencer Applied Darwinism to humans Those who adapt more efficiently dominate Survival of the fittest

White Man’s Burden Rudyard Kipling, The White Man's Burden, 1899 The native populations of Africa, Asia, South America and the South Pacific were incapable of governing themselves, or utilizing their natural resources properly.

The Closing Of the Frontier: By 1890, the vast majority of the American frontier had been settled, and the vast free land that drew people westward was no longer there.

Many people were worried that without the frontier, America would lose the national energy that it had while it pursued it’s Manifest Destiny Manifest Destiny-Argument that it was the undeniable fate of the United States to expand across North America

Turner Thesis Historian Frederick Jackson Turner Frontier had been closed by gradual settlement in the 19 th century Frontier had traditionally allowed Americans to pursue fortunes and secure a fresh start America had spanned the continent Urged overseas expansion

Japan Japan was an isolationist country US wanted to trade with Japan Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the US Navy forced the Japanese to start trading with the US.

The Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine: President James Monroe 1823; stated that the US would remain neutral in European affairs, and that the Western Hemisphere was no longer open to colonization by Europeans. –United States would oppose efforts by any outside power to control a nation in the Western Hemisphere Broadened to support American imperialism Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine stated that the U.S. has the power to intervene anywhere in the world that its interest were threatened in any way We began to colonize other parts of the world.

Shows how the Monroe Doctrine set up a "wall"