America Becomes a Colonial Power

Reasons for American Imperialism

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

2. Military/Strategic Interests Alfred T. Mahan  The Influence of Sea Power on History: 1660-1783

3. Social Darwinist Thinking The Hierarchy of Race The White Man’s Burden

American Missionaries in China, 1905 4. Religious/Missionary Interests American Missionaries in China, 1905

5. Desire for Military Strength Led by Alfred T. Mahan 3rd largest navy America needed a strong navy. America needed territories in the Pacific to support the navy

Alaska William Seward Purchased from Russia in 1867 At first considered a waste “Seward’s Folly” In 1896 gold was discovered in the Klondike region and a gold rush began.

Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani Hawaii for the Hawaiians!

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.

To The Victor Belongs the Spoils Hawaii Annexed by the USA, 1898

The American Anti-Imperialist League Founded in 1899. Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, William James, and William Jennings Bryan among the leaders. Campaigned against the annexation of the Philippines & other acts of imperialism.

Teddy Roosevelt in Panama (Construction begins in 1904) Panama Canal Teddy Roosevelt in Panama (Construction begins in 1904)

The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine:1905 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.

Speak Softly, But Carry a Big Stick!

U. S. Interventions in Latin America:

Results of the Spanish American War Spain gave independence to Cuba and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. for a payment of $20 million. These new territories added 100,000 square miles to the U.S. and 10 million new people. U.S. still exerted influence in Cuba. The U.S. becomes a world power. Anti-Imperialist tendencies begin to emerge.

America as a Pacific Power

Uncle Sam: One of the “Boys?”