Imperialism Mr. Hood U.S. History

What is Imperialism? Imperialism is the policy by which strong nations extend their political, military, and economic control over weaker territories. The primary goal of imperialist nations was economic benefit. The Age of Imperialism existed from the mid 1800s through the early 1900s.

Military Strength To expand and protect their interests around the world, imperialist nations built up their military strength. Alfred T. Mahan-a military historian an officer in the United States Navy, played a key role in transforming America into a Naval power. Wrote the Influence of Sea Power upon History Asserted that great nations owed power to their navies Wanted U.S. to acquire foreign bases where American ships could refuel and supply Because of Mahan and others, the U.S. had the third largest navy in the world by 1900.

Applying Social Darwinism Imperialists around the world used ideas of racial, national, and cultural superiority to justify imperialism. Social Darwinism-belief that life consists of competitive struggles in which only the fittest survive. Many Americans felt that if the United States remained isolated while European nations gobbled up the rest of the world, America would not survive.

Social Darwinism and Manifest Destiny One reason that most Americans embraced Social Darwinism was that they long believed that God had granted them the right and responsibility to settle the frontier. They believed in “Manifest Destiny” to expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Josiah Strong, a religious missionary, agreed with this belief and wrote on the virtues of America expanding west. He said it was our responsibility to spread western values onto weaker races, especially Christianity.

Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner wrote The Significance of the Frontier in American History. He explained that the frontier had closed because of American settlement. He argued that the movement west had been a “safety valve” to keep discontent from rising because ambitious Americans could pursue their fortunes and secure a fresh start. With the frontier closed, Turner said we needed to spread across the Pacific ocean into other countries to keep the “safety valve” open. This was called the Frontier Thesis.

U.S. Power in the Pacific Commodore Matthew Perry-sailed a fleet of American warships into Japan. Prior to this Japan had denied the rest of the world access to its ports. Many Japanese thought that Perry’s ships were actually “dragons puffing smoke.” Perry successfully opened trade with Japan by winning over the Japanese people. Perry’s journey set a precedent that opened the Pacific Ocean to further American expansion.

“Seward’s Folly” In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from Russia for cheap. Journalists laughed at Seward and called the purchase “Seward’s Folly”. But, it almost doubled the country’s size and turned out to be rich in timber, oil, and other natural resources. Considered a key milestone in America’s rise to power.

Acquisition of Hawaii Americans travelled to Hawaii in the early 1800s and set up plantations. In 1887, American planters convinced King Kalakaua to amend Hawaii’s constitution so that voting rights were limited to landowners, who were, of course, white planters. American planters faced two problems by the early 1890s: Tariff was placed on Hawaiian sugar making it more expensive, planters felt this was going to hurt their business King Kalakaua died in 1891 and was replaced by his sister Liliuokalani who resented the growth in white power.

Acquisition of Hawaii American planters quickly responded to the Queen abolishing the Constitution that had given political power to the white minority. American planters lead a rebellion and overthrew the queen. The new government, led by wealthy planter Sanford B. Dole, asked President Benjamin Harrison to annex Hawaii.

Annexation of Hawaii Annexation was at a stand still until William McKinley became President. His administration favored annexation, and in 1898, after the outbreak of the Spanish- American War, Congress proclaimed Hawaii an official U.S. Territory.