T HE R OOTS OF I MPERIALISM 18.1

O BJECTIVES Identify the key factors that prodded America to expand. Explain how the United States took its first steps toward increased global power. Summarize the chain of events leading up to the U.S. annexation of Hawaii.

K EY P ARTS The Causes of Imperialism America’s First Steps Toward World Power The United States Acquires Hawaii

I NTRODUCTION Read section 18.1 Answer Questions critical thinking questions 4&5.

T HE C AUSES OF I MPERIALISM America played a small role in world affairs until the late 1800s. During the Age of Imperialism from the mid- 1800s through the early 1900s powerful nations engaged in a mad dash to extend their influence across much of the world. The main reason for the rush to grab colonies was the desire for raw materials and natural resources.

C ONT. These colonial economies were examples of extractive economies. The imperial country extracted or removed raw material from the colony and shipped them to the home country. Possession of colonies gave nations and edge in the competition for global resources.

C ONT.. During the Imperial Age the United States wasn’t dealing with running out of resources like other countries. We were producing more than we could consume. This caused our prices to drop for our goods because there was a surplus. The United States needed to expand our market to overseas markets.

C ONT … To expand and protect their interests around the world, imperialist nations built up their military strength. Alfred T. Mahan, an officer in the United States Navy played a key role in transforming America into a naval power. By 1900 the United States had the third largest navy in the world.

C ONT …. Imperialists around the world used ideas of racial, national, and cultural superiority to justify imperialism. One the main ideas was Social Darwinism, the belief that life consists of competitive struggles in which only the fittest survive. Social Darwinists felt certain nations and races were superior to other s and therefore were destined to rule over inferior peoples and cultures.

C ONT ….. Americans often embraced Social Darwinism because they had long believed that God had granted them the right and responsibility to settle the frontier. They spoke of America’s “Manifest Destiny” to expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Josiah Strong a religious missionary said that strong Americans had a responsibility to spread their Western values, “God is training the Anglo- Saxon race for its mission to civilize weaker races.”

A MERICA ’ S F IRST S TEPS T OWARD W ORLD P OWER U.S. Power begins to grow in the Pacific. In 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry sailed a fleet of American warships into present-day Tokyo Bay, Japan. His goal was to gain trading rights and access to Japanese ports that were previously shut off to trade with the rest of the word. The Japanese were afraid of the warships because they had never seen anything like it.

C ONT. After a year Perry was able to negotiate a treaty that opened Japan to trade with America. Perry’s journey led to further expansion across the Pacific Ocean. In 1867 the United States took possession of the Midway Islands. In 1887 The United States built a naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

C ONT.. In 1867 Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million. He was scoffed at by many people for making the purchase, however; this turned out to be the key milestone in America’s road to power. Alaska turned out to be rich in timer, oil, and other natural resources, and greatly expanded America’s reach across the Pacific.

T HE U NITED S TATE A CQUIRES H AWAII The Hawaiian Islands had been economically linked to the United States for almost a century. From the 1790’s on the American merchant ships had stopped at Hawaii on their way to East Asia. American planters had become powerful in Hawaii due to their successful sugar plantations.

C ONT. King Kalakaua allowed the planters to gain this power. However in 1891 King Kalakaua died and his sister, Liliuokalani took over as Queen and she was against the Planters and tried to push them out. The U.S. quickly stepped in and overthrew the Queen. However; Hawaii was not annexed until 1898 under the Presidency of William McKinley.