American Imperialism

1. American Imperialism

2. The U.S. Joins the Race Late • Examine the map showing industrialized areas of the world in 1850. • Why might the U.S. have been late in joining the European “race for empire?”

3. Imperialism in the American West • Before the U.S. began to acquire overseas colonies, the country conquered the American West • Examples: • 1) The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) • The U.S. takes 1/3 of Mexico’s territory • This land becomes the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico • 2) Conquest of the American Indians

4. The Spanish-American War • Date: 1898 • Justifications: • Support for freedom fighters in Cuba and the Philippines • Possible Spanish attack on the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor • Outcome: The U.S. wins an easy victory, with the support of Cuban and Filipino rebels • Results: The U.S. acquires these territories from Spain: • Guam • The Philippines • Puerto Rico • (Cuba)

5. American Imperialism • Cuba—Although Cuba officially became independent, the U.S. insisted that the country include the Platt Amendment in its Constitution • Platt Amendment—said that the U.S. had the right to intervene militarily in Cuba, in order to protect “democracy and American interests” • Hawai’i—Also in 1898, the U.S. officially annexed the nation of Hawai’i • In 1893, U.S. Marines—at the request of American plantation owners—had helped to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy • Philippines—From 1899 to 1915 the U.S. fought a brutal war to defeat Emilio Aguinaldo and the Philippine nationalists • China—In 1899 the “Open Door Policy” is issued, and U.S. companies begin to do business in China

6. “Neo-Imperialism” in Latin America • Although the U.S. did not formally annex any nations in the Western Hemisphere (except Puerto Rico), it did exercise extensive control over Latin American governments • This control mostly consisted of pressuring Latin American nations to allow American corporations access to those nations’ land and resources • How might you define “Neo-Imperialism”?

7. Gun Boat Diplomacy • When Latin American governments defied the United States’ preferred economic policies, the U.S. often applied “gun boat diplomacy” • Using the threat of military force to pressure a foreign country to adopt a particular policy or make political/economic concessions • When the threat of force did not work, the U.S. military was often deployed to “protect American interests”

8. Examples of American Military Interventionism in Latin America • Quoted from a 1962 U.S. State Department Report: • 1852-3—Argentina. Marines were landed and maintained in Buenos Aires to protect American interests during a revolution. • 1853—Nicaragua—to protect American lives and interests during disturbances. • 1854—Nicaragua—San Juan del Norte [Greytown was destroyed to avenge an insult to the American minister]. • 1855—Uruguay—U.S. and European naval forces landed to protect American interests during an attempted revolution. • 1894—Nicaragua—to protect American interests at Bluefields following a revolution. • (The report includes additional examples from Japan, China, Africa, and Hawai’i)