AMSCO 7.2 Reading

What beliefs did expansionists use to justify taking overseas land?

An extension of the idea of manifest destiny that had long fostered westward expansion. In addition, they applied Darwin's concept of the survival of the fittest not only to competition in business but also to competition among countries. To demonstrate strength in the international arena expansionists wanted to acquire territories overseas.

By 1900....

The US Navy was the third largest in the world.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890) Argument:

he argued that a stong navy was crucial to a countrys ambitons of secring foreign markets and becoming a world power.

Describe the main ideas presented in Josiah Strong's Our Country: Its Possible Future and Present Crisis (1885)

1. That people of Anglo-Saxon stock were the fittest to survive. 2. He believed that protestant Americans had a religious duty to colonize other lands in order to spread Christianity 3. That protestant Americans had a religious duty to share the benefits of their superior civilization (medicine, science and technology) to less fortunate peoples of the world.

Describe the main reasons some people were against imperialism

1. They believed in self-determination. one of the founding principles of the US was that people should govern themselves. they believe that this principle applied to people everywhere, not just in the united states 2. They rejected imperialist racial theories some denied that whites were biologically Superior to people of Asia or Africa, and so whites had no right to rule over others 3. They supported isolationism avoid involvement in foreign affairs 4. they opposed the expense of imperialism building a large Navy and controlling foreign territories would cost more than they were worth

Why did the US have interest in foreign nations?

1. Valuable raw materials including minerals, oil and rubber 2. Provided markets for new products

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890) Author:

Alfred Thayer Mahan, he shaped the debate over the need for naval bases with his book

Mid - 1800s-

American missionaries and entrepreneurs had settled in the Pacific islands of Hawaii. Later, a U.S. commission explored the use of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, or the Sandwich islands, which lay astride the sea-lanes from California to China.

1893 (make sure to name the monarch)-

American settlers aided in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarch, Queen Liliuokalni and then petition for annexation by the U.S.

How did Americans feel about the Purchase? What did they call it?

Americans saw no value in Alaska and referred toit derisively as "Seward's Folly"or "Seward's Icebox"and ignored its development

Who else supported growth in the Navy?

Among politicians, assistant Secretary of the Navy and later president Theodore Roosevelt and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge where the leading proponents of expanding the U.S. Naval power and influence in the world .

What did many missionaries who traveled to Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands believe?

Believed in the racial superiority of white people, although some went more for humanitarian reasons. To support these missionaries, many americans called for active us government involvement in foreign affairs

What countries were involved in economic imperialism?

Britain, France , Germany, Russia, Japan and other nations as small as Belgium.

Venezuela Boundary Dispute: Turning point in US -

British relations: marked up turning point in US British relationships from 1895 on, the two countries cultivated a friendship rather than continuing their former rivalry the Friendship would prove vital for both nations in the 20th century

Describe his most significant actions

During the civil war he helped prevent great Britain and France form entering on the of the confederacy, He led to drive to annex Midway island in the Pacific, gained rights to build a canal in Nicaragua, purchased the vast territory of Alaska, Seward failed to convince congress to annex Hawaii and to purchase the Danish West Indies.

What was the change in American expansion in this time period?

Expansion into new territories continued a long pattern in US history, but adding land overseas was a change from the past. people supported expansion for different combinations of reasons

Who was William H. Seward?

He served as secretary of state of New York(1861-1869) under Lincoln and Johnson

Why did Grover Cleveland block Republican efforts to annex Hawaii?

However, President Grover Cleveland opposed imperialism and blocked republican efforts to annex Hawaii. The Era of "New Imperialism"

Why did Americans want Hawaii?

If Hawaii became part of the U.SHawaiian sugar would not be subject to the high U.S. tariffs on imports.

Venezuela Boundary Dispute Causes:

In 1895 and 1896, President Cleveland and Secretary of State Richard Olney insisted that Great Britain agreed to arbitrate the dispute. The British initially said the matter was not the business of the US. however the United States argued that the Monroe Doctrine applied to the situation. if the British did not arbitrate, the United States would back up its argument with military force

➔Farmers supported imperialism:

Like industrialist, farmers were eager to sell overseas. they saw the growing populations of cities, both in the United States and internationally, as potential markets for wheat, corn, and livestock

➔Republicans supported imperialism:

Many in the Republican Party were closely allied with Business Leaders and therefore generally endorsed an imperialist foreign policy

How did the US hope to take land overseas?

Most U.S. Advocates of expansionism hoped to succeed through economic and diplomatic means, without resorting to military action

How did newspapers and magazines increase public interest in the US becoming more involved in world affairs?

Newspaper and magazine editors found that they could increase circulation by printing adventurous stories about distant places exotic to their readers stories in the popular press increased public interest and stimulated demands for a larger us role in world affairs Opposition to Imperialism

How did overseas territories help alleviate this fear?

Offered the country a possible safety valve for dissatisfied urban workers and farmers

Why did the US take interest in Samoa and others in the Pacific Ocean?

Samoa and others in the Pacific Ocean that provided Coaling and Supply stations so that the new Fleet could project power globally.

What marked a renewed interest in imperialism?

The conquest and division of many parts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands by more industrialized nations during the 19th century.

What caused fear of increasing social turmoil?

The panic of 1893, the violence of labor-management conflicts, and the perception that the country no longer had a frontier in the 1890s caused fear of increasing social turmoil.

The Monroe Doctrine set what important precedent?

The president of the Monroe Doctrine provided expansionists in open invitation to interfere in the other nations of the Americas. this was the beginning of a fierce political battle over the future of the country.

Why was Russia open to selling Alaska to the US?

The territory soon became an economic burden for Russia because of the threat of a British takeover

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890) Overseas Result:

Using arguments in my hands book the U.S. Naval strategist persuaded Congress to finance the construction of modern steel ships and encouraged acquisition of overseas islands among these islands

After the 1790s

U.S. foreign policy had centered on expanding, protecting U.S. interests abroad, and limiting foreign influences in the Americas.

1870-

Ulysses S. Grant sought control of Pearl Harbor on Oahu and new trade treaties with the native Kingdom. Hawaiians agreed to a treaty in 1875 giving the U.S. exclusive rights to Hawaiian sugar.

After the Civil War

With a booming industrial economy, the U.S. showed an increasing interest not only in overseas trade but also in establishing bases and territories in the Caribbean Sea and across the Pacific Ocean.

Venezuela Boundary Dispute: Outcome of arbitration:

arbitrators ruled mainly in favor of Britain not Venezuela even so, Latin American nations appreciated US efforts to protect them from European domination.

Venezuela Boundary Dispute: US threat:

deciding that U.S friendship was more important to its long-term interest than a boundary dispute in South America, the British agreed to us demands

Anti - Imperialists were rooted in...

one side represented the anticolonial and self-government traditions of the nation rooted in the struggle for Independence against Great Britain

the conflict between imperialist and Anti-Imperialist over what?

over-controlling Seas territories intensified in the debate over the Spanish-American war in the colonization of the Philippines

After 1890

the nation carried on a growing debate over whether it should join the competition for overseas territories with imperialist nations of the world or remain true to its anti-colonial traditions. Expansion after the Civil War

Imperialists were rooted in....

the other side expressed the interest of those committed to economic and Global power