"Foreign Policy and War in a Progressive Era" Chapter 20 Packet Answers

Why was the conclusion of the Spanish American War Followed by a new conflict in the philippines?

A greater difficulty with the president's plan was the fact that many Filipinos did not want to be annexed by the United States. A revolt against Spain had been underway long before Commodore Dewey sank the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. In addition, Dewey had encouraged Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the Filipino insurrection, to establish an interim government for the islands. Aguinaldo expected U.S. recognition of Philippine independence, and even aft er it became clear that this was not President McKinley's plan, Aguinaldo hoped for either the defeat of McKinley's treaty in the Senate or a victory in the 1900 presidential elections by William Jennings Bryan, who strongly opposed annexation of the Philippines. When the Senate ratified the treaty with Spain and Bryan lost the election, Aguinaldo led a revolt against the United States. What the U.S. government called the "Philippine Insurrection," Aguinaldo called a war for independence.

What did Alfred Mahan argue in The Influence of Sea Power upon History and how did his book influence the course of American foreign policy?

Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan of the U.S. Navy persuasively laid the foundation for continued expansion in his book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, published in 1890. Few books were ever as influential in the development of U.S. foreign policy. Mahan argued that all great nations in history had great navies that could control the world's oceans and, specifically, that the U.S. Navy needed to be large enough to be a significant player in the Pacific. He worried that the U.S. Navy was too small and that the lack of U.S. control of Pacific islands limited the nation's reach. The popularity of his book accelerated developments already underway, and within a decade, the U.S. Navy had been expanded to the third largest in the world while the United States had annexed Hawaii and Puerto Rico in 1898 and had assumed control of Samoa, the Philippine Islands, and Cuba.

How did American policy makers justify the American Occupation and rule of the Philippines?

American policy makers that supported the annexation of the Philippines had beliefs that, Filipinos needed to be Christianized, that they were "unfit" to run a government, another nation might rule over them which wouldn't benefit the U.S.

What sparked the 1895 Cuban Revolution?

Cuban revolutionaries led by José Martí, who had been living in exile in New York City, saw the resulting Cuban depression as the ideal moment to gain independence. Martí returned to Cuba in 1895, and his revolutionary forces began burning cane fields, killing Spanish soldiers, and making Spanish rule more costly. Spanish authorities responded by creating concentration camps where they held Cubans in controlled enclaves that separated them from the rebels. Many in these camps suffered from malnutrition and disease.

The splendid little war.... with spain, cuba, puerto rico, and the philippines, 1898. Give one argument in favor of overseas expansion and one against overseas expansion

One argument in favor of overseas expansion would mean: More resources, expansion of a nation obviously, trade, etc One argument against the favor of overseas expansion is well: It's wrong to those in the country that is having (Usually) unwanted american influence, casualties, white supremacy, racism, etc

How did American interest in Cuba evolve over the course of the 19th century?

Th e U.S. War with Spain started in Cuba. Th e United States had long been interested in Cuba. Well before the Civil War, southern Senators had suggested that the United States ought to acquire Cuba as a slave state to off set the growing number of Northern free states. In 1854, the American ambassadors to Europe's leading powers issued the so-called Ostend Manifesto, demanding that Spain sell Cuba to the United States, but it did not happen. Aft er the Civil War, Cuba was no longer of value as a slave state, but interest in the island never disappeared from American politics, and American investors were active there. By the 1890s, almost 90 percent of Cuban exports came to the United States, and American investors owned much of the best farm land on the island.

Why was the Russian government willing to part with alaska?

The value of Alaska to the Russian company or government was never great. Tensions with native residents ran deep. Russians exploited Native Alaskans while Western diseases took a heavy toll on the native population. In response, Native Alaskans massacred Russian communities at Sitka and Nulato. By 1860, the government was unhappy with the Russian American Company and worried about defending the long Alaskan coast from the British Navy. American settlers in Washington Territory were learning about the rich fishing, whaling, and fur trapping that was possible in Alaska. Secretary of State Seward envisioned its value and coordinated negotiations to purchase it from Russia. The negotiators agreed on a price of $7.2 million, and on October 18, 1867,

Why did US interest in Hawaii intensify in the second half of the 19th Century?

U.S. control of California with its large Pacific harbors in 1848 and the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 expanded U.S. commercial and military interest in the kingdom of Hawaii. Trans-Pacific steamship lines that began at the Pacific docks where the railroad ended sought fueling stations on their way to Asia, and Hawaii's Pearl Harbor was the perfect stopping place. At the same time, American-owned sugar plantations had become a major economic force in Hawaii.