Chapter 17 – Entering the World Stage

VideoEntering the World Stage

ImagesThe Boxer RebellionBuffalo Soldiers and Rough RidersBuilding the Panama CanalAnnexation of Hawaii

Quick FactsCauses of U.S. ExpansionismVisual Summary: Entering the World Stage

MapsThe Spanish-American War, 1898Imperialism, c. 1900

Section NotesThe Lure of ImperialismThe Spanish-American WarRoosevelt and Latin AmericaWilson and the Mexican

Revolution

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Chapter 17Entering the World Stage

Section 1 – The Lure of Imperialism

MAIN IDEAThe United States entered the imperialist competition late, but it

soon extended its power and influence in the Pacific region.

IMPERIALIST ACTIVITY. (1) By the late 1800s, industrialized Western nations such as Great Britain, France, and Germany looked to Africa, Asia, and Latin America for new customers, placed to invest and raw materials. This competition was known as imperialism.

(2) The United States was eager to find new markets and military advantages. (3) The imperialists had a strong sense of nationalism and a feeling of cultural superiority. (4) Social Darwinist encouraged people in industrialized nations to believe that they were superior to people who lived in less-developed countries. They wanted to civilize less developed countries and spread Christianity.

•TAKING CONTROL OF HAWAII. (5) Hawaii was an ideal place for coaling stations and naval bases for ships traveling to and from Asia. American traders and missionaries came. They brought diseases that severely reduced the number of number of native Hawaiians. Some Americans became rich sugar planters and brought in workers from Asia. American businessmen formed the Hawaiian League to take over Hawaii. (6) They forced King Kalakaua to sign a new constitution at gunpoint. It was called the bayonet constitution. It gave Pearl Harbor to the United States. When Kalakaua died, his sister Liliuokalani became queen.

(7) The American minister to Hawaii, John L. Stevens, ordered U.S. Marines ashore in support of the planters and forced Queen Liliuokalani to surrender. Sanford B. Dole became the president of the Republic of Hawaii. An investigation by President Cleveland condemned the revolt. However, (8) Dole refused to step down. In 1898 President McKinley annexed Hawaii. It became the 50th state in 1959. In 1993 Congress apologized for the U.S. role in overthrowing Liliuokalani.

•INFLUENCE IN CHINA. In 1895 Japan seized China’s Liaotung Peninsula and the island of Taiwan. Russia, France, Germany, and Great Britain carved out spheres of influence. These were geographic areas where an outside nation had special political or economic influence. (9) In 1899 the U.S. Secretary of State John Hay proposed the Open Door Policy in China in opposition to European spheres of influence. (10) This would give all nations equal trading rights with China. Many Chinese were unhappy with the foreign influence. This led to the Boxer Rebellion, during which a group of Chinese rebels laid siege to the city of Beijing.

(11) American leaders thought it was too late to secure a sphere of influence in China which lead to the U.S. support of the Open Door Policy.(12) The Boxer Rebellion increased support for the Open Door Policy when Westerners realized that they could more effectively exploit China if they stuck together.

•INFLUENCE IN JAPAN. (13) The United States exerted influence in Japan by two impressive displays of naval power 50 years apart. Japan became industrialized after the United States forced it to open to trade. (14) Japan and Russia both wanted control of Korea and Manchuria. This led to the Russo-Japanese War. President Roosevelt helped negotiate a peace treaty. Roosevelt convened a meeting with representatives of Russia and Japan in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There, they hammered out a compromise called the Treaty of Portsmouth to end the war. With this victory, Japan became the strongest power in East Asia. It rivaled the United States for influence in China and the Pacific. (15) President Theodore Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to negotiate a peace treaty twetween Russia and Japan.

Section 2 – The Spanish-American War

MAIN IDEAA quick victory in the Spanish-American War gave the United States a new role as a world power.

•SIMMERING UNREST IN CUBA. By the 1890s Spain’s only colonies in the Western Hemisphere were Puerto Rico and Cuba. Since 1868 Cuba had struggled for independence from Spain. José Martí was one of the leaders of the Cuban independence movement. He was exiled, but continued to promote independence. Martí became one of Cuba’s greatest heroes and was killed in battle. Spain’s ruthless treatment of Cuban civilians shocked Americans.

•AMERICANS GET WAR FEVER. Many Americans felt sympathy for the Cubans. (16) William Randolph Hearst used his newspaper to support the Cubans against the Spanish by refusing to use any Spanish sources. fed this sympathy in order to sell papers. New York newspaper publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer competed for readers. They used an exaggerated style of reporting called yellow journalism. Hearst’s newspaper, the Journal, published a letter from the Spanish minister to the United States. The de Lôme letter, named for its writer, ridiculed President McKinley. Then (17) & (18) the USS Maine, a U.S. battleship, mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor. Americans blamed Spain. On April 25, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain.

•THE COURSE OF THE WAR. The war lasted about four months. (19) Commodore George Dewey had orders to move the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Squadron to the Philippines if war was declared. They attacked and destroyed the entire Spanish fleet. Philippine rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo supported the Americans. Spanish forces in the Philippines surrendered on August 14, 1898. In Cuba, many soldiers were volunteers. (20) The most famous volunteers were the Rough Riders. This was a cavalry regiment led by Theodore Roosevelt.

(21) African American soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries, known as Buffalo Soldiers, also fought with Roosevelt. In the Battle of San Juan Hill the Buffalo Soldiers led the attack, supported by the Rough Riders. They captured the ridge above the city of Santiago. Two days later the U.S. Navy sank the entire Spanish fleet off Cuba. Spain signed a peace treaty giving up all claims to Cuba. It also gave Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The United States paid $20 million for the Philippines.

•ANNEXING THE PHILIPPINES. (22) Spanish forces in the Philippines were overcome by the Filipino rebel army and the U.S. fleet. (23) After the Spanish-American War, a controversy arose over whether the United States should annex the Philippines. (24) Some people wanted the United States to annex the Philippines. Others, like the Anti-Imperialist League, the Colored Citizens of Boston, and AFL leader Samuel Gompers, thought that annexation would be against American ideals. The United States did annex the Philippines, infuriating the Filipinos. For three years Filipino fighters fought the United States. Americans won the war in 1901. The United States said its goal was to prepare the islands for independence. The Philippines finally became independent in 1946.

Section 3 – Roosevelt and Latin America

MAIN IDEAThe United States began to exert its influence over Latin America in the wake of the Spanish-American War.

•CUBA AND PUERTO RICO. To restore order after the Spanish-American War, President McKinley set up military governments in Cuba and Puerto Rico. (25) Yellow fever was a serious problem in Cuba. U.S. Army doctors Walter Reed and William C. Gorgas, based their efforts on work done by Carlos Juan Finley of Cuba, proved that mosquitoes caused it. They got rid of breeding places for mosquitoes. To keep other nations from taking over Cuba, the United States forced Cuba to include the Platt Amendment in its constitution. This amendment made Cuba a U.S. protectorate. It gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuba’s affairs.

Work on the canal began in 1904. Building the canal posed great technical problems. In addition, malaria slowed construction. Sanitation workers had to drain swamps and clear vegetation to get rid of the mosquitoes that caused malaria. (28) John F. Stevens earned the title “Genius of the Panama Canal” by the way he coordinated construction of the canal, and housing and other facilities for workers. The canal finally opened in 1914.•THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY TO THE MONROE DOCTRINE. The Monroe Doctrine had said that the Western Hemisphere was off limits to European nations. However, the United States did not back this up. Europeans and Americans made large loans to Latin America. Latin American countries had a hard time paying these off. President Roosevelt issued the

(29) Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine said that the United States would use military force to keep Europe from seizing Latin American territory for payment of debts.(30) Later the United States renewed its commitment to support the Monroe Doctrine with military force after the Spanish-American War to protect its interest in Latin America.•RESHAPING U.S. DIPLOMACY. President William H. Taft believed in dollar diplomacy. This was a policy that relied on economic power instead of military force. Taft suggested that Americans buy out European loans to Latin America. Some Latin American countries disliked this policy. After American banks made loans to Nicaragua, U.S. leaders had to send troops to stop a revolt. President Woodrow Wilson disagreed with dollar diplomacy. He preferred to protect U.S. interests by strengthening constitutional governments.

Section 4 – Wilson and the Mexican Revolution

MAIN IDEAAmerican intervention in Mexico’s revolution caused strained relations between the two neighbors.

•DICTATORSHIP SPARKS A REVOLUTION. Between 1877 and 1910, Mexico was ruled by the dictator Porfirio Díaz. Díaz jailed his opponents. He did not permit freedom of the press. He used the army to maintain order. Díaz used money from foreign investors to modernize Mexico. However, the only ones who benefited were the very wealthy. In the 1910 election, Francisco Madero ran against Díaz. Madero was a wealthy landowner who supported reforms. Díaz jailed Madero and claimed to have won the election. Uprisings against Díaz started in different parts of Mexico. In the south, Emiliano Zapata led an army of mostly

Native Americans. In northern Mexico, Francisco “Pancho” Villa led a large-scale revolt. In May 1911, Díaz resigned and Madero became president. In 1913 the commander of government forces, Victoriano Huerta, overthrew him. Four armies immediately rose up to fight Huerta.•THE UNITED STATES INTERVENES. Many European governments recognized Huerta’s government. The United States did not. President Wilson supported Huerta’s enemies. On April 9, 1914, nine American sailors were arrested in the city of Tampico. They were quickly released, and Mexico apologized. (31) U.S. Admiral Henry Mayo demanded a 21-gun salute to the American flag. Mexico refused the humiliating demand. Wilson used the Tampico incident as an excuse to ask Congress to allow the use of armed force against Mexico. Before Congress agreed, Wilson learned that a German ship

with weapons for the Huerta government was headed for Mexico. He ordered the U.S. Navy to seize the port of Veracruz. The U.S. forces stopped the German ship. Huerta’s forces had withdrawn from Veracruz. Only civilians and local authorities were left behind. After the Battle of Veracruz, the United States took the city. Six months later, Huerta resigned.•THE REVOLUTION CONCLUDES. Venustiano Carranza declared himself leader of the revolution in August 1914. By then, the Mexican Revolution was a struggle between two groups. One group supported Carranza. The other group supported Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. The United States recognized Carranza. Villa led troops across the U.S. border on a raid. It was the first armed invasion of the United States since the War of 1812. President Wilson ordered a military expedition into

•Mexico to capture Villa. General John J. Pershing led the expedition. They searched for 11 months but were never able to find him. The Mexicans resented the American presence in their country. In 1917 Wilson withdrew U.S. troops because of the war in Europe. Also in that year, a new Mexican constitution went into effect. It included the ideas of all the revolutionary groups. It protected the liberties and rights of citizens. However, fighting went on until 1920.