American Imperialism WebQuest

"Was America justified in its policy of overseas expansion?"

Introduction:

Imperialism by definition – the policy in which stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker territories.

By 1850 the United States stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. For most Americans,Manifest Destiny “to overspread the continent” had been fulfilled. However, some expansionists wanted more. They believed that the country should look beyond its coasts - particularly westward across the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. By the 1880’s, policy makers had become convinced that the United States shouldjoin the imperialists powers of Europe and establish colonies overseas. Imperialism was quickly becoming a global trend.

Major events:

Revolt in Hawaii

USS Maine explosion

Spanish-American War

Fighting in the Philippines

Boxer Rebellion in China

Construction of the Panama Canal

Questions to consider:

Should America have gotten involved?

Are our policies in the best interest of the U.S.?

Are our policies in the best interest of the people we control?

Did the government go too far?

The Task:

You are asked by Congress to sit on a task force to evaluate the actions, policies and directions of the United States in its overseas expansion. The task force will collect evidence from all points of view and present their conclusionto Congress. Congress will thenbe able to see the entire “picture” of Imperialism in order to go forward with American policy.

The Process:

You will have approximately 5 members on each committee.

I. Getting an Overview:

You will need background information of gain knowledge of American imperialism.

Read Chapter 18. (pp. 546 –573). You will answer thefollowing questions:

American Imperialism

1. What did Adm. Mahan recommend for becoming a world power?

2. Why did the U.S. feel compelled to join the imperialism race?

Hawaii

1. What prompted American involvement in Hawaii?

2. How did we manage to annex Hawaii?

Cuba

1. How did America get involved in Cuban affairs?

2. What events fueled the U.S. conflict with Spain?

3. What role did Yellow Journalism play in the conflict?

4. What did America gain?

5. What other areas were affected?

Philippines

1. How did America get involved in Philippine affairs?

2. Why were the Filipinos disillusioned with American?

3. What did America do to appease the Philippines?

China

1. How did US foreign policy affect action taken by the US toward China?

2. What was the purpose of the Open Door notes?

Panama Canal

1. What motivated T. Roosevelt to build the Panama Canal?

2. What problems were encountered?

3. What was the Roosevelt Corollary?

II. Focused Research:

Each student will have to research the issue from 5 different viewpoints. You will use the web sites listed below.

You will decide if America was justified in its policy of overseas expansion.

Each Committee will make apresentation to Congress explaining your decision. Congress will then vote according to the evidence presented.

Viewpoints:

After you have learned the chronology ofevents, you will make it your task to evaluate what the people of the United States and the people of the other countries are saying and how they feel about our country’s actions. Each person needs to realize that their topic was a highly debated point of view. You need to put yourself in the place of the people during this time period. You are not doing the history of imperialism. You are researching how it affected everyone involved.

* Those in favor of imperialism

* Those against imperialism

* Newspapers reporting the imperialism stories

* People directly involved

* Areas America controlled

Imperialists- a wide variety of material associated with the Spanish-American War, including manuscripts, maps, broadsides, photographs, prints, sheet music, and films.

Speech in the Senate

http://www.pbs.org/greatspeeches/timeline/a_beveridge_s.html

Documents relating to American Foreign Policy

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/to1914.htm

Commodore Perry

http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/letter.html

Expansion

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1990/ch6_p8.htm

John Hay

http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/fists.html

Great American speeches

http://www.boondocksnet.com/neely/

President William McKinley

http://hkuhist2.hku.hk/firstyear/Owen/owenE01.htm

Rough Riders

http://tnt.turner.com/movies/tntoriginals/roughriders/home.html

Anti – Imperialists: Spanish point of view

Documents relating to American Foreign Policy

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/to1914.htm

William Jennings Bryan

http://www.pbs.org/greatspeeches/timeline/william_bryan_s2.html

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bryan.htm

Newspaper Editors and Reports:

Hearst

http://www.zpub.com/cpp/saw.html

Yellow Journalism

http://www.onlineconcepts.com/pulitzer/yellow.htm

http://www.onlineconcepts.com/pulitzer/yellow.htm

Yellow Press

http://wccusdgate.wccusd.k12.ca.us/elcerrito/history/span-amerwar.htm

Filipinos Look Back - 100 years later

http://www.bibingka.com/phg/misc/spirit96.htm

Newspaper Articles

http://www.pbs.org/crucible/frames/_journalism.html

People In Battle:

Boxer Rebellion

http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/fists.html

Emilio Aguinaldo

http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/aguinaldo.html

General Weyler

A Letter for the Emperor

http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/toc.html

Rough Riders- photo/quotes

http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/roosevelt/roosevelt.html

Photos form the Philippines

http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/philinsurge.html

"A Perfect Hailstorm of Bullets- A Black Sergeant Remembers the Battle of San Juan Hill"

III. Visual Evidence:

* Each student will create one of the following to illustrate your conclusion.

a timeline of major events during America’s age of imperialism

* an original political cartoon

Evaluation:

Conclusion: Persuasive Essay

Each of you will write a persuasive essay ( 5 paragraphs) expressing your own opinion about American overseas expansion.Details to be discussed during class.