Unit 4.2 Imperialism and the Spanish-American War

Reasons for American Imperialism

American businesses needed to develop new markets for excess ______manufactured goods

Americans needed new opportunities for capital investment

______: belief that nations need to export more than they import to grow ______

No more frontier: The US had expanded as much as it could in North America

______ (1861 – 1932): Historian who proposed his “Frontier Thesis” in 1893, arguing that American society had evolved as a result of always having a frontier; now that the frontier was closed, the US was at risk of ______

Continuation of ______: Americans still believed that God favored their way of life and wanted them to spread their influence

Social Darwinism: belief that ______competition between nations leads to the “survival of the fittest” nations and the overthrow of weaker nations

______: the belief that English speaking nations were destined to rule due to superior character, ideas, and systems of government

______(1847 – 1916): Protestant minister who argued that Americans should support imperialism because it spreads Christianity

______ (1840 – 1914): author of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History(1890)

Argued that powerful nations have large navies and require ______throughout the world

His ideas won widespread political support in both Congress and the White House

______: Fleet of 16 US battleships sent out on a world tour to demonstrate American naval might between 1907 and 1909 on the orders of President ______

Building an American Empire

Alaska

Purchased from Russia by Sec. of State William Seward for $7.2 million in 1867

The US wanted ______competition out of North America

Hawaii

First Americans arrived in 1819 (Christian missionaries)

Thousands of Americans soon flooded the islands to build ______plantations, which came to dominate the islands’ economy and present a ______to the native monarchy

Americans forced the “______” on Hawaiian king in 1887 which gave whites the vote & limited the monarch’s power

Queen Liliuokalani (1838 – 1917): Queen of Hawaii from 1891 – 1893

______the Bayonet Constitution and extended suffrage to native Hawaiians and Asians

This angered Americans in Hawaii, and they began to plot an ______

American sugar planters in Hawaii were already upset that the US had placed a high tariff on Hawaiian sugar; if they could convince the US ______, then no more tariff

In 1893, the American planters staged a coup and overthrew the Queen

The Annexation of Hawaii

American sugar planters established a temporary government, believing that the US would ______Hawaii immediately

US President Cleveland disapproved of the coup and blocked attempts to annex Hawaii

The independent Republic of Hawaii existed from 1893 - 1898 until the US finally annexed Hawaii under US President ______

Trouble in Cuba

Cuba was a Spanish colony, but wanted to become independent and rebelled from throughout the late 1800s

The Spanish put down these rebellions cruelly and with little regard to ______

Spanish governor General Valeriano “El Carnicero” Weyler began to relocate rebellious Cuban natives to “______” where they could be monitored by the military; thousands of these prisoners died of disease or starvation

______ Enflames the Conflict

US newspapers began to carry sensationalized stories about the actions of the Spanish in Cuba, causing many Americans to sympathize with the Cuban desire for independence

The term “yellow journalism” describes the use of eye-catching headlines (but usually with little factual support, and sometimes simply made-up stories) to sell newspapers

______ (1847 – 1911): Publisher of ______newspaper

Sold his newspapers cheap: $0.02/issue

Filled his papers with crime stories, sensationalized news, but also some serious news

Later established the Pulitzer Prizes for ______

______ (1863 – 1951): Publisher of ______ newspaper

Sold his paper even cheaper – just $0.01/issue; offset his costs by being one of the first publishers to sell large amounts of advertising to department stores

Hearst and Pulitzer became bitter rivals, each trying to best the other

US President McKinley Tries Negotiations

US business interests in Cuba were threatened by the unrest

McKinley ______to recognize Cuba as an independent nation if Spain did not establish some stability there; Spain agreed to give Cuba autonomy (but not independence)

This led Spanish loyalists to riot in Havana, forcing McKinley to dispatch the ______to protect US interests in Cuba and to prepare to evacuate Americans if things got too violent

The Enrique Dupuy______(February, 1898)

A private letter written by the Spanish Ambassador to the US, Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, was ______and published in Pulitzer’s papers

The letter described McKinley as “_____ and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd” and as someone unwilling to go to war over Cuba

The USS Maine Explosion (Feb. 15, 1898)

The USS Mainemysteriously exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 266 sailors

A US investigation concluded that the ship had been deliberately ______

Angry US citizens began calling for war with Spain

______: the desire to use force against other nations to protect the best interests of the US

McKinley was reluctant to go to war and hoped for ______

Many Republicans (including Theodore Roosevelt) grew angry with McKinley’s reluctance

McKinley caved to the pressure in April 1898 and asked Congress to declare war against Spain

The ______: stated that the US would not attempt to annex Cuba; instead, the US vowed to support Cuban independence

The ______ (April - August, 1898)

The Pacific Phase of the War: The Philippines & Guam

The US attacked the Spanish colony of the Philippines, crushing ______in a matter of hours

US soldiers also seized the Spanish colony of Guam in the Central Pacific

The Caribbean Phase of the War: Cuba & Puerto Rico

US Navy blockaded Cuban ports and destroyed the Spanish fleet sent to protect Cuba

17,000 US ground forces fought in Cuba between June 14 and August 12, winning several major battles, such as the ______, before the Spanish agreed to a cease-fire

American forces included The “______," a volunteer regiment of which Theodore Roosevelt was 2nd in command, and several thousand Buffalo Soldiers

Only ______died in the war (mostly from disease) although hundreds more died from disease epidemics in training camps in the US

Puerto Rico also saw fighting between US and Spanish forces during the war

______ (Dec. 10, 1898): Ended the war

The US kept control of ______(and both are still part of US today)

The US agreed to purchase the ______from Spain for $20 million

Cuba became an independent nation, but ....

The US military occupied Cuba until a new, US-approved constitution could be written

US forced Cuba to accept the ______

Cuba could not enter into alliances or foreign debts that might threaten its independence

Cuba could not allow ______to control territory in Cuba

US would have the right to ______at any time to protect Cuban independence or to maintain order