The “New” Imperialism

1878 - 1914

Is the “New” Imperialism New?

Not new – U.S. continually expanding

New in two senses:Non-contiguous expansion

Colonization, not usurpation

Tied to economic expansionU.S. exports increase from $234 million in 1865 to $1.5 billion in 1900, 2.5 billion in 1914

Particularly in Latin America: by 1914, . . .

• U.S. exported $300 million worth of goods to region

• U.S. investments in region totaled $1.26 billion

Growth of Exports, 1875-1915

U.S. Intervention in the Caribbean

American ExceptionalismRev. Josiah Strong (Our Country, 1885):

U.S. chosen by God to uplift the world“As America goes, so goes the world”

Continued belief in “Manifest Destiny” – new frontier was overseasMissionaries spread both Christianity & American culture as package dealUndergirded by racist belief in “White Man’s Burden”

U.S. Imperial ExpansionAlaska purchased from Russia in 1867U.S. divided Samoa with British & Germans in 1889; annexed 1899Sanford Dole led revolution in Hawaii in 1893; annexed in 1898

The Road to War with SpainJosé Martí collected money, men & arms in U.S. to start 1895 revoltAmericans appalled by Gen. Weyler’s brutality & “reconcentration policy”William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal published sensational stories, but only inflamed existing passionsDe Lôme Letter (pub. Feb. 9, 1898) called Pres. McKinley “weak”U.S.S. Maine exploded & sank in Havana Feb. 15, 1898, killing 266 of 354 American sailors

U.S.S. Maine

U.S.S. Maine The wreckage of the Maine

McKinley Forces the IssueMcKinley sent ultimatum to Spain

Demanded end to hostilities & reconcentration

Insisted U.S. mediate a settlement

Rejected by Spain April 10

April 19: Congress passed joint resolution to force resolution

Teller Amendment disavowed annexation

April 22: U.S. Navy began blockade of Cuba

April 24: Spain declared war on U.S.

Pres. William McKinley

The Caribbean Theater

June 22 – siege of Santiago began

July 1 – Battle of San Juan & Kettle Hills

July 13 – Santiago surrendered

Puerto Rico captured without a fight

Aug. 12 – armistice signed

The Philippines Theater

May 1 - George Dewey’s fleet defeats the Spanish in Manila Bay

Dewey joined forces with rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo

Aug. 13 – Manila surrendered

Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders

Battle of Kettle Hill

Effects of Imperialism - Caribbean

Treaty of Paris (Dec. 1898; ratified Feb. 1899):U.S. got Philippines, Guam & Puerto Rico

Spain got $20 million

Cuba granted independence (became U.S. protectorate)

Platt Amendment gave U.S. control over Cuba’s foreign policy & right of intervention

Foraker Act (1900) denied U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans (got it in 1917)

Insular Cases – Supreme Court ruled Constitution doesn’t follow the flag

Effects of Imperialism - AsiaDewey denied promising Aguinaldo independence

Guerilla war vs. Aguinaldo’s rebels in the Philippines, 1899-1902

200,000 Filipinos killed

5,000 Americans killed

U.S. soon realized difficulty of defending islands against Japanese aggression, so cut deals:

Taft-Katsura Agreement (1905): U.S. recognized Japan’s conquest of Korea

Root-Takahira Agreement (1907): U.S. recognized Japanese control of Manchuria

Emilio Aguinaldo

George Dewey

Anti-Imperialist Sentiment

Anti-Imperialist Sentiment

Anti-Imperialist Sentiment

The Panama CanalHay-Paunceforte Treaty (1901): Britain allowed U.S. to build canal by itself1903 treaty paying Colombia $10 million and $250 thousand a year in rent rejected by Colombian SenatePhilippe Bunau-Varilla staged revolt in Panama with U.S. helpCanal completed in 1914U.S. ruled Canal Zone

Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy