Introduction: Imperialism Rise to the American Empire

Written By: Stephanie W.

     In the 1890’s the United States wanted to expand its political, economic, and military control throughout the world.  They also sought to open up new markets for import and exports of goods.  The American’s wanted the world to know they weren’t afraid to use power and control and that they would be located throughout the world if something came up.  With this came many wars, uprisings, and amendments.  During the wars the United States gained Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands, the Samoan Islands, the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.
    
     During Imperialism Yellow Journalism came about that published false information that one couldn’t tell “fact from fiction, spontaneous reality and staged theater” (Jones 444).  Yellow Journalism became prominent when the USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor.  The USS Maine actually exploded due to heat from a coal bin igniting, but it was said that the Spanish attached the battleship.

     The rise of American Imperialism divided the nation.  There were those who held the idea of American manifest destiny.  Manifest destiny was the idea of expanding the United States territory with military power.  On the other hand, anti-imperialists believed that America’s expansion of territories contradicted its ideals of democracy and self-determination.                

http://fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/upload/thumb/d/d1/350px-10kMiles.JPG

References:

Jones, et al. Created Equal: A History OF the United States.  New Jersey: Pearson, 2008.  Print.

"Ten Thousand Miles from Tip to Tip." Web. 9 Nov 2010. <http://fact-archive.com/encyclopedia/upload/thumb/d/d1/350px-10kMiles.JPG>.

Critics of Imperialsim

Written By: Samantha S.

Carl Schurz

Key leader and founder of the Anti-Imperialist League

http://www.freebase.com/

Imperialism by the United States was not strong before the 1890’s.  Even though the United States was actively acquiring new lands and trading rights prior to this, the final decade proved to be very strong and rewarding.  Albert Beveride was a leading advocate for American imperialism in 1898.  During this time, America was producing and manufacturing more goods and products than needed.  As a result, Albert Beveride proposed overseas expansion in his 1898 speech, March of the Flag.  Beveride proposed that overseas trade would increase national prosperity (Jones, et al, 2008, pgs. 441-449).  At the conclusion of the Spanish American war in December of 1898, the United States gained possession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.  These prized acquisitions gave the United States access to natural resources offered by Cuba.  Hawaii also proved to be invaluable in the acquisition because it gave the United States one of the best Pacific Ports (Musicant, 2008).

http://wpscms.pearsoncmg.com/long_longman_mhlus_0/0,11867,3125728-content,00.html

As with all new concepts, not all were in favor of the Imperialist concept.  As the Spanish American War ended in 1898, a group of prominent businessmen, government officials, and labor leaders met in Boston to form the Anti-Imperialist League.  The key leader and founder of this league was Carl Schurz, an immigrant from Germany.  Schurz was an early supporter of the new founded Republican Party and a friend of Abraham Lincoln.  As a General in the Civil War, Schurz went on to become a Cabinet Secretary under James Garfield and a Senator from Missouri.  The Anti-Imperialist League platform is based on the thought that imperialism is hostile to liberty and tends toward militarism, an evil from which it has been glory to be free.  They also believed that imperialism was contrary to the American democracy.  The group believed this to be evident because the United States gained independence from Great Britain, a colonial power. 

The Anti-Imperialist League opposed the Treaty of Paris, the Platt Amendment, and the occupation of the Philippines.  The Platt Amendment gave the United States the right to intervene in matters that pertained to Cuba or a perceived threat became apparent to the United States Government.  Coerced into putting the Platt Amendment into the new Cuban Constitution, Cubans viewed the document as a mockery of full sovereignty.  The occupation of the Philippines was viewed as a slaughter and needless horror by the imperialists (McCartney, 2006). Despite the protests of the anti-imperialists, America's imperialistic efforts continued to grow.

References

Ivan Musicant, Empire By Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998.

Jones, J., Wood, P.H., Borstelmann, T., May, E. T., & Ruiz, V. L. (2008). Created Equal: A social and political history of the United States. New York, NY: Pearson Longman Press.

McCartney, Paul T. American National Identity, the War of 1898, and the Rise of American Imperialism. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006.

First Endeavors of the Imperialists

Written by: Natalie T.

As defined by Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, “Imperialism is the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other area.”  Imperialism in its most basic form has been around for centuries. During the times when Kings, Queens, Czars/Tsars and Emperors ruled, liberalism was an extension of the desire to increase power and wealth. It was often difficult for rulers to promote liberalism because Parliaments saw little need to annex new lands because any monies coming with the annexation would have to be used to maintain the annexed territory. Likewise, Parliaments felt there was no need to increase the country's wealth to simply increase the country's war potential.  Many attempts at liberalism in the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in wars and revolutions. It was generally believed that liberalism would be accepted without much question because the people of every territory acquired by a Nation would have the right to decide to which state they wished to belong. However, people rebelled when it became clear that no Ruler would relinquish control over a territory or its peoples and the right of self determination could not be exercised. Only when England freed the Ionian Islands was the right of self determination peacefully resolved.

The Italians fought to overthrow foreign domination; the Germans fought in the Franco-German conflict to prevent denationalization; those persons of Slavic origins (the Poles and the South Slavs) fought for liberation even as Czar stopped one rebellion after another. What people hoped to gain through imperialism was national independence. However, when nations took over territories, they found it difficult to maintain two cultures side by side with differing languages and customs. Imperialism worked most favorable in those instances where emigrants were able to migrate to lands where their compatriots were in political power. If this was not the case, conflict was sure to erupt. It seems that where capitalism abounds, imperialism can get a more stable footing because capital and labor will always flow to the most favorable location. Modern imperialism dates back to the late 19th century. There were fewer ruling dynasties to contend with than in the earlier years of imperialism. England began looking for and obtaining colonial markets in Africa and Asia. Most colonial settlements could call England their Mother country. Once the USA began engaging in Imperialism in the late 1800's other countries fell under its influence in political, economic and cultural ways. These effects from American Imperialism were positive because of the idea of Democracy that spread to other cultures and other countries.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=imperialism&qpvt=imperialism&FORM=Z7FD#focal=bd62c436ae62885826abf37c1ac13fa8&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fresno.k12.ca.us%2Fdivdept%2Fsscience%2Fhistory%2Fdevilfish.jpg

Though some indicators say otherwise, I believe Imperialism is alive and well in this day and age. The focus initially was in the acquisition of territories and there is little if any of that today. However, the American culture still influences other cultures greatly. Again the idea of Democracy is an idea that many seek to attain and maintain.  This idea of democracy led to the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War of 1898.

Reference:

"An Encyclopaedia Britannica Company." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster Incorporated, 17 Nov 2010. Web. 17 Nov 2010. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperialsim?show=0&t=1290026499>.



The Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War of 1898

Written By: Brynn H.

     The problems began when Spain, with determination, tried to extinguish the Cuban independence movement. Cuban nationalist responded by organizing an uprising against the Spanish authorities. Native insurrectos, or Filipino nationalists, burned crops of sugar and attacked trains. America, who was outraged because of the demand of and investments of the Cuban industry, had no sympathy for the insurrectos. The Spanish military gathered the rebels and put them into concentration camps. America chose to interfere. Through the spread of news and two big newspaper publishers (William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer) atrocities were lightened against Cuba. Their two papers also engaged in yellow journalism, the eye-catching, exaggerated news. The U.S. wanted to help create an independent Cuba. Spain offered to give Cuba partial freedom, but Cuba demanded full independence.

     The USS Maine, a U.S. battleship, went to Havana in December of 1897 in order to evacuate Americans, if needed. On February 15, 1898, the ship was sunk by an explosion, killing 260 officers and men.  April was a busy month for America’s military. First, the United States called for immediate Spanish withdrawal from Cuba. This sparked Spanish to declare war on the U.S. on April 24, 1898. The U.S. responded by declaring war on Spain on April 25, 1898 for Cuban's independence.  "The Rough Riders," a group of Americans led by Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, prepared to invade Cuba. This war was short, due to the inferior Spanish forces. A few battles were fought, but with the Cuban coast cleared of the Spanish and the capture of Santiago, the war had ended.

     The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed by the Spanish. This showed the Spanish agreed to remove all of their soldiers and become aware of that America now owned Cuba.  Spain forfeited Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and asked the U.S to pay back Spain for their losses in the amount $20 million. Though the treaty was signed, it still needed to be approved by 2/3 of the senate. Still it looked as though the democrats could easily stop the treaty.  William Jennings Bryan, a democratic leader, agreed to the helping of the treaty, which was passed in February of 1899. Bryan hoped win the elections by making the Republicans responsible for helping with the treaty. Bryan who was running against McKinley (a pro-imperialist) wanted imperialism to become disfavored. Bryan mentioned that the quicker the U.S. annexed the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam, the sooner the U.S. could prepare them for independence. The Philippines had a problem though. They fought alongside America thinking that they would get the same independence as Cuba. The Filipinos felt betrayed and even elected a president, Emilio Aguinaldo. The Filipinos fought against former alliance America for two years, but lost. America captured Aguinaldo, who took an oath of loyalty never to lead any future revolts.

The Rough Riders

 www.teddyroosevelt.com

     The beginning of the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War of 1898 was only the start of a new trend in journalism.  The exageration of news to catch the American public's attention and sway their opinion had become common practice by journalists.  The public had no way of validating whether or not the news was unbiased.  This new practice was and is still to this day known as yellow journalism.

Resources:
  

Jones, et al. Created Equal: A History OF the United States.  New Jersey: Pearson, 2008.  Print.

The Free Dictionary: http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino+War

Spark notes: http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/spanishamerican/section9.rhtml

Yellow Journalism

Written By: Oluyomi O.

According to Jones, et al 2008, some newspaper publishers sensationalized the tense political scene between the United States and other world powers.  This was a time when stories of international relations and policies were only read in newspapers with no other means of verification.  The people were left to take all the stories that were published as the truth even though the whole story wasn’t published. These publishers often exploited exaggerated and twisted events for sales and personal gains.  Of note were publishers such as William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer.  An example of the sensationalism was the explosion of the battleship Maine (seen in the picture below).  The Hearst paper had reported and implied that the Spanish were responsible for this explosion, but it was later discovered that “the heat from one of the coal bins had ignited an adjacent powder magazine (Jones, et al, pg 437).”

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=explosion+of+battle+ship+maine&FORM=BIFD#focal=d94cd9175660072455e987b3f6b30f09&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.latinamericanstudies.org%2Fussmaine%2Fmaineexplo.gif

Another example of yellow journalism was when the Spanish ambassador Enrique Dupuy de Lôme wrote a personal letter to his friend José Canalejas who was in Cuba denouncing US diplomatic policies. After the letter got to Hearst, he published the letter with the headline “"The Worst Insult to the United States in Its History." “Once Hearst published the letter, the news of the insults filled newspapers across the country, and the story became a true international scandal--the U.S. public was outraged, the President demanded an apology, and the ambassador resigned (http://www.pbs.org/crucible/tl9.html).

 http://www.wadsworth.com/history_d/special_features/image_bank_US/images/22_7.jpg

References

Jones, J., Wood, P.H., Borstelmann, T., May, E. T., & Ruiz, V. L. (2008). Created Equal: A social and political history of the United States. New York, NY: Pearson Longman Press.

          

Cengage Learning: Wadsworth.com/history. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=yellow+journalism&FORM=BIFD#focal=2ebae3a2bfe31ef501ebba8a6987142b&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wadsworth.com%2Fhistory_d%2Fspecial_features%2Fimage_bank_US%2Fimages%2F22_7.jpg

American Imperialism: The Cultural Encounters

Written By: Oluyomi O.

Some could argue that the idea of America Imperialism was driven by the idea of Manifest Destiny, but others claim that the expansionism experienced during this time was necessitated in part by the need for economic and trade expansion.

In the 1890s, the industrial and manufacturing sector had flourished to a point where the demand within the country could not meet the national supply.  This new surplus and the depression of 1893 created a new quest and demand for a wider consumer base.  While European countries were already flooding into countries such as China and Africa, many believed that the American Market had to spread its tentacles to foreign countries and explore the markets.  This new expansionism and trade with other countries not only brought economic transactions, but there was a lot of cultural interplay and mingling.

During the late nineteenth century, the impact of the cultural exchange was obvious in the American culture.  Pictures, artifacts and other souvenirs from the international travel were evident in America.  An example of this was noticed at the Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, which depicted the fusion of International cultures.  The exposition had streets in the replica of different countries and cultures, and had performances from exotic dancers such as the “hootchy kootchy dancers” (Jones et al., 2008, p.442).

“Making shoes on a "Street in Cairo.”: This was one of the first amusements to introduce exotic dancing to America (www.chicagohs.org/history. http://www.chicagohs.org/history/expo/ex2.html

         A mosque in the Turkish Village

http://www.chicagohs.org/history/expo/ex2.html

These cultural elements were used to sell products and commercialized amusement. American travels, voyages and cultural encounters were captured in oil paintings, canvasses and jewelry that were marketed both here and abroad. The encounter with the exotic also created a new market branding with tobacco companies making Oriental brand names like “Fatima” (Jones et al., 2008, p.435).

http://www.wantedcowgirls.com/images/FatimaCigarettes-wc.jpg

References

Jones, J., Wood, P.H., Borstelmann, T., May, E. T., & Ruiz, V. L. (2008). Created Equal: A social and political history of the United States. New York, NY: Pearson Longman Press.

The Chicago Historical Society. http://www.chicagohs.org/history/expo/ex2.html

Conclusion

Written By: Georgia F.
   

      Imperialism in America was a very quick paced way to catch up to other countries such as Europe in the race to obtain the most economically powerful country. While not all Americans agreed with Manifest Destiny and the militaristic expansion across the territory leading to the Pacific Ocean, the Samoan Islands, the Philippines, and other smaller countries off the coast of the United States, it paved the way for America to become what it is today.  Rapid growth in America resulted from American Imperialism. From the 19^th century to the 20^th century the population had skyrocketed and twenty-nine states had been added. The foundation for America to become a super-power had been laid.

http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=17928&start=0

Reference:

Jones, Jacqueline, Created Equal A Social and Political History of the United States.  New York: Pearson, 2008. Print.