Carol Lee

Chapter 22 The Quest for Empire

1) Lottie Moon
a. She was born in 1840 in Virginia and was a missionary who wanted to convert the Chinese to Christians.
b. Though she converted very few Chinese, she helped spread American culture and put US influence.
2) Expansionism versus imperialism
a. Expansionism = the outward movement of goods, ships, dollars, people, and ideas. Imperialism = the
imposition of control over other peoples undermining their sovereignty and usurping their freedom to make
their own decisions
b. Most Americans liked the idea of expansionism, but not imperialism.
3) The foreign policy elite
a. These were the opinion leaders in politics, journalism, business, agriculture, religion, education, and the
military.
b. They believed that U.S. prosperity and security depended on the exertion of U.S. influence abroad. They
urged both formal and informal imperialism.
4) The idea of a racial hierarchy
a. This is the idea that some races are better than other races.
b. This was used to justify the imperialistic ideals of the United States.
5) Male ethos and imperialism
a. By comparing the blacks and whites to females and males, people justified US dominance of other
countries.
b. This produced a hierarchy of superior and inferior races and they argued that female races were unable to
protect themselves and thus US involvement was necessary.
6) Our Country
a. This was written by Reverend Josiah Strong in 1885.
b. This celebrated an Anglo-Saxon race where America was destined to lead others.
7) The Burlingame Treaty
a. This was a treaty that was done in 1868 that provided free immigration between the United States and
China.
b. But in the West there were still many riots against Chinese immigrants such as in Los Angeles, San
Francisco, etc.
8) The massacre at Rock Springs, Wyoming
a. This happened in 1885 when white coal miners and railway workers rioted and massacred at least twenty-
five Chinese
b. This shows that racism was acted upon during that time.
9) The San Francisco School Boards segregation order
a. In 1906, this school ordered the segregation of all Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese in special schools.
b. This reflected the anti-Asian bias of many Americans on the West Coast. The order was rescinded the
following year after a deal was made with Japan to restrict its immigration. But relations with Tokyo were
strained after that.
10) Student Volunteers for Foreign Missions
a. This began on college campuses in the 1880s and by 1914 had placed over 6000 missionaries abroad.
b. These people went to other countries such as China to teach school and preach gospel.
11) William H. Seward
a. He was senator of New York from 1849-1861 and Secretary of State from 1861-1869.
b. He argued for extension of the American frontier.
12) The purchase of Alaska
a. In 1867 Seward bought Alaska, which was 591000 square miles, from Russia.
b. This gave the United States a substantial amount of natural resources and many Senators approved of this
purchase.
13) The transatlantic cable
a. This was done in 1866 by the financier Cyrus field and it was an underwater transatlantic cable that linked
European and American telegraph networks.
b. This was backed by JP Morgans capital and knit the world together through a giant communications
system. Info about markets, crises, and war flowed steadily and quickly.
14) Hamilton Fish
a. This guy was Sewards successor (1869-1887)
b. He achieved a diplomatic victory in resolving the problems of the Alabama claims, where Senator Charles
Sumner
15) The Washington Treaty
a. This is a treaty signed by Britain and American in 1871.
b. This is where the British apologized and agreed to the creation of a tribunal, which later awarded the US
15.5 million.
16) The Samoan Islands
a. These were a group of islands around 4000 miles from San Francisco.
b. These islands ended up being split between Germany, US, and Britain. US got Pago Pago, Germany got
what is now Western Samoa, and Britain got the Gilbert Islands and Solomon Islands
17) Navalism
a. This is the campaign to build an imperial navy.
b. This happened because expansionists wanted to be able to be compared to European powers. They argued
for a better, bigger and modernized navy.
18) Captain Alfred T. Mahan
a. He was a major popularize for a new imperial navy for US.
b. He argued that foreign trade was vital to the US and that the nation required an efficient navy to protect its
shipping. He also wrote the Influence of Sea Power upon History in 1890 and influenced American foreign
policy.
19) The New Navy
a. In 1883, Congress authorized the construction of steel-hulled warships as a move toward naval
modernization. They used steam power instead of sail power and used steel construction.
b. These New Navy ships helped US into their prominence especially during the 1890s crises
20) Turners frontier thesis
a. Frederick Jackson Turner wrote in 1893 that the American frontier had shaped American character.
b. He claimed that in order to sustain the American way of life, American energy would demand a wider
field for its exercise.
21) The Hawaiian-annexation question
a. This was the question of whether or not America could annex Hawaii so that it could act as a port.
b. Americans had slowly gained power on Hawaii through forcing them to accept their presence there and by
1890s, Americans owned about of Hawaiis wealth.
22) Hawaiis 1887 constitution
a. This was forced upon the king of Hawaii, it granted foreigners the right to vote.
b. This shifted decision making authority from the monarchy to the legislature and helped America to control
more of Hawaii.
23) The McKinley Tariff of 1890
a. This tariff taxed Hawaiian sugar exports in the United States which caused an economic crisis for Hawaii
that undermined the native government.
b. Many people wanted to annex Hawaii so that its products could be treated as domestic products and not
taxed by tariffs.
24) The 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian government
a. This was when annexationists and troops from the USS Boston occupied Honolulu and arrested the queen.
She would surrender.
b. Authority was given to the US government. However, it was later given back to the Hawaiian government
because of discovered fraud.
25) The Venezuelan crisis of 1895
a. This happened when disputes between Venezuela and Great Britain led to US involvement in which the
US won.
b. The US then unilaterally made a decision concluding the matter, showing that they werent interested in
consulting other nations; this showed USs expansive mood.
26) The Cuban Revolution
a. This crisis happened in 1895 as a result of US policy.
b. Rebels burned down sugar-cane fields and mills in anger at Spain. It caused millions of dollars of
American investments to be lost in flames, decreasing trade between the two countries.
27) Jose Marti
a. He is a hero in Cuban history who gathered money, arms, and men in the United States.
b. He launched a revolution in 1895 against Spain from American soil.
28) The Wilson-Gorman Tariff
a. This tariff imposed a tax on Cuban sugar, which had been entering the US duty free under the McKinley
Tariff
b. As a result, the Cuban economy plunged into crises because they were so dependent on exports.
29) General Valeriano Weyler
a. He was a Spanish general who instituted reconcentration to separate the insurgents from their supporters
among the Cubans.
b. Cubans were herded into fortified towns and camps, where many died from hunger and disease.
30) The Maine
a. This was a ship that the United States sent to Cuba to show American concern to protect American
citizens.
b. But on February 15
th
an explosion blew up the Maine and killed 266 Americans and everyone blamed
Spain.
31) The De Lome letter
a. This private letter was stolen from a Spanish minister and published by William Randolph Hearsts
inflammatory New York Journal.
b. In it, McKinley was belittled as a cheap politician and it suggested there would be Spanish conflicts
with Americans, leading Congress to authorize increased defense spending.
32) McKinleys war message
a. McKinley received authorization from Congress to use force to remove the Spanish from Cuba.
b. He listed reasons for war which included protecting American life and property, constant peace, and
humanity.
33) The Teller Amendment
a. This was passed by legislators which disclaimed any US intention to annex Cuba or control the island.
b. This prevented foreign powers from accusing the United States of trying to annex Cuba.
34) The Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War
a. aka the Spanish-American war.
b. The United States entered into this war to secure the Western hemisphere from Spain. And also during this
war, the Cubans and Filipinos revolted against the Spanish for independence.
35) Commodore George Dewey
a. He led an American squadron in Manila Bay and destroyed the entire Spanish fleet.
b. Manila Bay was an important harbor, and this gave the American navy the advantage.
36) The Treaty of Paris
a. This treaty was signed in 1898 in Paris and ended the Spanish-American war.
b. Cuba would become independent, Spain would cede the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the US,
and America would pay $20 million to the Spanish.
37) Anti-imperialist arguments
a. These arguments said that imperialism violated self-determination and was hypocritical. They argued that
the very character of American people was being ruined.
b. These were given by anti-imperialists such as Mark Twain, William Jennings Bryan, and William
Graham.
38) Imperialist arguments
a. Imperialists said that patriotism, destiny, and commerce justified imperialism.
b. They were generally more effective in delivering their message to Americans.
39) Emilio Aguinaldo
a. He was a Philippine nationalist leader who had been battling the Spanish for years.
b. He led a Philippine rebellion against the Americans, causing thousands to die and he was ordered out of
Manila and isolated.
40) The Philippine Insurrection
a. The Americans implemented a form of Spanish reconcentration, leading thousands of Filipinos to die.
They also burned villages and tortured captives.
b. The United States finally won by killing a lot of people and the insurrection was suppressed in 1902.
41) The Moros
a. These were the fiercely independent Muslim Filipinos who were anti-American/anti-Christian.
b. They fought fiercely, but eventually were killed.
42) The Jones Act
a. This act passed in 1916 and vaguely promised independence to the Philippines later when they established
a stable government.
b. In 1946 the United States ended its rule after an intense period of decolonization.
43) The Open Door Policy
a. This was a policy where countries could have an equal trading opportunity.
b. It led the United States to actively seek interfering in other markets to open them up and export there.
44) The Boxer Rebellion
a. This occurred in 1900 when Boxers led riots that killed foreigners in China.
b. Imperialist nations along with the US sent troops to quell the rebellion.
45) The United Fruit Company
a. This was a company formed in 1899 and it owned more than a million acres of land.
b. It became a major political and economic power in Central America.
46) The Platt Amendment
a. This granted US the right to intervene to preserve Cubas independence and to maintain domestic order. It
also required Cuba to lease a naval base to US and was formalized in 1903. It also prohibited Cuba from
making a treaty with another nation.
b. This basically left little/no independence for Cuba.
47) Walter Reed
a. He was a scientist working in Cuba who did experiments based on the theory of the Cuban physician
Carlos Juan Finlay that proved that mosquitoes transmitted yellow fever.
b. This helped sanitary engineers control the insect and eradicate the disease.
48) Puerto Rican- United States relations
a. At first, Puerto-Ricans were glad for the USs help.
b. But that changed because the US was condescending towards them.
49) The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901
a. This treaty permitted a solely US run canal.
b. The British had stepped aside for US, so the friendship between those two nations would strengthen
against Germany.
50) The Panamanian revolution
a. This was when Panama with the support of American troops rebelled against Colombia.
b. They won their independence and Panama gave US control of the canal.
51) The Panama Canal
a. This was a canal in Central America specifically in Panama which was a province of Columbia.
b. It was critical to allow trade through the ocean between the east and west sides of the US.
52) The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
a. This was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine and was issued in 1904.
b. It warned that the US would intervene if it perceived liberty to be at stake or if the other country
committed a grave mistake.
53) American investments in Mexico
a. Americans controlled a lot of Mexican property such as their railroads and mines and Americans invested
in petroleum and banking.
b. It led to a revolution against foreign control because the Mexicans wanted to end their economic
dependency on US and eventually troops were withdrawn.
54) The Portsmouth Conference
a. This occurred in New Hampshire where US tried to contain Japans rising powers in the Asian region.
b. Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his effort to preserve a balance of power in Asia and shrink
Japans ego.
55) The Taft-Katsura Agreement
a. In 1905 the Taft-Katsura Agreement was made.
b. The United States conceded Japanese hegemony over Korea and Japan had to pledge not to undermine the
U.S. position in the Philippines.
56) The Root-Takahira Agreement
a. In 1908 this agreement was agreed upon.
b. This recognized Japans interests in Manchuria, whereas Japan again pledged the security of the Pacific
possessions held by the United States and endorsed the Open Door in China.
57) The Great White Fleet
a. Roosevelt also built up American naval power to deter the Japanese; in late 1907 he sent the Great White
Fleet on a world tour; the ships were painted white for the voyage.
b. Impressed with Americas fleet, the Japanese began to build a bigger navy of their own.
58) Dollar Diplomacy
a. This was the use of private funds to serve American diplomatic goals and garner profits for American
financiers, and at the same time bring reform to less-developed countries.
b. It incentivized more Japanese aggression and Japan insisted on hegemony over all of China
59) Anglo-American rapprochement
a. Anglo-Americans cooperated together and had a relationship that had been growing since the late
nineteenth century.
b. The Americans and Brits gained strong trade ties with each other and US investment in Britain made them
later forge alliances together.