Hist 111

American Civilization II
Instructor: Dr. Donald R. Shaffer
Upper Iowa University

Lecture 5
Foreign Expansion: American Foreign Policy, 17761867
U.S. was a weak nation on international

scene for most of 19th century.

It had a small army whose primary
mission was Indian fighting
Navy: sent all over the globe, but
also small
Washingtons Farewell Address
(1797): advised U.S. to avoid
entangling alliances
Monroe Doctrine (1823): U.S. opposed
further colonization in the Americas
Latin America: Pre-Civil War
Mexican War (1846-48): U.S. defeats
Mexico, takes half of its territory
Ostend Manifesto (1854): U.S.
diplomats maneuver to seize Cuba
from Spain--unsuccessfully
Filibustering (1850s): private armies
from the U.S. try to seize land in
Latin AmericaWilliam Walker
succeeded for a time in Nicaragua

George
Washington
c. 1796

John Quincy
Adams:
architect of the
Monroe
Doctrine

Lecture 5
Foreign Expansion: U.S. in Latin America, Post-Civil
War
President Grant in 1870 tried to

annex what is today the Dominican

Republicfailed
U.S. Senate refused to ratify
treaty of annexation
Signaled an initial reluctance
after Civil War to expand U.S.
influence overseas
Also evidence of racismmany
people on Santo Domingo had
African ancestry and Congress
did not want to give them
access to the U.S.
U.S. backed Venezuela in a border
dispute with British Guiana (1895)
Example of Twisting the Lions
TailDemocrats irritating the
British to please anti-British
voters in the U.S., especially the
Irish
British didnt want war with the
U.S. over the border dispute
and agreed to arbitration to
settle the matter

Senator Daniel Vorhees

Twists the Lions Tail
Harpers Weekly, 29 April
1882

Lecture 5
Foreign Expansion: The Spanish-American War
A turning point for the U.S. foreign

policy
Turned the United States toward
foreign expansion and a greater
international role
The U.S. went to war with the
Spanish to free Cuba, avenge the
destruction of USS Maine, and satisfy
American honor over the insults to
President McKinley in DeLome Letter
A Splendid Little War: lasted only
four months
U.S. invaded and conquered
Cuba
U.S. seized Spanish possessions
in the Caribbean and the Pacific
U.S. acquired a colonial empire in
peace treaty
Teller Amendment (1898)
Platt Amendment (1902)

William Randolph Hearst

Used his newspaper chain
to foment war with Spain in
order to increase circulation

Lecture 5
Foreign Expansion: U.S. in Latin America, Post1898
Panama Canal (1903)
U.S. wanted to build transithmus

canal in Panama
When Colombian Senate refused
to accept treaty, TR fomented
revolt in Panama
Roosevelt Corollary (1904): if
American nations did not keep their
finances in order to prevent foreign
intervention, the U.S. would do it for
them
Dollar Diplomacy
Pres. Taft used private U.S. credit
as source of leverage over Latin
America
Pancho Villas raid on Columbus,
New Mexico (March 1916)
Response showed limits of U.S.
power in Latin America
U.S. expedition into Mexico failed
to capture Villa
U.S. could not impose its will in
the Mexican Civil War

Cartoon celebrating the U.S.

as the
protector of Latin America
from
European imperialism (c.
1896

Lecture 5
Foreign Expansion: The U.S. and China
U.S. interest prompted by desire to

acquire Chinese trade goods: tea,

porcelain, etc.
American missionaries also wanted to
convert Chinese to Christianity
Spheres of Influence
U.S. forced to compete for
influence in China with other
nations who held monopolies in
Chinese ports they controlled
Open Door Notes (1899): U.S.
proposed opening all Chinese
ports to all nationsbut was
rebuffed
U.S. offered China some protection
from being dismembered
Boxer Rebellion (1900)
U.S. helped other foreign powers
crush anti-foreign uprising by the
Fists of Righteous Harmony
better known in the West as the
Boxers

Cartoon celebrating U.S.

participation in
suppressing the Boxer
Rebellion

Lecture 5
Foreign Expansion: The U.S. and Hawaii
U.S. enjoyed more exclusive influence

in Hawaii, although the British and

the French also were interested
Initial contact with the U.S. came in
1820s with the arrival of New
England missionaries
U.S. pineapple and sugar planters
later established operations, using
mostly Asian immigrants as their
labor force
Hawaii remained an independent
kingdom, although native Hawaiians
in decline due to foreign diseases
Queen Liliuokalani:
Promised Hawaii for the
Hawaiians
Deposed in 1893 in coup
organized by planters
Grover Cleveland declined appeal for
annexation
Hawaii finally annexed to U.S. in 1898

Queen Liliuokalani
Hawaiis last monarch

Lecture 5
Foreign Expansion: U.S. and the Philippines
War with Spain brought U.S. to the

Philippines Islands
Filipinos hoped U.S. would grant them
independence as the they had
fighting a guerilla war for
independence against Spain for over
a decade
Philippine Insurrection
U.S. fought from 1899 to 1903 to
impose its authority in an often
brutal campaign
126,500 U.S. troops usedboth
regulars, national guard, and
volunteers
U.S. lost 4,324 soldiers in the
pacification campaign
About 18,000 Filipino combatants
killed
About 200,000 civilians died of
famine and disease
This war is now largely forgotten in
U.S.

U.S. troops execute a

Filipino rebel leader
San Fernando, Pampanga