American Imperialism

Imperialism By the middle of the 1890's the American western frontier was viewed by many as being "closed". This was seen as the fulfillment of the westward expansions started under the banner of "manifest destiny". The public perception of the "closing of the west", along with the philosophy of Social Darwinism, contributed to a desire for continued expansion of American lands and the spreading of American culture. The result was a shift in US foreign policy at the end of the 19th century from a reserved, homeland concerned republic to an active imperial power.The Spanish-American War The "USS Maine" pictured here in Havana Harbor, Cuba The Spanish-American war heralded the start of the era of American Imperialism. In the shadow of the expanding empires of Europe, an America that now stretched from sea to shining sea was desiring to still grow. Causes of the Spanish-American War: Cuban Revolution - The Spanish suppression of an on-going Cuban revolution gave the cause of war an air of independence and freedom. Aiding the Cubans, who's suffering was exaggerated by the Yellow Press of the day, became a reason for war with the Spanish. Yellow Press - The newspaper circulation war had already begun long before a shot was fired in 1898. William Randolph Hearst(pictured at right) and Joseph Pulitzer used hyperbole, lies and sensational violence in order to increase sales of their NY papers. The often times untrue stories of the Spanish brutality in Cuba served to outrage many Americans and increased the call for war. Sinking of the USS Maine - The US warship USS Maine was stationed in the harbor of Havana, Cuba when it exploded, killing over 260 Americans. The Yellow Press ran immediate headlines blaming the Spanish for the explosion, however a conclusive reason behind the Maine disaster is still unknown. Regardless, the act was clearly sparked an immediate call for war with the Spanish. US Desires to Expand - Many American leaders who wanted the US to expand her reach across the globe, recognized that defeating a weak Spanish Empire offered an opportunity to gain territories outside north America. These territories would then provide access to world markets for growing manufacturing by US industries. US Imperial Gains, Late 19th to Early 20th Century: 1898: US Annexes Hawaii after a US supported revolution against the Queen. US acquires control of: Puerto Rico, Guam and The Philippines from Spain in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. 1899: US acquires control of: Samoa and Wake Island in the Pacific for use as military and trade ship refueling stops  1903: Panama Canal Zone is acquired following the US backed Panamanian Revolution against Columbia. 1917: Virgin Islands purchased from Denmark US Expands Control in Latin AmericaFollowing the transformation to a world power, brought about by the events surrounding and following the Spanish-American War, the US sought to further extend its control over the nearby territories of Latin America. This policy expansion was mostly at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt, who worked to increase US presence in Latin America via his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The Corollary expanded on the statements of President Monroe by stating that not only would Latin America be considered a vital US interest and European interference there considered a threat to the United States, but the US would and could actively intervene in Latin America to protect those interests.

http://regentsprep.org/Regents/ushisgov/themes/foreignpolicy/imperialism.htm


SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

The Spanish-American War (1898) was a conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.

The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain, which began in February 1895. Spain’s brutally repressive measures to halt the rebellion were graphically portrayed for the U.S. public by several sensational newspapers, and American sympathy for the rebels rose. The growing popular demand for U.S. intervention became an insistent chorus after the unexplained sinking in Havana harbour of the battleship USS Maine (Feb. 15, 1898; see Maine, destruction of the), which had been sent to protect U.S. citizens and property after anti-Spanish rioting in Havana. Spain announced an armistice on April 9 and speeded up its new program to grant Cuba limited powers of self-government, but the U.S. Congress soon afterward issued resolutions that declared Cuba’s right to independence, demanded the withdrawal of Spain’s armed forces from the island, and authorized the President’s use of force to secure that withdrawal while renouncing any U.S. design for annexing Cuba.

Spain declared war on the United States on April 24, followed by a U.S. declaration of war on the 25th, which was made retroactive to April 21. The ensuing war was pathetically one-sided, since Spain had readied neither its army nor its navy for a distant war with the formidable power of the United States. Commo. George Dewey led a U.S. naval squadron into Manila Bay in the Philippines on May 1, 1898, and destroyed the anchored Spanish fleet in a leisurely morning engagement that cost only seven American seamen wounded. Manila itself was occupied by U.S. troops by August.

The elusive Spanish Caribbean fleet under Adm. Pascual Cervera was located in Santiago harbour in Cuba by U.S. reconnaissance. An army of regular troops and volunteers under Gen. William Shafter (and including Theodore Roosevelt and his 1st Volunteer Cavalry, the “Rough Riders”) landed on the coast east of Santiago and slowly advanced on the city in an effort to force Cervera’s fleet out of the harbour. Cervera led his squadron out of Santiago on July 3 and tried to escape westward along the coast. In the ensuing battle all of his ships came under heavy fire from U.S. guns and were beached in a burning or sinking condition. Santiago surrendered to Shafter on July 17, thus effectively ending the war.

By the Treaty of Paris (signed Dec. 10, 1898), Spain renounced all claim to Cuba, ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000. The Spanish-American War was an important turning point in the history of both antagonists. Spain’s defeat decisively turned the nation’s attention away from its overseas colonial adventures and inward upon its domestic needs, a process that led to both a cultural and a literary renaissance and two decades of much-needed economic development in Spain. The victorious United States, on the other hand, emerged from the war a world power with far-flung overseas possessions and a new stake in international politics that would soon lead it to play a determining role in the affairs of Europe.

http://www.history.com/topics/spanish-american-war

OPEN DOOR POLICY

Secretary of State John Hay and the Open Door in China, 1899–1900

Secretary of State John Hay first articulated the concept of the “Open Door” in China in a series of notes in 1899–1900. These Open Door Notes aimed to secure international agreement to the U.S. policy of promoting equal opportunity for international trade and commerce in China, and respect for China’s administrative and territorial integrity. British and American policies toward China had long operated under similar principles, but once Hay put them into writing, the “Open Door” became the official U.S. policy towards the Far East in the first half of the 20th century.

Secretary of State John Hay

The idea behind the Open Door Notes originated with British and American China experts, Alfred E. Hippisley and William W. Rockhill. Both men believed that their countries’ economic interests in China would be best protected and promoted by a formal agreement among the European powers on the principle of maintaining an Open Door for trade and commercial activity. Under their influence, Secretary Hay sent the first of the Open Door Notes on September 6, 1899, to the other great powers that had an interest in China, including Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, and Japan. These nations maintained significant physical and commercial presences in China, and were protective of their various spheres of influence and trading privileges there, and elsewhere in Asia.

Hay proposed a free, open market and equal trading opportunity for merchants of all nationalities operating in China, based in part on the most favored nation clauses already established in the Treaties of Wangxia andTianjin. Hay argued that establishing equal access to commerce would benefit American traders and the U.S. economy, and hoped that the Open Door would also prevent disputes between the powers operating in China. For the United States, which held relatively little political clout and no territory in China, the principle of non-discrimination in commercial activity was particularly important. Hay called for each of the powers active in China to do away with economic advantages for their own citizens within their spheres of influence, and also suggested that the Chinese tariffs apply universally and be collected by the Chinese themselves. Although the other powers may not have agreed fully with these ideas, none openly opposed them.

Empress Dowager Cixi (Tz’u Hsi) of China

First, Hay sought the approval of the British and Japanese Governments, both of which considered the American suggestion to be in their interests, although both conditioned their acceptance of the terms on the agreement of all the powers involved. France followed the British and Japanese example. This British, Japanese, and French endorsement of Hay’s suggestion pressured Germany and Russia to adhere to the terms of the note, although Russia did so with so many caveats that it practically negated the Note’s central principles. Nevertheless, Hay declared that all the powers had accepted the ideas with responses that were “final and definitive.”

In 1900, however, internal events in China threatened the idea of the Open Door. An anti-foreign movement known as the Boxer Rebellion, named for the martial artists that led the movement, gathered strength, and began attacking foreign missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity. With the backing of Empress Dowager Cixi (Tz’u Hsi) and the imperial army, the Boxer Rebellion turned into a violent conflict that claimed the lives of hundreds of foreign missionaries and thousands of Chinese nationals. As the Boxers descended upon Beijing, foreign nationals living in that city—including embassy staff—clustered together in the besieged foreign legations, and called upon their home governments for assistance.

Photograph of Boxer Rebels

With foreign armies fighting their way from the Chinese coast to rescue their citizens in the capital, in some cases securing their own concessions and areas of special interest along the way, the principle of the Open Door seemed to be in grave danger. On July 3, 1900, Hay circulated another message to the foreign powers involved in China, this time noting the importance of respecting the “territorial and administrative integrity” of China. Although the goal was to prevent the powers from using the Boxer Rebellion as an excuse to carve China into individual colonies, the Open Door Circular requested no formal agreement or assurances from the other powers.

Together, the Open Door Notes served the important purpose of outlining U.S. policy toward China and expressing U.S. hopes for cooperation with the other foreign powers with a stake in the region. They were of lasting importance in U.S.-East Asian relations, and contributed to the idea of a Sino-American “special relationship.” However, because they were non-binding, the Notes did not prevent the United States—or any other power—from one day seeking Chinese territory, or acting in any way that was preferential to their own interests, even at the expense of the Chinese Government. Hay himself even briefly considered a seizure of Chinese territory, although he quickly rejected the idea. Although the Notes were not binding, Hay’s successors nonetheless adhered to the policy of maintaining the Open Door in China. The articulation of the Open Door policy represented the growing American interest and involvement in East Asia at the turn of the century.

Ironically, Hay articulated the Open Door policy at a time when the U.S. Government was doing everything in its power to close the door on Chinese immigration to the United States. This effectively stifled opportunities for Chinese merchants and workers in the United States. (See Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts.)

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/hay-and-china