Becoming a World Power Flashcards
1865-1869 – Andrew Johnson (Democrat) (4)
- Acquisition of Alaska as a colonial possession
- Seen as pathway to the eventual annexation of Canada
- Senate prohibits further expansion, specifically: Hawaii, Cuba, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Greenland and Iceland
- US Troops dispatched to the Mexican border, as an informal enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine.
1869-1877 – Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) (3)
- Encouragement of guerilla warfare in Cuba against Spanish dominion
- Failed but tried to annex Santo Domingo – support was withheld from Senate
- Alabama Claims – US attempted to extract compensation from Britain for disruption to shipping during the Civil War (it did, supporting the South for cotton).
- Through the Treaty of Washington, Britain was forced to pay $15.5 million.
1877-1881 – Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) (4)
- Suspension of the Burlingame Treaty, which was introduced 20yrs prior for Chinese inflow.
- Revival of notions to create a Panama Canal
1881-1881 – James A. Garfield (Assassinated) (1)
- Probably wanted to do something before, well, it happened.
1881-1885 – Chester A. Arthur (Republican) (1)
- Invested heavily in the navy- “Father of the Steel Navy,”
- Arthur sought the construction of steam-powered steel cruisers, steel rams, and steel-clad gunboats
1885-1889 – Grover Cleveland (Democrat) (3)
- Generally negative imperialism
- Opposing German efforts (est. a puppet monarch) in Samoa
- Most controversial motion: Venezuela – British attempts Orinoco River spurred motions
- Twenty-inch gun missive – alongside mobilizing naval forces on Venezuela
1889-1893 – Benjamin Harrison (Republican) (3)
- Risked war with Chile over harm done to US sailors in Valparaiso - Chile conceded $75,000 in reparations.
- Launched the nation on the road to empire.
- Chilean and Samoan episodes, inspired Theodore Roosevelt’s “Big Stick” diplomacy.”
1897-1901 – William McKinley (Republican) (6)
- Cuba - Spanish repression caused revolution. McKinley ordered the U.S. battleship Maine to Havana harbor, both to protect American citizens and property and to demonstrate that the United States still valued Spain’s friendship.
- Maine - destroyed. Spain declared war on US.
- Congress passes Teller Amendment - “any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except for the pacification thereof.”
- Spain’s Atlantic fleet destroyed in the waters between Cuba and Jamaica, and U.S. troops captured Puerto Rico.
- War ends with Paris Peace Treaty; Dec 1898. US obtained Puerto Rico, Guam, and—for $20 million—the Philippine Islands. Spain also renounced its claim to Cuba, which remained under U.S. military occupation until 1902.
- Thereafter, Cuba would be a U.S. protectorate until 1934.
- Nationalist Filippinos under Aguinaldo rise against US. The war lasted until 1902, claimed the lives of more than 5,000 Americans and some 200,000 Filipinos.
- American interests in Asia were not limited to the Philippines. China emerged as a major foreign policy concern for the McKinley administration, especially as Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan, among others, scrambled throughout the 1890s to establish their own “spheres of influence” in that nation. Fearful that the Europeans and Japanese might close Chinese ports to U.S. commerce, McKinley authorized Secretary of State John Hay to issue an “Open Door” note on China. This circular strongly expressed the American desire to place all commercial nations on an equal footing in China, unencumbered by discriminatory tariffs or other restrictions. It also declared U.S. support for a non-colonized and independent China. The “Open Door” policy stands as one of the most important policy statements ever issued by the U.S. State Department.
1901-1909 – Theodore Roosevelt (Republican) (3)
- In 1903, the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty with Panama gave the United States perpetual control of the canal for a price of $10 million and an annual payment of $250,000.
- Complete in 1914.
- Venezuala 1902 - Germany and Britain sent ships to blockade that country’s coastline. Response: U.S. Navy expanded into one of the largest in the world, by convincing Congress to add battleships to the fleet and increasing its number of enlisted men.
- 1907 - Great White Fleet Tour - demo power
1909-1913 – William Howard Taft (Republican) (1)
- “dollar diplomacy,” - investments in South and Central American, the Caribbean, and the Far East.
- Officials plug heavy industrial goods and military hardware.
- U.S. military was a tool of economic diplomacy.
- U.S. banks to rescue debt-ridden Honduras with loans and grants
- 2,700 U.S. marines to stabilize Nicaragua’s conservative, pro-U.S. regime when rebels threatened to overthrow its government.
Wilson’s perspective on Latin America
Hoped “to cultivate the friendship and deserve the confidence” of the Latin American states, but he also emphasized that he believed “just government” must rest “upon the consent of the governed.”
What did Wilson do in 1916?
Purchased Virgin Islands from Denmark @ $25milion
What was the Mexican problem
- 1913 - General Huerta, who clamped a bloody authoritarian rule on the country.
- Most European nations welcomed the order and friendly climate for foreign investments that Huerta offered, but Wilson refused to recognize “a government of butchers” that obviously did not reflect the wishes of the Mexican people.
- His stance encouraged anti-Huerta forces in northern Mexico led by Venustiano Carranza.
How did Wilson justify the occupation of Veracruz?
- Mexican officials in Tampico arrested a few American sailors who blundered into a prohibited area, and Wilson used the incident to justify ordering the U.S. Navy to occupy the port city of Veracruz.
How did the skirmish with Mexico end?
- Troops captured on both sides, led Wilson to reaffirm commitment to self-determination. Attempted to secure border. Withdrew entirely from Mexico in 1917
What was the Zimmermann Telegram about?
German alliance with Mexico in event of war would see restoration of New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and California, which had been ceded to the United States after the Mexican War in 1848.
When was the Lucitania sunk?
May 1915 - British liner Lusitania off the coast of Ireland, killing nearly 1,200 people, including 128 Americans.
What was Wilson’s response to the U-Boat campaign?
- Wilson urged cessation of UB campaign
- Fearing war, Secretary Bryan resigned in June 1915.
- Effective until 1917, when British blockade proved intolerable.
What were the voting stats from Congress on WWI?
- Senate 82:6
- House: 373:50
What was the ambition of the U.S. motions in WWI?
Make the world safe for democracy
What had Wilson been doing since 1915?
1915 - push towards military preparedness - making mobilisation easier in 1917
How many US soldiers were abroad in 1918, how many died, etc.
- 2m served. Lost 115,000 men, 48,000 killed in action. The rest died from diseases and accidents
Who were the opposition in the motion of LoN
- “reservationists” and “irreconcilables”
Who led the Reservationists?
Henry Cabot Lodge, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
What did Lodge believe?
Lodge believed the obligations of the League would compromise American independence and proposed amendments to meet that threat.
How did Wilson respond to Republican opposition?
Substantial 29-city campaign
What did Historian Jackson Turner warn Americans in 1893?
Chicago World Fair - 1893 - US would have no frontier to conquer in the new century
Who was an influential intellect during this period?
- Mahan - Expansionism through powerful navy and colonies.
- Influenced Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge.
- These individuals looked beyond American shores for new frontiers, world markets, and overseas colonies.
Who were key anti-imperialists?
William Jennings Bryan, author Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Harrison
When was Britain overtaken by the US in steel production?
1880s, followed by the Germans in the 1890s
What did the Liberal-Imperialists believe?
- Liberal-imperialists in the US saw domestic agenda married with foreign policy – anti-imperialists fundamentally obscured the realisation of US true destiny.
What had Republicans argued since the civil war?
- America as doing the world’s work was a popular image From the Civil War on, Republicans had argued that low tariffs created a permanent subservience to Britain
Who were the main movers and shakers in the 1880s?
In 1880s, the six key players were Britain, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, Russia & Italy.
Who were the key pushers into the international frontier?
American businessmen
Evidence of rising US assertiveness
Economic conflict with Canada, 1871 Risk of war with Chile in 1892
Who was for annexation of Hawaii?
Henry Cabot Lodge- Hawaii stood like “a Gibraltar in the pathway of American commerce”, and the US needed the islands to secure naval control of the Pacific.
What dominated 19th c American thought?
Anglophobia/ isolationism
Quote from Orville Platt
“A policy of isolation did well enough when we were an embryo nation, but today things are different… We are sixty-five million of people, the most advanced and powerful on earth, and regard our future welfare demands an abandonment of the doctrines of isolation”
