DE History: Imperialism Flashcards
Why would the US increase its foreign involvement?
to increase trade, take over regions, spread military, spread ideas of democracy
What is the monroe Doctrine
U.S. policy towards western hemisphere which warned europeans not to interfere in affairs of the western hemisphere
motives for imperialism
economic, cultural: feelings of superiority over other nations,
Who were imperialists
Republicans pro business
Military enhance prestige
Press sensational events sells newspapers
Missionaries spread christianity
Progressive reform/world improvement
Who were anti imperialists
Democrats focus on issues at home (william jennings bryan)
Anti imperialist league believed conquest was immoral
How to increase circulation of media?
Exaggeration, yellow journalism
Hawaii annexation
US farmers invested in sugar plantations in hawaii
McKinley tariff 1890
Raised tariff on sugar imported from outside the US including hawaii
Pushed to annex hawaii so they won’t have to pay the tariff
Hawaii became US territory, NOT STATE
Spanish american war
Spain still controls colonies: cuba, puerto rico, philippines
Spain’s colonies are revolting
Cuban rebels began revolution against spanish but fail
american plantations caught in the middle between cuban vs spanish conflict
high point of US imperialism: spanish american war causes
Cuba’s independence struggle
yellow press
de lome letter –> insulted president McKinley, citizens want to war with spain but McKinley doesn’t and then later he decides to ask congress to declare war
jingoism –> extreme patriotism, in the form of aggressive or warlike foreign policy
sinking of USS Maine (blamed on spain, but evidence found out that it wasn’t them)
Why does the US get involved in spanish american war?
Spain’s atrocity in cuba
Weyler sent to cuba to restore order
Weyler moved all the rural people out of houses into concentration camps and many died
US thoughts of spanish-american revolution
Protect american economic interests from being caught in crossfire of cuba’s rebellion against spain
US nationalism, have to fight because they believed spain blew up their ship
MAIN - military, alliance, imperialism,
Platt Amendment
conditions for withdrawal of US forces from cuba
US dominance over cuba, cuba cannot ally with other foreign countries, cuba’s alliance with US is permanent
all of this leads to increased conflict between US and cuba
Insular (Island) Supreme Court Cases from 1901 -
1903?
Constitutional rights don’t automatically extend to
territories
* The power to grant rights belonged to Congress
Roosevelt and panama canal
spanish american war brings two issues: US was ill to protect two coasts, US needed short cut between east and west coasts for economic and military reasons
solution: build a canal
- lots of disease + expensive
China’s open door policy
US economic diplomacy in China by Hay, stated trade with China should be open to all foreign countries with equal trade opportunities and rights.
secured US trade rights with china and chinese were unhappy leading to rebellion
Triggers of Imperialism
Manifest Destiny –> need for new outlets for expansion
Industrial revolution –> economy diversifies
Global Competition –> europe colonizes Africa, competition for trade in China
Motives for Imperialism? Political, Economical, Cultural
Political –> expand military, US becoming a world power
Economical –> more exports, sell more equipment and have countries rely on US for stuff
Cultural –> feeling of superiority over other nations
what does imperialism lead to
rivalry and competition for new territories and possessions fueled tension between european countries
Causes of WW1
M –> militarism
A –> Alliances
N - Nationalism
I - Imperialism
A –> assasination of austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand
who opposes US joining WW1
women, German americans, federal government stifles dissent
what was public opinion shaped by
media, newspaper
What was president Wilson’s view of the war
He didnt’ want to join the war originally, but the public kept urging him to join the war, so then
how did the anti-german sentiment affect the US
many americans refused to hire american citizens of german descent
Why did Wilson and african americans fight in WW1
African american soldiers served and wilson wanted to fight in the war to bring democracy to the world and blacks fought to earn equal rights at home
what did women do while men were in the war
women took over the workforce and started working to pack grenade parts to help the US. African americans and women started to replace men in the workforce while men were off fighting
American expeditionary force
assumed independent responsibility for one segment of the western front
spring 1918
americans stopped the german advancement and struck back with a counterattack at Belleau Wood
Fall of 1918
pushed the germans back towards the german border
end of the war
Germans signed an armistice and surrendered
US deaths –> many died from disease
treaty of versailles –> controlled by britain, france, italy, and US –> put blame on germany and had them pay for war reparations. Germany and austria are not at the meeting
wilson’s 14 points
league of nations –> insisted on delegations to accept this plan, republicans not happy saying it would interfere. US did not join league of nations
post war problems
demobilization –> many soldiers returned home and jobs were taken away from african americans and women. Businesses went down and many were unemployed and there was a recession
red scare –> communism in russia, US fears communism would takeover US, so many socialists were arrested, and xenophobia increased
labor conflict –> public opinion distrusted unions and public wanted higher pay.
race riots –> migration of african americans to north increased racial tensions. Increased competition for jobs and housing caused whites to go against blacks and many riots erupted
naval blockade
britain and germany relied on imports from US but US ships were seized because other nations did not believe that US was neutral
Sussex Pledge 1916
Germany did not want US to join side of Britain, so they promised not to sink merchant or passenger ships without giving due warning
Unrestricted submarine warfare
cut off supplies to allies was more important than risk of US joining the war. Wilson broke diplomatic relations with germany bc of the zimmerman telegram and violation of submarine warfare
what were the immigration restriction (Buck v. Bel)
created IQ tests for army recruits and immigrants to see if they were iliterate. This led to giving more opportunities for the desirables. Buck v. Bel supported this
1918 pandemic
flu spread and killed many young americans
Purchase of Alaska
US bought alaska from Russia
Jingoism
Extreme nationalism
Schenck v. united states
right to free speech can be limited when there is a clear and present danger
teller amendment
US cannot claim Cuba, but puts restrictions on it
Treaty of Peace
recognizes cuban independence. US gets puerto rico, guam, and hillipines
benevolent assimilation
belief that assimilation to US culture and to christianity would benefit and civilize filipinos
Difficulty of US staying neutral in war
monroe doctrine, countries were preventing supplies from reaching enemy country, britain put naval blockade against germany and they started siezing ships, germany sinks lusitania, americans spread anti-german sentiment, zimmerman telegram
zimmerman telegram
Germany secretly offers Mexico a deal that said if Mexico allied with Germany, Germany would help them recover their lost territories. British intercepted this message and the telegram increased nationalism in America
russian revolution
Wilson wanted to fight the war for a worthy purpose: the triumph of democracy. When the Russian revolution overthrew the autocratic czar government and proclaimed the country as a republic, it turned the war into a war of democracy.
great migration
African Americans moved from the agricultural life in the South, to industrial life in the North as well as the west.
They were looking for:
proper jobs that had higher wages
Proper living conditions
Harlem Hellfighters
These were African American soldiers who spent more time in continuous combat compared to any other American unit of its size during WW1
espionage act, sedition act
Espionage Act → illegal for ppl who tried to rebel or obstruct the operation of the draft
Sedition Act → illegal for people to make any disloyal remarks about the governemnt
dollar diplomacy
make countries depend on the US by investing in foreign economies
Santiago Bay
US navy destroys spanish fleet and spanish surrenders
