Lesson 1: Expansion in the Pacific

Question 1

Annex Definition

Answer 1

to add on or take over

Question 2

Boxer Rebellion Definition

Answer 2

an uprising in China against westerners and Western influence in 1900

Question 3

Expansionism Definition

Answer 3

a policy of extending a nation’s boundaries

Question 4

Great White Fleet Definition

Answer 4

the name for the steam-powered ships of the enlarged and modernized American navy of the early 1900s

Question 5

Imperialism Definition

Answer 5

a policy of powerful countries seeking to control the economic and political affairs of weaker countries of regions

Question 6

Isolationism Definition

Answer 6

a policy of staying out of world affairs

Question 7

Open Door Policy Definition

Answer 7

a policy issued by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899 that allowed a nation to trade in any other nation’s sphere of influence in China

Question 8

Racism Definition

Answer 8

the belief that one race is superior to another

Question 9

Sphere of Influence Definition

Answer 9

an area where a nation had special trading privileges

Question 10

Treaty of Kanagawa Definition

Answer 10

an 1854 treaty between Japan and the United States that opened up ports to American trade in Japan

Question 11

What had George Washington advised in his Farewell Address?

Answer 11

In his Farewell Address, George Washington had advised the nation to have little to do with the political affairs of other nations. He had been concerned about forming dangerous alliances with other nations and had preferred that the United States be involved in international affairs only to protect its economic interests.

Question 12

George Washington’s beliefs on foreign affairs sparked what type of policy? How long did later presidents maintain this policy and why?

Answer 12

Washington’s beliefs influenced the policy of isolationism. Later Presidents maintained this policy for over a hundred years. Americans had no wish to be dragged into Europe’s frequent wars.

Question 13

In addition to America’s policy of isolationism, what were its policies of expansionism and foreign trade? How did they influence American actions and ideals?

Answer 13

Yet, from its earliest existence, the American republic had also followed a policy of expansionism, or extending its national boundaries. Americans were constantly pressing westward across the continent. At the same time, Americans conducted a lively foreign trade. Merchant ships carried American goods to Europe, as well as to Asian nations such as China. The island nation of Japan, however, refused to open its doors to American trade.

Question 14

Why had Japanese rulers cut themselves off from the world in the 1600s? Which merchants did they allow to trade with them, annually? What happened to foreign sailors who were shipwrecked on the Japanese shore?

Answer 14

Fearing outsiders, Japanese rulers had cut themselves off from the world in the 1600s. They expelled all westerners. Only a few Dutch merchants were permitted to trade once a year at the port of Nagasaki. Any foreign sailors who were shipwrecked on the shores of Japan were not allowed to leave.

Question 15

What goals did Americans want to achieve when President Millard Fillmore sent Commodore Mathew Perry to Japan in July 1853? Why did he show up with four warships? Despite Japanese officials telling him to leave, what did Perry give them before he left? What happened when Perry returned in February 1854? How did his fleet of nine warships impress Japanese officials, leading to them signing the Treaty of Kanagawa? What did its state?

Answer 15

Americans wanted Japan to open its ports to trade, as well as to help shipwrecked sailors. To achieve these goals, President Millard Fillmore sent Commodore Matthew Perry to Japan. Perry entered Tokyo Bay with four warships in July 1853. The Japanese had never seen steam-powered ships. Japanese rulers ordered the Americans to leave. Before departing, though, Perry presented Japanese officials with a letter from President Fillmore. It asked the Japanese to open trading relations with the United States. Perry said he would return the following year for an answer. Perry returned in February 1854, this time with nine warships. Impressed by this show of strength, the Japanese emperor signed the Treaty of Kanagawa. In the treaty, Japan accepted demands to help shipwrecked sailors. It also opened two ports to American trade.

Question 16

What did Commodore Matthew Perry’s visit to Japan establish the start of? How did this influence Japan?

Answer 16

Perry’s visit launched trade between Japan and the West. It also made the Japanese aware of the power of the western industrial nations. Japan soon set out to become a modern industrial nation itself, with the United States as one of its models.

Question 17

In the 1860s, what did Secretary of State William Seward want for the United States in the Pacific? In 1867, why did he encourage Congress to annex Midway Island? What did Seward do in Alaska?

Answer 17

American interest in Asia and the Pacific continued. In the 1860s, Secretary of State William Seward wanted the United States to dominate trade in the Pacific. In 1867, he persuaded Congress to annex, or take over, Midway Island, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The island became part of the United States. Seward also made a bold deal to buy the vast territory of Alaska from Russia.

Question 18

Why was William Seward interested in Alaska? Why was Russia interested in giving away Russia?

Answer 18

Seward saw Alaska as an important stepping stone for increasing U.S. trade in Asia and the Pacific. For their part, the Russians were eager to get rid of the territory, which was too far away to govern effectively.

Question 19

Why was William Seward interested in Alaska? Why was Russia interested in giving away Alaska?

Answer 19

Seward saw Alaska as an important stepping stone for increasing U.S. trade in Asia and the Pacific. For their part, the Russians were eager to get rid of the territory, which was too far away to govern effectively.

Question 20

How did William Seward purchase Alaska in 1867? What was he doing during the exchange, and what was it like? How much did America pay per acre? How much did Alaska increase America by?

Answer 20

One night in 1867, Seward was playing cards. Suddenly, he was interrupted by a message from the Russian ambassador. The czar, or emperor, of Russia was willing to sell Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million. Seward agreed to buy the land then and there. “But your Department is closed,” said the ambassador.

“Never mind that,” Seward replied. “Before midnight you will find me at the Department, which will be open and ready for business.”

Next morning, Seward completed the deal. The cost came to 2 cents an acre. The purchase of Alaska increased the area of the United States by almost one fifth.

Question 21

What were the initial reactions to the purchase of Alaska? How did the minds of people change after gold was found in Alaska in the 1890s?

Answer 21

At the time, the purchase seemed foolish. Most Americans thought of Alaska as a barren land of icy mountains and frozen fish. They mockingly called the new territory “Seward’s Ice Box” and referred to the purchase as “Seward’s Folly.” Minds changed in the 1890s, after prospectors found gold in Alaska. Miners rushed to the new territory as they had once rushed to California. Since then, Seward’s vision of Alaska as a valuable territory has proved correct. The lowlands of southern Alaska are well suited to farming. The land is also rich in timber, copper, petroleum, and natural gas. In 1959, Alaska became the forty-ninth state.

Question 22

What is the period known as the Age of Imperialism (1870-1914)?

Answer 22

The period between 1870 and 1914 has often been called the Age of Imperialism. Imperialism is the policy of powerful countries seeking to control the economic and political affairs of weaker countries or regions. Between 1870 and 1914, European nations, such as Britain, Germany, and France, seized control of almost the entire continent of Africa and much of southern Asia. During this period, the United States and Japan also became imperial powers.

Question 23

What were the three main reasons for imperialism?

Answer 23

There were several reasons for the growth of imperialism. First, the industrial nations of Europe needed raw materials and new markets. European factories used raw materials from Africa and Asia to manufacture goods. Some of these goods would then be sold in Africa and Asia. A second factor that shaped imperialism was racism, or the belief that one race is superior to another. Many Europeans felt that they had a duty to spread their religion and culture to people whom they considered to be less civilized. British writer Rudyard Kipling called this responsibility “the white man’s burden.” Such thinking ignored that Africans and Asians already had rich cultures of their own. A third cause was competition. When a European country colonized an area, it often closed markets of that area to other countries. A European nation might take over an area just to keep rival nations out.

Question 24

By the 1890s, what condition was the United Staes in that made arguments in favor of expansionism popular?

Answer 24

Americans could not ignore Europe’s race for colonies. By the 1890s, the United States was a world leader in industry and agriculture. American factories turned out huge amounts of steel and American farms grew surpluses of corn, wheat, and cotton. The nation was growing rapidly, and arguments in favor of expansion were popular.

Question 25

What were the arguments supporting American expansionism and imperialism?

Answer 25

Many people believed that the American economy would collapse unless the United States gained new foreign markets. Today we are raising more than we can consume. Today we are making more than we can use. Today our industrial society is congested; there are more workers than there is work…. Therefore we must find new markets for our produce, new occupations for our capital, new work for our labor. —Albert Beveridge, quoted in Beveridge and the Progressive Era (Bowers) Expansionists also argued that Americans had a right and a duty to spread western culture. Josiah Strong, a Congregational minister, declared that Americans were “divinely commissioned” to bring democracy and Christianity “down upon Mexico, down upon Central and South America, out upon the islands of the sea.” Other expansionists stressed the need to make up for the vanishing frontier. For 100 years, the economy had boomed as Americans settled the West. The 1890 census said, however, that the frontier was gone. People in crowded eastern cities had no new land to settle. The solution, said some, was to take new land overseas.

Question 26

What were naval captain Alfred Mahan’s supports for imperialism? What was his view? Why did Congress create the Great White Fleet in 1900?

Answer 26

One leading supporter of American imperialism was naval captain Alfred Mahan. In an influential 1890 book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Mahan argued that the prosperity of the United States depended on foreign trade. Furthermore, he said, a bigger navy was needed to protect American merchant ships. “When a question arises of control over distant regions,” Mahan wrote, “it must ultimately be decided by naval power.” In Mahan's view, the United States could not expand its navy unless it controlled naval bases throughout the world. Mahan was especially interested in acquiring harbors in the Caribbean and the Pacific as links to Latin America and Asia. Even before Mahan's appeal, Congress had begun to enlarge and modernize the navy. By 1900, a powerful American navy was ready for action. Its steam-powered ships were called the Great White Fleet because their steel hulls were all painted white.

Question 27

As the United States’ naval power increased, why did their interest in Samoa grow?

Answer 27

As naval power grew, the United States showed increasing interest in Samoa, a chain of islands in the South Pacific. Samoa had a fine harbor that could serve as a naval base and commercial port.

Question 28

How did Germany, Britain, and America fight for Samoa? What natural disaster eased the tensions between the nations? What peaceful settlement did these nations reach? What had the United Staes demonstrated in this conflict?

Answer 28

Germany and Great Britain also realized the value of the harbor. As the three nations competed for control, a military clash seemed likely. In 1889, German ships fired upon Samoan villages that were friendly to the Americans. For months, German and American sailors eyed each other nervously from their warships. Then, with tensions at their highest, a powerful storm sank ships of both countries. The disaster helped ease the crisis. Later, the three nations arranged a peaceful settlement. The United States and Germany divided Samoa, while Britain received territories elsewhere in the Pacific. The United States had demonstrated that it would assert its power in the Pacific Ocean.

Question 29

What made America interested in Hawaii?

Answer 29

Another Pacific territory that had long interested the United States was Hawaii. Hawaii is a chain of eight large islands and more than 100 smaller islands. Hawaii's rich soil, warm climate, and plentiful rainfall allow farmers to grow crops all year round.

Question 30

When did westerners first learn of Hawaii? Why did American traders and sailors settle there in the early 1800s?

Answer 30

Westerners first learned about Hawaii in 1778. A British sea captain, James Cook, dropped anchor in the islands on his way to China. In the early 1800s, American ships bound for China began stopping in Hawaii, and a few American sailors and traders settled there.

Question 31

Why did American missionaries go to Hawaii in 1820? As the missionaries became valued advisors of Hawaiian rulers, how did they contribute to the writing of the Hawaiian constitution in 1840?

Answer 31

In 1820, American missionaries began arriving in Hawaii. They were eager to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity. The missionaries and other Americans became valued advisers to the rulers of Hawaii. Americans helped write Hawaii's first constitution in 1840.

Question 32

By the mid-1800s, who had Americans hired on their newly formed sugar plantations on Hawaii? How did this affect the Hawaiian Japanese population? How did American planters benefit from the growth of the sugar industry in Hawaii? What did the new constitution proposed by American planters in 1887 force the Hawaiian king to do? How did this affect his power?

Answer 32

By the mid-1800s, Americans had set up large sugar plantations in Hawaii. Needing cheap labor, the planters imported thousands of workers from China, Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. By 1900, one fourth of Hawaii's population had been born in Japan. As the sugar industry grew, so did the wealth and political power of American planters. In 1887, they forced the Hawaiian king, Kalakaua, to accept a new constitution. It reduced royal power and increased the planters' influence.

Question 33

How did American influence effect Hawaiian culture?

Answer 33

American influence in Hawaii significantly changed the social structure and cultural traditions of the native Hawaiian population. New rules outlawed Hawaiian traditions. The Hawaiian language could not be taught in schools, and dances such as the Hula were banned.

Question 34

How did American imperialism affect the Hawaiian division of land and the Hawaiian environment?

Answer 34

Imperialism also changed the relationship between the environment and Hawaii's people. Traditionally, land had been divided among the Hawaiian crown, the government, and the ruling elite. As American influence strengthened, control of much of Hawaii's land was given to American plantation owners instead. Native forests were cleared and water was diverted for agricultural use. Foreigners further altered the environment by clearing native species and bringing in new animals and plants. Later efforts were introduced to reforest areas and change agricultural practices with exotic, non-native plants.

Question 35

What was Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani’s objective after King Kalakaua passed away in 1891? How did this lead to an American rebellion in 1893, which forced her off her throne?

Answer 35

Kalakaua died in 1891. The new queen, Liliuokalani (lih lee oo oh kah LAH nee), cherished Hawaiian independence. Rejecting the new constitution, she sought to reduce the influence and privileges of planters and foreign merchants. In 1893, the American planters rebelled against the queen's attempt to limit their power. The American ambassador called for U.S. marines to land on Hawaii and protect American lives. In fact, the marines helped topple the queen. Faced with American guns, Liliuokalani gave up her throne.

Question 36

Why did President Grover Cleveland oppose the annexation of Hawaii? After he left office, Hawaii was annexed in 1898. When did it become a territory? A state?

Answer 36

With Liliuokalani no longer in power, the planters quickly set up a republic and asked the United States to annex Hawaii. A debate raged in Congress for months. President Grover Cleveland blocked moves to take over the islands. “Our interference in the Hawaiian Revolution of 1893 was disgraceful,” he later said. Congress finally annexed Hawaii in 1898, after Cleveland left office. Two years later, Hawaii became a United States territory. In 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth state.

Question 37

How was the competition like in China? How had many years of Civil War and other factors weakened China to foreign industrial control?

Answer 37

Despite its new footholds in the Pacific, the United States was a latecomer to the race for Pacific and Asian territory. Britain, Germany, Japan, and other industrial nations were already competing for colonies in Asia. The rivalry was especially fierce in China. Once the most advanced empire in the world, China had been weakened by years of civil war. In addition, China had refused to industrialize in the 1800s. It was unable to fight off industrial nations seeking profits from its vast resources and markets.

Question 38

What did Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan do in their spheres of influence in China?

Answer 38

In the late 1800s, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan carved spheres of influence in China. A sphere of influence was an area, usually around a seaport, where a nation had special trading privileges. Each nation made laws for its own citizens in its own sphere.

Question 39

As the United States was eager to gain a share in the trade in China, what fear made Secretary of State John Hay issue the Open Door Policy to the nations with spheres of influence in China?

Answer 39

The United States was eager to gain a share of the China trade. However, Secretary of State John Hay feared that the imperial powers would cut China off to American merchants. To prevent this, Hay sent a letter in 1899 to all the nations that had spheres of influence in China. He urged them to keep an “open door” in China permitting any nation to trade in the spheres of others. Reluctantly, the imperialist powers accepted the Open Door Policy.

Question 40

What was the Boxer Rebellion, and what motivated it? How did foreign countries, including America, with spheres of influence in China stop it?

Answer 40

Many Chinese resented foreign influence. Some formed a secret society called the Righteous Fists of Harmony, or Boxers. In 1900, the Boxers attacked westerners, whom they called “foreign devils,” all over China. More than 200 foreigners were killed. Hundreds of others were trapped in Beijing, the Chinese capital. Foreign governments quickly organized an international army that included 2,500 Americans. Armed with modern weapons, they fought their way into Beijing. They freed the trapped foreigners and crushed the uprising.

Question 41

What did many foreign nations use the Boxer Rebellion as an excuse for? How did foreign countries view Secretary of State John Hay’s second letter concerning an Open Door Policy?

Answer 41

Several nations saw the Boxer Rebellion as an excuse to seize more land in China. Secretary of State Hay sent another Open Door letter, urging all nations to respect China's independence. Britain, France, and Germany officially accepted Hay's letter. Fearing war, Japan and Russia quietly observed Hay's policy. Hay's Open Door letters showed that, to defend its interests, the United States was ready to take a larger role in world affairs.

Question 42

Additional: on August 16, 1896, gold was found at Bonanza Creek along the Klondike River. Gold had been found in Alaska before but never as much as the Bonanza strike. From 1897 to 1899, 100,000 people raced to the land that had become known as “Seward’s Folly.” Improved railroads and steamships fueled the boom, but because of severe weather and difficult terrain, less than half of the prospectors made it to the mines. Many of them settled elsewhere in Alaska instead.

Answer 42

on August 16, 1896, gold was found at Bonanza Creek along the Klondike River. Gold had been found in Alaska before but never as much as the Bonanza strike. From 1897 to 1899, 100,000 people raced to the land that had become known as “Seward’s Folly.” Improved railroads and steamships fueled the boom, but because of severe weather and difficult terrain, less than half of the prospectors made it to the mines. Many of them settled elsewhere in Alaska instead.

Question 43

Additional: The Philippines was a Spanish colony for more than 300 years. Then, on May 1, 1898, Admiral George Dewey, Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic division, defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay. It was the first major battle of the Spanish-American War and an important victory for the United States. The United States won the war, and the Philippines came under U.S. control, making the United States an important imperial power in the Pacific. Filipinos fought for many years for independence, which was finally achieved in 1946.

Answer 43

The Philippines was a Spanish colony for more than 300 years. Then, on May 1, 1898, Admiral George Dewey, Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic division, defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay. It was the first major battle of the Spanish-American War and an important victory for the United States. The United States won the war, and the Philippines came under U.S. control, making the United States an important imperial power in the Pacific. Filipinos fought for many years for independence, which was finally achieved in 1946.