Unit 4 lesson 1 imperialism Flashcards
Washington’s beliefs influenced what?
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.
From its earliest existence, the American republic had also followed a policy of what?
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.
Why would’nt Japan open its borders to the world?
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.
Why did America want Japan to open its borders?
Americans wanted Japan to open its ports to trade, as well as to help shipwrecked sailors.
How did America get Japan to open its border?
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.
What is the Treaty of Kanagawa?
In the treaty, Japan accepted demands to help shipwrecked sailors. It also opened two ports to American trade.
What was William Seward’s involvement in buying Alaska from Russia?
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.
How do Americans react to Alaska at first?
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.”
What changed Americans veiw of Alaska?
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.
The period between 1870 and 1914 has often been called what?
the Age of Imperialism
What is imperialism?
Imperialism is the policy of powerful countries seeking to control the economic and political affairs of weaker countries or regions.
What are some reasons for 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.
.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.
What did british writer Rudyard Kipling say?
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.
Who were expansionists and what did they belive?
Expansionists also argued that Americans had a right and a duty to spread western culture.
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.
Who is Josiah Strong and what did he say?
Josiah Strong, a Congregational minister, and a expansionist, 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.”
