Imperialism

Imperialism and World War I (1890-1919)

I. American Imperialism: Political and Economic Expansion

A. General Causes of American Imperialism
 * The sensational stories published by "yellow journalists"
 * The New Navy policy promoted by Alfred Thayer Mahan and Theodore Roosevelt
 * The example of European imperialism in Africa
 * The emphasis of Social Darwinism on survival of the fittest
 * Unlike Manifest Destiny, imperialism included the idea of moral improvement by bringing the blessings of civilization to less technologically advanced people

B. Spanish-American War 1. Causes 2. Territorial Acquisitions 3. The Debate Over Annexing the Philippines
 * The battleship Maine was sunk mysteriously in Havana Harbor.
 * A circulation battle between the "yellow journalism" newspapers of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Their sensational headlines and lurid stories aroused public support for a war to liberate Cuba from Spanish control.
 * As a result of the Spanish-American War, Spain relinquished control of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States.
 * By establishing a protectorate over Cuba, the United States began implementing an imperialist foreign policy.
 * The Anti-Imperialism League opposed annexation, arguing that it violated America's long-established commitment to the principles of self-determination and anti-colonialism.
 * Supporters of annexation argued that America had a moral responsibility to "civilize" the islands. They also pointed out that the Philippines could become a valuable trading partner.

C. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, 1904 "Chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation, and in the Western Hemisphere the adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States . . . to the exercise of an international police power."
 * President Theodore Roosevelt worried that the Dominican Republic and other Latin American nations would default on debts owed to European banks. These defaults could then provoke European military intervention.
 * Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine to forestall European Intervention.
 * The Roosevelt Corollary expanded America's role in Central America and the Caribbean.
 * The Roosevelt Corollary claimed America's right to assume the role of "an international police power." Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson enforced the Roosevelt Corollary by sending American troops to Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Haiti.
 * Theodore Roosevelt explained and justified the Roosevelt Corollary as follows:

D. Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
 * President Taft believed he could use economic investments to bolster American foreign policy.
 * Taft's attempt to use Dollar Diplomacy in Asia and Latin America achieved very little success.

E. The Open Door Policy
 * As China's Qing (Manchu) dynasty weakened, European powers carved out spheres of influence where they exercised political leverage and obtained exclusive commercial privileges.
 * Although he knew he could not force the Europeans to leave China, Secretary of State John Hay was determined to protect American missionaries and commercial interests.
 * In 1899, Hay sent the nations with spheres of influence in China a note calling for open access to China for American investment and commercial interests.
 * Known as the Open Door, the policy underscored America's commitment to free trade and opposition to obstacles that thwarted international commerce.
 * * The Open Door was intended to protect American commercial interests in China.

II. The Road to War

A. American Neutrality
 * President Wilson sought a distance America from World War I by issuing a proclamation of neutrality.
 * Wilson's policy of neutrality was consistent with America's traditional policy of avoiding European entanglements.
 * Wilson insisted that all belligerents respect American neutral rights on the high sea.

B. The German Challenge to American Neutrality.
 * Faced with a stalemate in the trenches across France and a British blockade that was exhausting its ability to continue fighting, Germany launched a campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare in early February 1917.
 * In late February 1917, the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, sent a secret telegram to the German minister in Mexico. Intercepted by British intelligence, the teleram asked Mexico to join a military alliance against the United States. In return, the Germans promised to help Mexico recover territories it had lost following the Mexican War.

C. Wilson's War Message
 * Wilson accused the Germans of violating freedom of the seas, killing innocent Americans, and interfering with Mexico.
 * Wilson galvanized public opinion by calling on America to launch a noble crusade "to make the world safe for democracy."

III. World War I at Home and Abroad

A. The Black Migration
 * Causes of the migration:
 * Jim Crow laws denied African Americans their rights as citizens and forced them to endure poverty and systematic discrimination
 * Beginning with World War I, the wartime demand for labor attracted African Americans to cities in the North and West.
 * Exodus from the rural South:
 * In 1915, the overwhelming majority of African Americans lived in the rural South.
 * Attracted by the wartime demand for labor, African Americans migrated to urban centers in the North and West.

B. The Committee on Public Information
 * The Committee on Public Information used propaganda to arouse public support for the war and stifle dissent.
 * Americans were persuaded to buy war bonds and believe that Germany was a particularly barbarous nation.

IV. Treaty of Versailles

A. The Fourteen Points
 * Wilson's Fourteen Points included a call for the following:
 * Open diplomacy
 * Freedom of the seas
 * The creation of an international organization to preserve the peace and security of its members
 * National self-determination for oppressed minority groups
 * Wilson's Fourteen Points did NOT include the following:
 * Recognition of Allied economic and territorial agreements made during the war
 * A provision to create the International Monetary Fund

B. Reasons the United States did NOT join the League of Nations
 * Wilson refused to compromise on the issue of America's unconditional adherence to the charter of the League of Nations. This hardened Senate opposition to the Treaty of Versailles.
 * Opponents believed that the League would lead to further involvement in foreign wars.
 * Senator Lodge was a skillful opponent of the League. The personal and political rivalry between Wilson and Lodge precluded any change of a compromise.

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