Imperialism: The Origins of a Global Power

1. American plantation owners and U.S. Marines had toppled Hawaii's Queen in 1893 because most of the American plantation owners who dominated most of Hawaii's economy had favored bringing the island officially under U.S. control, so they orchestrated a coup with the help of U.S. Marines, toppling Queen Liliuo'kalani in January, 1893. Hawaii was considered to be a valuable prize because the island's rich soil was ideal for growing profitable tropical crops such as sugar, pineapples, and coffee. Hawaii was a crucial stopping point for American ships en route to East Asia. President Cleveland's reaction to this treaty and the event with the queen of Hawaii did not please American plantation owners in Hawaii, as he believed that annexation would corrupt traditional American values of freedom and equality, therefore he withdrew the treaty which allowed the United States to annex Hawaii. I agree with Cleveland quote on Page 1, as he is basically saying that the U.S. must make any repairs necessary when an action is made that puts a friendly country's independence and sovereignty in danger. I agree with him because a treaty was made that allowed the U.S. to annex Hawaii, which would danger Hawaii's independence and sovereignty, and since Hawaii was friendly to the U.S., it was a mistake.

2. In the nineteenth century, there were many changes that transformed America. These changes include immigration, urban growth, manufacturing, new inventions, and an increase in trade as well as many other changes. Immigration was a huge deal in the 1800's, as immigrants were very helpful. Immigrants had helped to propel the economy by labor, signaling a change in American life and American values, but they were not values that the US wanted. Urban growth had been spurred by immigrants, as one-third of Americans had become city dwellers by the late 1800's. This change had cause many problems, such as overburdened transportation systems, inadequate sanitation, rising crime, substandard housing, and politicol corruption. Manufacturing had also become a huge thing that contributed to the transformation of America in the 1800's. Manufacturing had overtaken agriculture as the main source of agricultural wealth, and many immigrants had worked in manufacturing plants in urban areas. Another transformer of America was new inventions in the 19th century, including electricity, chemicals, and new machinery. These inventions made it possible for new industries in the US. The new machinery made rapid inroads in the countryside because farmers relied on railroads to receive supplies and ship their crops to market. Farm machinery also started to replace human and animal labor in the fields. Lastly, trade was another change that had transformed the United States in the 19th century. International trade gained importance in the US economy near the end of the century. During this time the advances in transportation and machine-assisted farming had been a beneficial factor for the US. Big businesses gained political power as small farmers were increasingly sidelined.

3. The economic depression which started in 1893 had deepened the divisions in American society, as city dwellers worried about insecurity, laborers worried about losing their jobs, plant owners had worried about losing profits, and the income of farmers had slumped more than before the depression. I think that farmers suffered the most during the depression, as a slump in income had started in 1888, and the depression of 1893 had just worsened the slump.

4. The values that many Americans had attached to the frontier included resourcefulness, bravery, pragmatism, ingenuity, individualism, egalitarianism, and patriotism. Many Americans feared that the closing of the frontier would harm American's national character because the identity they had attached to the frontier seemed to be in jeopardy.

5. Some businessmen and politicians believed that overseas expansion would fuel economic growth. They saw that there could be an outlet overseas for the surplus of American products. American leaders had feared that if the US didn't follow suit, that competing powers would prevent the US from accessing the Chinese market.

6. Expansionists urged that acquiring a few strategic ports to service American ships and to open doors to foreign markets was sufficient, while imperialists wanted the United States to build a sizeable overseas empire in which the United States would conquer and rule over strategic foreign territories and nations, which would enable the United States to secure export markets, raw materials, and cheap labor.

7. Social Darwinism had lent support to imperialism as Social Darwinists had claimed that the "success" of western Europeans was a result of their being more suited to positions of power than other races and cultures, which reflected from Darwin's theory of "survival of the fittest". Scientific racism had also lent support to imperialism with social Darwinism as they affirmed the view that the US and a handful of European nations were destined by nature to dominate the world. America's leaders accepted the conclusions of scientific racism, and most of Americans seldom questioned its basic principles. Social Darwinism and scientific racism have been used since the late 1800's and are still widely used today.

8. Many Protestant churches suggested that he role of Americans in the world should be to "lift up" the "downtrodden" of other nations.

9. The United States had become more involved in Latin American nations in the 19th century because military leaders had hoped that the US could stabilize any quarrelsome nations so American commerce and influence could travel safely across the seas. The US had become involved in Samoa by a treaty in 1878 which promised American assistance in case of foreign interference in Samoa, a group of tiny Pacific islands, in return for free access to Samoa's harbor. As Germany and Britain worked to take over parts of Samoa, the US sent weapons and warships. In the end, portions of Samoa became an American territory. Then, in 1897, the US government tried to restrict Japanese immigration in Hawaii. Japan sent a message telling the US not to, and, knowing those Japanese immigrants would gain power on the islands and begin to demand rights not too far in the future, President McKinley put forward a resolution to annex Hawaii. Along with these 2 interventions, the US also intervened in a revolution in Chile in 1891 and in the Brazilian revolution in 1894. From 1893 to 1895, the US also negotiated with many different groups in Nicaragua.

10. The US was concerned about British involvement in Venezuela because Britain was bullying Venezuela, which shared a border with the British colony of Guiana. American was concerned that if Britain was to carve up Latin America for colonies like they had recently done in Africa, that it would prevent the US from expanding its own commercial ties to Latin America. U.S. Secretary of State, Richard Olney, had invoked in response that "Today the Unites States is practically sovereign on this continent, and its fiat is law....".

Spanish-American War (1898)

Causes: How did each of the following help to cause the outbreak of the Spanish-American War?

1. American business owners- they had been sympathetic towards Cuba due to their ideas of rebellion, which caused Spain to become angry with America

2. José Martí- helped to cause the outbreak of the Spanish-American War by organizing Cuban resistance against Spain, and by deliberately destroying American property (mostly sugar mills and plantations)

3. Valeriano Weyler- went to Cuba to restore order, and had set up concentration camps where about 300,000 Cubans were held so they could no longer aid rebels, and many ended up dying from hunger and disease

4. Yellow journalism- by exaggerating the news in newpapers, yellow journalism had lured and enraged readers, had tightened hostility between the countries

5. De Lôme letter- a private letter which a Cuban rebel had leaked to the newspapers. This letter had criticized President McKinley, calling him weak and "a bidder for the admiration of the crowd". Although the Spanish government had apologized, Americans were still angry over the insult to their president

6. U.S.S. Maine- the USS Maine was a boat that was sent to Cuba to bring home American citizens in danger from the fighting and to protect American property. On Feb 15, 1898 the ship blew up in the harbor of Havana, and no one had know why it blew up, so they blamed it on the Spaniards, giving the US government a reason to declare war against the unprepared Spanish army.

Effects: What happened to each of the following territories as a result of the Spanish-American War?

7. Cuba- Cuba was freed by Spain in the Treaty of Paris (1898)

8. Puerto Rico- Puerto Rico was turned over to the Americans in the Treaty of Paris (1898)

9. Guam- Guam, too had been turned over to the Americans as a result of the Spanish-American War

10. Philippine Islands- The Philippine Islands had been sold by Spain to the United States for $20 million

U.S. Imperialism Begins

1. Name at least five factors that fueled American Imperialism.

Factors that fueled American Imperialism included the desire for military strength, the thirst for new markets, and the belief in cultural superiority

2. Choose two of the above five factors and describe them in your own words.

American leaders advised that the United States build up its own military strength. From the urging of Alfred T. Mahan and others, the United States built nine steel-hulled cruisers between 1883 and 1890 in order to keep up with the advances of enemy countries, making the US the 3rd largest naval force.

Advances in technology made it possible for factories and farms to produce far more products than needed for society, so imperialists had viewed foreign trade the solution to over-production.

3. What was known as “Seward’s Folly” and why?

"Seward's Folly" is what some people had called Alaska. Seward had arranged for the US to buy Alaska for $7.2m (from the Russians). Alaska was mainly called "Seward's Folly" by radical republicans who were hostile towards the President, and towards Seward as Johnson's political ally. The people who called Alaska "Seward's Folly" were probably surprised when America found Alaska to be rich in timber, minerals, and oil.

4. What plantation-based product accounted for three-quarters of Hawaii’s wealth in the mid-19^th century and who controlled this product?

In the mid-19th century, sugar plantations had accounted for 3/4 of Hawaii's wealth, and these plantations were American-owned.

5. Using as much detail as possible, outline the sequence of events that led to America gaining possession of Hawaii? In other words, why was the United States interested in these Pacific islands?

White planters had profited from close ties with the US, and in 1875, the US agreed to import sugar duty-free, increasing the sugar production in Hawaii 9X. As a result of the McKinley Tariff of 1890, which caused the importation of sugar to no longer be duty-free, Hawaii faced competition in the American market. So they would no longer have to pay the duty, American planters in Hawaii had called for the US to annex the islands. In 1887, US military and economic leaders, understanding the value of the islands, pressured Hawaii to allow them to set up a base at Pearl Harbor. The base became a refueling station for American ships.

Child Labor Reform Photographs

Objective Assessment


As you view each photograph take note about what you see. (note people, background, objects) Pretend you were describing the image to someone who could not see it. Try to avoid making judgments.

Where are these children? List any clues relating to their surroundings. Describe any tools or objects you see. Describe their clothing. What do their clothes reveal about their work?


Subjective Assessment


What questions do you have about each of these photographs?
Based on your observations, list three things you might infer about the lives of these children. (Be sure to consider Hine's notes about the photographs when considering this.)

Photograph A- In this photograph, there is a young girl about 51 inches tall working in the Whitnel Cotton Mill, most likely at the age of 12. She appears to be terror-stricken by the expression on her face, which makes me think she doesn't like her job, and maybe because since it looks like she isn't working, she is frightened that she might get caught taking a short break for the first time in her working career. She is also wearing unquestionably formal and ill-fitting clothing, which shows she not only is forced to work hard, but she is forced to wear vexatious clothing, which might make her dislike her job even more.

Photograph B- In this photograph, there are 5 girls around the age of 16, who look to be narcoleptic and woebegone due to their droopy expressions and hunched-over bodies. As tired as they look, I assume that they have just done some hard, scrupulous work. Because there is close to nothing that appears around them, it makes me wonder what kind of work they have been doing and why they look so depressed.

Photograph C- In this photograph, there is an extremely young girl, standing in the cotton mill. She is without shoes, and is wearing very ruggedy clothing. Hine says that the manager said she just walked in and started working, but because she seems to have grown accustomed to the facility, I assume that she was forced to work there and the overseer is just making that up to avoid looking bad.

Photograph D- In this photograph, there is a young child (male) on the street trying to sell newspapers to the people who walk by him. He looks to be very sad and he is wearing old, nasty clothing. The people currently walking by him don't seem to take even the quickest glance at him, causing him not to sell many papers.

Photograph E- In this photograph, there are about 20 boys working in a coal factory, who look slumped over and depressed due to their hard and tedious work. They have the urge to keep working as hard as they can because they are being watched and if they don't do what they are supposed to do they will be kicked into obedience. The dense dust in the air causing very serious and unhealthy working conditions, which makes their work seem even harder to complete.

Photograph F- In this photograph, there are about 8 teenage boys working in an Indiana Glass Works at the time of 9 pm. Some of the boys seem to be hard at work while others are fooling around, not doing their work. While this makes them seem unprofessional, it is most likely the only time they can slack off as it is late and they probably are not being watched. The boys all seem to be tired and depressed, which shows that their jobs must be long and monotonous. And because of their very raggedy clothing, they must not be getting much money for the hard work they are doing.

Photograph G- In this photograph, there are about 40-50 people oyster shucking, ranging from the ages of 5-45. All the people seem to be hard at work, while the youngest of the children look tired, as they can't do such long, hard work at such a young age. When I see this picture, It makes me sad because when I think about 5 year olds being forced to oyster shuck, I think that society was horrible back then and I would definitely not wanna live during that time period.

Photograph H- In this photograph, there are about 10 people going to work the night shift in a mill, who are expected to work from 6pm to 6am the next morning. Everyone in the photograph seems to not want to be there, as I'm sure they would much rather be home getting ready to go to sleep. It must be very cold, because if you look closely, you can see that almost everyone is wearing rather heavy clothing. The cold working conditions most likely makes their jobs a lot harder and makes them even more tired at the end of work.

Sections 17-4, -5

1. How did William Howard Taft get selected to run for president?


William Howard Taft was selected by Roosevelt to run against William Jennings Bryan in the election of 1912. At the time, Taft was Roosevelt's Secretary of War, and Roosevelt handpicked him to run in the election.


2. How did Teddy Roosevelt come to oppose Taft for the presidency in 1912?


Taft sought to consolidate rather than to expand Roosevelt's reforms, which caused Roosevelt to oppose him for the presidency of 1912.


3. What events helped Woodrow Wilson win the election in 1912?


The split of the Republican party was the main event which helped Wilson win the election, but he always won as he related to the public opinion, as he supported small businesses and free-market competition, and he was against all monopolies, as many citizens were.


4. What legislation did Wilson use to attack trusts and monopolies?

Wilson, during his presidency, had used Congress to create 2 antitrust acts: The Clayton Antitrust Act and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The Clayton Antittrust Act was passed in 1914, which prohibited corporations rom acquiring the stock of another if doing so would create a monopoly; if a company violated the law, its officers could be proseute. This act was used by Wilson mainly to attack trusts and monopolies, which was his main goal during his time in office. The Federal Trade Commission was also created in 1914, which gave an agency the power to investigate possible violations of regulatory statutes, to require periodic reports from corporations, and to put an end to a number of unfair business practices. This act was very successful as it led to almost 400 cease-and-desist orders to companies engaged in illegal activity.

5. What was the Nineteenth Amendment?

The Nineteenth Amendment, winning final ratification in August 1920, granted women the right to vote. This was significant as for 72 years women had been trying very hard to gain this right, and it was finally granted to them. This made women feel more equal and important.

6. How did America's entry into World War I affect the reform movement?

America's entry in World War I affected the reform movement greatly, as the women were very helpful. During the war, patriotic American women who headed committees, knitted socks for soldiers, and sold liberty bonds had been rewarded by being granted the right to vote. Thanks to America's involvement in WWI, women were granted the right to vote due to their help in the war.

TR's Square Deal

1. How did Roosevelt create the modern presidency?

Roosevelt's strong leadership skills and bold publicity campaigns were the main things that were helpful in creating the modern presidency, as he became a model to future presidents. Roosevelt, unlike previous presidents, used his personality and popularity to advance his programs.

2. How did Roosevelt's intervention in a coal strike set a precedent for federal arbitration?

In 1902, 140 thousand coal miners went on a strike. Roosevelt thought it necessary to intervene, and with that thought, he called both sides to a meeting to deal with the strike, and an agreement came to be, where the miners received a 10% pay increase and a shorter workday of 9 hours. This action of Roosevelt set a precedent for federal arbitration as it soon became that the federal government was expected to intervene when a strike began to threaten the public welfare.

3. What did Roosevelt do to the trusts and railroads?

During his presidency, Roosevelt affected both trusts and railroads significantly. In 1902, he ordered the Justice Department to sure the Northern Securities Company, which had established a monopoly over railroads. Roosevelt had sought to curb the actions of those that hurt the public interest. Then in 1903, Roosevelt had helped to create the Elkins Act which made it illegal for railroad officials to give, and shippers to receive, rebates for using particular railroads. In 1906, he had to compromise with conservative senators who opposed the Hepburn Act, which strictly limited the distribution of free railroad passes, but its passage boosted the government's power to regulate the railroads.

4. What did legislation pass during Roosevelt's presidency that protected citizens?

Both the Meat Inspection Act and The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 protected citizens. The Meat Inspection Act protected citizens, as it gave the federal government the duty to inspect meat factories to insure quality meat every so often, which woul help to prevent citizens from getting sick from rancid meat. The Pure Food and Drug Act protected citizens, because it halted the sale of contaminate foods and medicines and called for the truth in labeling, which prevented people from getting sick or dying from food or medicines containing fatal ingredients.

5. What did Roosevelt do to protect the environment?

Advised by John Muir, Roosevelt set aside 148 million acres of land of forest reserves, and he also set aside 1.5 million acres of water-power sites and another 80 million acres of land that US Geological Survey would explore for mineral and water resources. He also established more than 50 wildlife sanctuaries and several national parks. He did all of this becayse he believed that America's resources were endless. All of this was very helpful in preserving and protecting the environment.

Urbanization

1. What is Urbanization?

Urbanization is the growth of cities, which at this time, mostly took place in the regions of the Northeast and Midwest.

2. For what reasons did a number of Americans move from the country to the cities?

Many rural people moved to cities to find whatever work they could. Around 200,000 African Americans moved from the country to the cities between 1890 and 1910 in an effort to escape racial violence, economic hardship, and political oppression.

3. What were the housing problems that many poor city dwellers faced?

Many poor city dwellers were faced with atrocious living conditions. They had the choice to either buy a house on the outskirts of town where they would be faced with transportation problems, or they could rent cramped rooms in a boardinghouse in the central city. These rooms were EXTREMELY cramped, having sometimes 3 families in a house meant for 1 family.