History 2710    MacKay   

U.S. Imperialism and the Great War (1890s-1910s)

Historian Solomon Modell defines imperialism as:

"a policy of extending a country’s power beyond its own borders for the purpose of exploiting other lands and other peoples by establishing economic, social or political control over them."

From the 1803 purchase of Louisiana, the United States had followed a course of expansion. The horrors of the Civil War had interrupted the original Manifest Destiny that began in the 1840s. In the post-Civil War years as the United States fought the last Indian wars, expansionists looked to establish two spheres of influence -- the Pacific and the Caribbean.

We will consider an example of U.S. imperialism:  the Philippine insurrection (1898-1902). We will also consider the clash of empires in the Great War--World War I

Chronology -- U.S. Imperialism
1898    Spanish-American War. Treaty of Paris gives U.S. control of Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico.    U.S. annexes Hawaii
1899-1902    American-Filipino War
1899-1900    U.S. pursues "Open Door" policy toward China
1900    U.S. annexes Puerto Rico.    U.S. and other imperial powers put down Chinese Boxer Rebellion
1901    U.S. forces Cuba to adopt constitution favorable to U.S. interests
1903    Hay--Bunau-Varillia Treaty signed, giving U.S. control of Panama Canal Zone
1904    "Roosevelt Corollary" to Monroe Doctrine proclaimed
1905    Roosevelt negotiates end to Russo-Japanese War
1906-1917    U.S. intervenes in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Mexico
1910    Mexican revolution
1914    Panama Canal Opens
1914    U.S. invades Mexico

Over 16,000 Filipino soldiers died and it is estimated that close to 200,000 Filipino civilians lost their lives as well. Some 5,000 American soldiers died. (National Museum of Health and Medicine)

Between the end of the Spanish-American War and the dawn of the Great Depression, the United States sent troops to Latin American countries thirty-two times. It used the Roosevelt Corollary, or addition, to the Monroe Doctrine to justify intervention. In the corollary, Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed that the United States, because it was a "civilized nation," had the right to stop "chronic wrongdoing" throughout the Western Hemisphere (See: A History of U.S. Interventions in Latin American)

The Great War

(Source: http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/1907powr.htm)

In countless ways, World War I created the fundamental elements of 20th century history. Genocide emerged as an act of war. So did the use of poison gas on the battlefield. The international system was totally transformed. On the political right fascism came out of the war; on the left a communist movement emerged backed by the Soviet Union.  America became a world power. The British Empire reached its high point and started to unravel. Britain never recovered from the shock of war, and started her decline to the ranks of the second-class powers. At the peace conference of 1919, the German, Turkish, and Austro-Hungarian empires were broken up. New boundaries were drawn in Europe and the Middle East, boundaries -- as in Iraq and Kuwait -- which were still intact at the end of the century.
 
Just as the war was ending, German Nationalists like Hitler gathered millions who rejected the peace and blamed Jews and Communists for their defeat. The road to the Second World War started there.
 

Chronology -- Clash of Empires
1914    World War One is triggered by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
1915    Lusitanian sunk
1917    Germany resumes unrestricted submarine warfare. U.S. declares war on Germany
1917    U.S. purchases Virgin Islands from Denmark
1917    Russian Revolution
11-11-1918    Treaty of Versailles, Wilson's 14 Points

Readings:

• Zinn: chapters: 12 & 14
• Explore the interactive map of U.S. intervention in Latin America 
• Age of Imperialism
• Casualties World War I
• from History on the Net: Causes of World War I
• Study the political cartoon Civilization Begins at Home. What is the cartoonist saying about American foreign policy? What attitudes toward foreign nations does the cartoonist think are wrong? What aspects of American history and society are criticized in the cartoon? Do you agree with the ideas expressed by the cartoon?
• Review some of the U.S. posters created by the U.S. government to promote public support for World War One. What other actions did the government take to create a national consensus for war once the U.S. declared war on Germany?
• President Wilson's 14 Points

No one would have dared to predict the casualties of World War One. When war was declared in August 1914,  there were street celebrations in most of Europe's capital cities. No one even envisaged trench warfare let alone the appalling casualties that occurred over 4 years of fighting. In August 1914, Ypres remained a fine example of a medieval city. By 1918, it lay in ruins and the surrounding land had witnessed death by the tens of thousands. The Somme and Verdun witnessed appalling slaughter. No one could have predicted the horrifying consequences of modern weaponry being used together with out-of-date tactics. The grim figures 'speak' for themselves.

Discussion topics:

• Is the U.S. an imperialist power?
• Have we always been an imperial power?
• What are the new weapons of war in WWI? What differences did they make in the nature of warfare?

Project #5: Choose one:

1. Review the PBS site in support of the documentary series The Great War. Consider particularly the section "The Shaping of the 21st century."  How do you understand the evaluations presented by the scholars?
2. Read "Lessons From The Philippines Insurrection and Our Overthrow of Mossadegh," posted by  Lawrence R. Velvel, Dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, own his blog, 2007,
    and comment based on your understanding of the issues in the rise of the American Empire, 1890s-1910.