The USA and the world

Question 1

What did the US feel towards imperialism before 1890?

Answer 1

They were hostile to the ideas of imperialism and felt morally superior to European colonial powers.

Question 2

Which 3 things proved that this hostility towards imperialism did not last?

Answer 2

During the 1890s there was

• Rapid naval expansion
• A war against Spain
• The annexation of territories in the Pacific Ocean

Question 3

Give a reason that caused shift in imperialist policy.

Answer 3

Rapid growth of economy needed new markets overseas

Question 4

Give a 2nd reason that caused shift in imperialist policy.

Answer 4

Belief that the end of the frontier meant that new horizons were needed to give scope for American energy and dynamism.

Question 5

Give a 3rd reason that caused this shift in imperialist policy.

Answer 5

Many Americans were swayed by notions of racial and cultural superiority and a ‘civilising mission’ to raise up non-white societies from ‘backwardness’.

Question 6

Who opposed imperialism and why?

Answer 6

Isolationists opposed this and upheld the Monroe Doctrine and traditional US hostility to European ‘interference’.

Question 7

Give an example of an isolationist.

Answer 7

William Jennings Bryan was an anti-imperialist and Democratic candidate in 3 presidential elections (1886,1900, and 1908). He was a leading voice in the American Anti-Imperialism League, formed in 1898.

Question 8

When was the Spanish-American War?

Answer 8

1898

Question 9

What caused the war?

Answer 9

A revolt against Spanish rule by Cuban nationalists, led by Jose Marti in 1895.

Question 10

Who did the rebels receive support from and how did this support grow?

Answer 10

American sympathisers; support grew stronger after the Spanish army used brutal methods to crush revolt.

Question 11

What was another impulse towards war with Spain.

Answer 11

American perceptions of the Far East and the Pacific Ocean.

Question 12

In the far east, what was seen as a threat to American interests?

Answer 12

Instability in China and the startlingly fast modernisation of Japan.

Question 13

What were concerns about Asia and ‘Yellow Peril’ intensified by?

Answer 13

Social tensions in the Western states in the 1890s, caused by fears of Chinese and Japanese immigration.

Question 14

What would war with Spain open the way for?

Answer 14

American bases in the Pacific, Hawaii and Philippines – islands under Spanish colonial rule until 1898.

Question 15

What happened in 1898 and what did this lead to?

Answer 15

USS Maine was blown up. Support grew for intervention against Spain. ‘Yellow Press’ pushed case for war, especially newspapers owned by WR Hearst.

Question 16

Why was the war of 1898 not only about Cuba?

Answer 16

It included annexation of Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and Pacific. Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines became virtual US colonies.

Question 17

What was Americas success in the Pacific down to? Describe Admiral Dewey’s Pacific squadron.

Answer 17

Sea power – Admiral Dewey’s Pacific squadron sailed into Manila Bay in the Philippines and destroyed the outdated Spanish fleet.

Question 18

Describe how the conquest of Philippines caused controversy in USA.

Answer 18

Anti-Imperialist League attacked the government for betraying traditions of Founding Fathers and for the violence, paternalism, and racial prejudice that had been shown by Americans in their treatment of their ‘little brown brothers’.

Question 19

What happened in 1899?

Answer 19

The USA had broken their promise of granting the Filipinos independence – Filipino revolt broke out

Question 20

When was the Filipino revolt suppressed?

Answer 20

In 1902 after extensive US military action.

Question 21

What did President McKinley protest?

Answer 21

That the US had been motivated not by greedy imperialism by a ‘civilising mission’.

Question 22

Describe the reality of the ‘civilising mission’.

Answer 22

In reality, events in Cuba and the Philippines were deliberately manipulated to ensure American domination and to stir up popular support.

Question 23

What happened in 1901?

Answer 23

Congress passed the Platt Amendment authorising intervention in Cuba.

Question 24

What was the Platt Amendment used to justify?

Answer 24

American intervention in other parts of Latin America.

Question 25

What was forcing through the construction of the Panama Cabal vital for?

Answer 25

The expansion of US sea power, overseas trade and strategic interest.

Question 26

What did Roosevelt do when the government of Columbia proved difficult to negotiate with?

Answer 26

Sponsored a national uprising of Panamanian separatists and forced Columbia to accept an independent republic of Panama – virtually an American puppet state.

Question 27

When was the Canal completed?

Answer 27

1914

Question 28

What happened in 1904?

Answer 28

He turned is policy in Latin America into a theory. He set out the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.

Question 29

What did the Roosevelt Corollary state?

Answer 29

The principle that the US had the right to ‘exercise international police power’ in Latin America, if there were ‘flagrant cases of wrongdoing or impotence’.

Question 30

What was an important motive for building the canal?

Answer 30

To improve access to the Pacific, both for trade and to enable American sea power to be shifted swiftly between the Atlantic and Pacific.

Question 31

What was a demonstration of US ambition?

Answer 31

The voyage of the Great White Fleet from December 1907 to February 1909.

Question 32

In the Far East, what did the decline of imperial rule in China lead to?

Answer 32

Instability and foreign interference.

Question 33

What happened in 1900?

Answer 33

Boxer Rebellion besieged foreign embassies in Beijing and it seemed certain China would be partitioned between European powers – threat to US interests.

Question 34

Describe the Open Door policy.

Answer 34

Set out by SoS John Hay to reassert the principles of free trade

Question 35

Why was rapid modernisation of Japan also a cause for concern?

Answer 35

It was heightened by Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, which demonstrated the formidable efficiency of Japanese new modern navy.

Question 36

Give another example of Roosevelt’s active foreign policy

Answer 36

1903 - the Alaska Boundary Dispute was settled, ending a long-standing disagreement with Canada and Britain over the exact location of the southern border of Alaska.

Question 37

Why was the Panama Canal important?

Answer 37

It opened up a shorter route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This allowed the transportation of goods to be more cost-efficient not only for the United States but also for the world.