Imperialism+Syllabus

=IMPERIALISM: The Path To Empire= A couple of things are going to sway the American eye away from its traditional foreign policy of isolationism and turn its attention to overseas expansion in the 1890s: We will assert the Monroe Doctrine (1823) to basically tell the Spaniards to get the hell out of the Western Hemisphere. Not only that, but the US will truly morph into the big bully on the block and basically steal land away from Spain and take previously independent countries as our own. The “Splendid Little War” (Spanish-American War) began in 1898 over American outrage about Spanish oppression of Cuba. Support for the Cuban rebellion was whipped up into intense fervor by the yellow press. After the USS Maine exploded mysteriously in February 1898, McKinley will bow to public pressure to avenge the 260 sailors lost.
 * economic opportunities
 * the spread of American ideals
 * the lurid yellow press
 * white man’s burden
 * national security

Since we were waging war against Spain in the Caribbean, we may as well have gone to war with Spain in the Pacific as well! Commodore Dewey will sail to the Philippines and “fight” the Spanish for control there. The Filipino people will not be pleased at the prospect of trading one colonial oppressor for another. We will turn our eye further westward and look to keep an “open door” in China. We’ll stick our nose in Panama’s fight for “independence” from Colombia. Any land we can gobble up in the name of national security and securing our trade routes was ours for the taking…man are we greedy!! Has anything changed?

Chapter Activities:
 * Do Spanish-American War Mapping, Trouble With Cuba Q’s, Foreign Policy Q’s when given to you in class

TERMS:

McKinley  Isolationism  USS Maine Yellow Press  Seward’s Folly <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Rough Riders <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;">Jingo <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Propaganda <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Treaty of Paris, 1898 <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;">Teddy Roosevelt <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Jose Marti <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;">Imperialism <span style="font-family: 'Goudy Old Style',serif; font-size: 11pt;"> deLome Letter