Imperialism and World War I
Explain overseas expansion, Spanish-American War, imperial debates, World War I, home front mobilization, and postwar conflict.
A lesson of US History, in Industrialization, Immigration, and Reform, about 10 minutes.
American Imperialism and World War I
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the causes of American imperialism in the late 19th century, describe US involvement in WWI and the debate over American foreign policy, and analyze Wilson's peace vision and its failure.
The Debate Over Empire
By the 1890s, the US continental expansion was complete. Some Americans argued the US should expand overseas — for economic, strategic, and ideological reasons. Others argued empire contradicted American values.
Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon History (1890): naval power is essential to national greatness; the US needed coaling stations and a powerful navy; inspired the naval buildup.
Imperialism arguments:
- Economic: need for markets and raw materials
- Strategic: coaling stations for the navy
- Racial/cultural: "Anglo-Saxon" duty to "civilize" and "uplift" inferior peoples (echoing European imperial ideology)
- Social Darwinist: strong nations expand; weakness invites conquest
Anti-imperialist arguments:
- Contradicts American founding principles; self-government cannot be imposed
- Empire corrupts the republic at home
- Anti-Imperialist League: Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie
Spanish-American War (1898)
Cuba: Spain's last major American colony; Cuban independence movement since 1868. By 1895, brutal Spanish repression.
Yellow journalism: William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) sensationalized Spanish atrocities; manufactured outrage.
USS Maine: US battleship exploded in Havana harbor (February 1898) — cause unknown; Hearst's papers blamed Spain; "Remember the Maine!" Congress declared war.
The war (April–August 1898):
- Philippines: Commodore George Dewey destroyed Spanish fleet in Manila Bay; US forces captured Manila with Filipino rebel assistance
- Cuba: Theodore Roosevelt's "Rough Riders" charged San Juan Hill; Spanish fleet destroyed; Cuba surrendered
Treaty of Paris (1898): Spain ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the US for $20 million; Cuba became nominally independent (but effectively an American protectorate — Platt Amendment).
Philippine-American War (1899–1902): Filipino independence fighters (who had fought alongside the US against Spain) refused American rule; Emilio Aguinaldo led resistance. Brutal counterinsurgency; ~200,000–600,000 Filipino deaths (mostly disease); America's own "small war."