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LECTURES AM1A
LECTURE 2: THE “NEW EMPIRE” OF POWER; UNITED STATES EXPANSIONISM AND
MILITARY INTERVENTIONS AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
A historiographical development is visible: more and more, the US is studied with the lens of transnational
history, so not just the history within the US borders anymore. This is done with the thought that a community
can transcend their boundaries.
The interest in the Caribbean didn’t start at the end of the 19 th century (Spanish-American War), but already in
the beginning of the 19th century, visible in the quote of John Quitman, governor of Mississippi (and
planter/soldier): “We claim the right of expansion as essential to our future security and prosperity… [we]
require more elbow room, to guard against the possibility that a system of labor now so beneficent and
productive might, from a redundant slave population confined to a narrow limits, become an ultimate evil”
(1856). So, pre-Civil War, he worried that the large numbers of slaves, confined within the borders of the slave
states, will cause trouble. Plantations will always need more lands, so he wants to make Cuba a slave state. In
this antebellum (formation US till Civil War) period, the gulf of Mexico functioned as the American
Mediterranean (like in Antiquity, where the Mediterranean formed a connection between societies), with a lot
of interaction and exchange.
Why did U.S. imperialism emerge at the end of the 19 th century? This was much later then European
imperialism, so why was that? Because it was a pretty new country, and it had been a colony itself. Before the
1880s, the US was not a big international player, it was busier with internal issues. The Berlin Conference
(1884-1885) was typical for Western, new imperialism: the ‘Scramble’ for Africa. This conference was held by
Otto von Bismarck to prevent war. This was largely European, the US was present but a small player. The new
imperialism was characterized by industrial economies who were looking for new resources and markets in Asia
and Africa. National prestige and white supremacy also play important roles. But how did the US fit in here? It
became global power from the 1890s, at the end of the 19 th century it had about 75 million inhabitants + a lot
of production (due to industrialisation), so they also looked for new resources and markets. It didn’t have any
new land on the mainland so it went looking elsewhere. From that period (1890s), there was a growing
awareness of it becoming an emerging world power. This is visible in the quote from Henry Watterson, a
newspaper editor and Confederate veteran: “We are a great imperial Republic destined to exercise a
controlling influence upon the actions of mankind and to affect the future of the world.” But, what were the
origins of this new “imperial awareness”?
The Monroe Doctrine (1823) issued by President James Monroe (1817-1825). By the time of this doctrine, most
colonies in Latin America had gained independence from Spain/Portugal. The Americans recognized themselves
in these battles and acknowledged the countries as independent + sent diplomats. In Europe at this time, there
was an anti-revolutionary vibe, especially by the Holy Alliance (Russia, Austria & Prussia). Because of the fear
these European states would meddle in Latin America, Monroe decided to draw the line. The Monroe Doctrine
stated the following: there would be no more European colonization in the Western Hemisphere; in return, the
US would not interfere in European affairs. This was because their political systems were very different
(American republic vs. European monarchies). This was the first time that the US put itself forward as the
protector of the Western Hemisphere and republicanism.
The US started with the thirteen states in the east, with a shifting frontier westward. This was portrayed as
Lady Liberty bringing the light of western civilisation: Manifest Destiny (ideological legitimation for this
process); Americans had a duty to spread its faith and ideals. But, this process came to an end, ‘the end of the
US frontier’. According to Frederick Jackson Turner, the US was special because of its moving frontier, because
, of that democratizing process. He claims that the frontier very important is, so what happens when that
frontier is gone, like in the 1890s? The internal conquest was complete, so the external conquest started.
At the end of the 19th century, there was also an increase of nativism, the idea that white US culture had to be
protected. This increase was caused by a change in immigration: the immigrants didn’t come from Northern
Europe anymore, but from Southern and Eastern Europe. This was seen as a different race, less civilised, and as
lower than the Americans. The same attitude was directed to the Chinese: the US was open for Chinese goods,
but not for Chinese immigrants. New ideas of the American identity emerged, nativist and nationalist. This
more limited definition of nationhood was very white supremacist. Examples of this assertive nationalism was
the Pledge of Allegiance, the cult of the flag, the standing up for the national anthem.
Jim Crow segregation was introduced in the 1890s, the institutionalisation of segregation. Blacks were
‘separate but equal’, which de facto meant that the blacks became second-class citizens, or were even seen as
products (commodification of the black body). This led to a lot of lynchings, which resulted in a culture of fear.
Racism was also visible in commercials, where blacks were seen as dirty, and whites as clean (the ideal).
Simultaneously, the US practised internal and external colonization. External colonization in the form of
exploiting the native inhabitants of a colony, internal colonization with the exploitation of blacks. According to
Walter L Hixson: “The racial justifications for imperialism abroad reinforced internal colonial rule over Indians,
‘greaser laws’ against Hispanics, and the Jim Crow system of segregation and ritual lynching of blacks on the
home front.” The internal colonization was in the form of the Jim Crow segregation, but also prison camps full
of blacks.
What were the causes for U.S. expansionism abroad?
- The end of the continental frontier (Turner, 1893): Manifest Destiny would now be applied abroad
(‘divine’ mission of the US to spread its values).
- Fears about economic and ethnic disunity (because of the immigration influx) resulted in aggressive
nationalism (‘make America great again’).
- Ideas about racial inequality and white supremacy (e.g., the racial segregation in the US South, the
‘White Man’s Burden’ across the globe).
- Social Darwinism: “survival of the fittest,” expansion was necessary to prevent national decay & the
imperial powers thought they were naturally superior and their control over other nations was in the
best interest of human evolution.
- Economic arguments: create new markets and secure new resources, esp. after the 1893 economic
crisis (Wisconsin School).
- Military arguments: construction of a strong navy (Alfred T. Mahan, 1890).
- Role of mass media (yellow press) in promoting nationalism and imperialism.
The independence war of Cuba was going on from 1868 until 1878, and started again in 1895 (simultaneously
to when the US started to look outwards). Control over Cuba would give dominance in the Caribbean, while
control over the Philippines would give access to the Chinese market. The Cuban struggle for independence
was lead by José Martí and the Cuban Revolutionary Party. There were three direct causes for the US to
participate in the war: (1) Because the yellow press (tabloids) reported on atrocities committed by Spanish
troops in Cuba, a nationalistic and sensationalistic developed + sympathy in the US. (2) The explosion of the
USS Maine in the harbour of Havana. (3) Economic considerations and public health (yellow fever). So, the
Spanish-American War started in 1898, concerning the following countries: Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines &
Guam. A famous battle was the Battle of San Juan Hill, where Teddy Roosevelt fought with his own battalion:
the Rough Riders. This was an interesting battalion because it existed of northerners and southerners (who
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