USII Unit VII

Imperialism The United States Becomes a World Power

Textbook Chapter 20

Unit Essential Question:

What were the economic, social and political motivations for acquiring land
and territories beyond the natural boundaries of the United States?

Key Questions:

• Why was there such a huge debate about the decision of the United
States to acquire territories outside its natural boundaries?
• How did Social Darwinism influence American Foreign Policy at the turn
of the century?
• What were the arguments for and against American Imperialism?
• To what extent did the United States become an imperial power?
• Should one country have the right to dictate the actions of another
country?
• How much influence and control did the Philippines have over its own
territory?
• What benefits did America and European power gain from trading with
Asia?

Terms

Imperialism Open Door Policy Jones Act of 1916

White Man’s Burden The Boxer Rebellion Protectorate
Rudyard Kipling Matthew Perry Dollar Diplomacy
The Berlin Jose Marti Platt Amendment
Conference William Randolph Foraker Act
Manifest destiny Hearst Roosevelt Corollary
Subsidy USS Maine (to the Monroe
Spheres of Influence Teller Amendment Doctorine)
Henry Cabot Lodge George Dewey Mexican Revolution
Kalakaua Emilio Aguinaldo Pancho Villa
Liliuokalani Rough Riders
John Hay Philippine
The Dole Company Government Act

At the turn of the 20th century, the United States emerged as a world
power. The Spanish American War and the acquisition of the Philippines
represented both an extension of earlier expansionist impulses and a
sharp departure from assumptions that had guided American foreign
policy in the past. For the first time, the United States made a major
strategic commitment in the Far East, acquired territory never intended
for statehood, and committed itself to police actions and intervention in
the Caribbean and Central America.

Not since the Mexican War had the United States expanded so rapidly.
In 1898 and 1899, the United States annexed Hawaii and acquired the
Philippines, Puerto Rico, parts of the Samoan islands and other Pacific
islands. Expansion raised the fateful question of whether the newly
annexed peoples would receive the rights of American citizens.