The Legacy of Victory: Increasing Imperialism
Victory in the Spanish-American War left the U.S. with
new decisions to make. By the end of 1898, the U.S. had acquired
a number of new island territories: Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines,
ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris; Cuba, which the U.S. Army
had governed for four years; and Hawaii, which the U.S. annexed
in 1898 independent of the Spanish-American War. In establishing
U.S. governing policies abroad, Congress faced two pressing questions:
first, how to grant Cuban independence in a way that would also protect
American interests on the island; and second, whether or not to
annex the Philippines.
In 1901, the Platt Amendment enumerated the
conditions for the U.S. Army’s withdrawal from Cuban soil. The amendment
required Cuba to vow to make no treaty with a foreign power, to
limit its independence, and reserved for the U.S.:
- The right to intervene in Cuba when it saw
- The right to maintain a naval base in Cuba, at Guantánamo
Though the Cubans did not like the restrictions on Cuban
sovereignty, they did accept the amendment. The U.S. held wide powers
over Cuba for more than thirty years, and maintains its military
base to this day.
In the Senate, proponents of expansionism won the debate
about the Philippines. Influenced by business interests who saw
the Philippines as a valuable gateway to China, the Senate voted
to annex the country rather than give it independence. Filipino
rebels resisted U.S. rule by attacking the U.S. base of operations,
setting off two years of fighting that finally ended with a U.S.
victory. The Philippines remained a part of the United States until 1946,
when the U.S. granted it independence.
The U.S. in China
The U.S. government aimed to promote U.S. business and
open trade markets in China. China’s Manchu Dynasty was weak and
particularly vulnerable to foreign intervention, as evidenced by
the spheres of influence that other nations—Russia,
Germany, France, England, and Japan—had succeeded in carving out.
These nations had each secured exclusive trading rights to certain
key ports in China, so that entire regions, or spheres, were blocked
to U.S. business. In 1899, as a way to open up all “exclusive” ports
to American business, Secretary of State John Hay proclaimed an Open
Door policy in China, which meant that no favoritism would
be awarded at Chinese ports. European countries, however, refused
to endorse this policy. In the following years, Hay continued working
to secure advantages for U.S. firms as part of his policy of economic
expansionism, which sought not to control new territory but rather
to open new markets.
The Open Door policy was invoked to combat European
spheres of influence in China and aid U.S. businesses in Chinese
The extreme influence that European nations and the United
States exerted in China angered many Chinese. This anger exploded
in 1899 in the form of the Boxer Rebellion. In this
revolt, an antiforeign secret society calling itself the Harmonious
Righteous Fists, known as the Boxers to westerners, killed thousands
of foreigners and Chinese Christians and captured Beijing (Peking)
in 1900. The U.S. sent 2,500 troops as part of an international
force that marched on Beijing and drove out the Boxers. By helping
dispel the Boxer threat, the U.S. secured some bargaining power
in the settlement that followed. Hay demanded that an Open Door
policy be implemented in all of China, and other powers agreed.
The Boxer Rebellion had weakened the Chinese government and by the
end of the uprising, the U.S. government committed itself to aiding
China’s government in the interest of maintaining open markets for
the U.S. in the Far East.
Not all Americans supported American imperialism. In November
1898, after the fighting had ended in the Spanish-American War but
before any treaty had been signed, an organization known as the Anti-Imperialist
League arose in the U.S. The league opposed American expansion
and foreign involvement on the grounds that the U.S. had no right
to force its will upon others and also because such involvement
would likely incite further conflict. The group had many illustrious
members, including the writer Mark Twain and the philosopher William
James. In 1899 the anti-imperialists had nearly succeeded in preventing
the Senate from ratifying the expansionist Treaty of Paris. This
time, however, the forces of imperialism won out, and the Anti-Imperialist
League lost whatever strength it might have had.
Assassination of McKinley
In September 1901, President McKinley was shot by an anarchist
named Leon Czolgosz. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became
president, and continued to implement an aggressive foreign policy.
His presidency marked the beginning of the Progressive Era.