American Progressivism & Imperialism

In 1893, Chicago hosted World’s Columbian Exposition during which the American Historical Association conducted its annual meeting. A young historian named Frederick Jackson Turner presented a paper on his idea of a “frontier thesis.” Turner viewed the frontier line as a “meeting point between savagery and civilization” that was caught in a westward march from the earliest English settlements in the east across the Appalachians and the Mississippi finally to California. “American history,” Turner declared, “has been in a large degree the history of the colonization of the Great West.” However, with the Census Bureau officially declaring the frontier as closed in 1890, Turner wondered what would become of the U.S. now “the frontier has gone” and with it “the first period of American history.”

 

Another historian (and influential naval strategist), named Alfred Thayer Mahan, provided conceptions of expanding U.S. presence beyond its continental borders. In his book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783, Mayan highlighted the importance of naval power in shaping the course of history. Among other things, Mahan had justified overseas expansion as natural and necessary for American greatness emphasizing civilization, commerce, and the spread of democracy. If the U.S. wanted to secure national trade routes and project overseas influence, then sea power was essential. 

 

Both Turner and Mahan had profound effect on the ideas and priorities put forth by later U.S. presidents. For Roosevelt, Turner’s recognition of progress from savagery to civilization was only to be praised and the “rude, fierce settler” that drives out savagery in favor of civilization would have “laid deep the foundations for the future greatness of a mighty people.” Further, Roosevelt was among those who believed in the inherent supremacy of the white race and saw an obligation to bring about progress in the backward nations  [4]. 

 

In 1893, an economic depression hit the U.S. economy. The downturn was fueled by railroad construction, industrial growth, and land speculation. In the end, overproduction, declining agricultural prices, and financial instability created economic vulnerabilities. The collapse of numerous banks led to widespread panic. The prospects of widening the global market for U.S. goods appeared to support both Turner’s and Mahan’s ideas and war with the Spanish empire brought the series of events that assisted in securing foreign territory. 

 

Cuba’s independence movement from Spain prompted volatile conditions for the island nation. The brutality of Spain’s suppression of the Cuban rebels garnered widespread sympathy and support. At the same time, the rise of “yellow journalism,” known for sensationalist news, appeared to exaggerate Spanish atrocities in Cuba and contributed to inflamed public opinion. When yellow journalists blamed Spain for the sinking of an American battleship, the USS Maine, on February 15, 1898, it further heightened tensions between the U.S. and Spain with the former declaring war on Spain on April 25th, 1898, all while claiming to protect American interests in the region.

 

The war was fought on multiple fronts including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. American naval forces led by Commodore George Dewey won a decisive victory over the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines. In Cuba, American troops, including Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer regiment, the Rough Riders, engaged the Spanish forces in several battles, most notably the Battle of San Juan Hill. Victory came quickly for the U.S. and the war came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898.  

 

Terms of the treaty, however, would elevate U.S. into a new light in terms of global politics. Under the agreement, Spain agreed to cede control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. Although Cuba received its independence, it remained under American influence through the Platt Amendment, which gave the U.S. significant control over Cuba’s foreign affairs and domestic policies. In the east, U.S. forces faced a protracted guerrilla war against Filipinos until 1902 and maintained ultimate control over the territory until 1946. During this period, it was clear that the U.S. had established an empire. In the end, the Spanish-American War of 1898 marked a significant turning point in extending manifest destiny outside of the continental boundaries of the U.S. 

 

Debates over U.S. Imperialism arose quickly. A number of Americans protested the reach of U.S. control overseas, upholding ideals of self-government. For example, industrial titan Andrew Carnegie listed a number of arguments against the extension of U.S. power abroad citing first and foremost that the U.S. appears to be the apostle of “Triumphant Despotism” as opposed to the more noble “Triumphant Democracy.” Carnegie could not get past the paradoxical implications of U.S. imperialism. He demanded, “With what face shall we hang in the school-houses of the Philippines the Declaration of our own Independence, and yet deny in dependence to them? What response will the heart of the Philippine Islander make, as he reads of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation? Are we to practice independence and preach subordination, to teach rebellion in our books, yet to stamp it out with our swords, to sow the seeds of revolt and expect the harvest of loyalty?”  (5) 

 

Black protest over American possession of the Philippine Islands stressed a different angle. Black members of the Anti-Imperialist League published a set of resolutions in a Boston newspaper. Their concern stemmed from their own experience as “colored citizens of the south” whose rights, though “sacredly guaranteed them by the amendment of the constitution,” are yet “shamefully disregarded.” In the end, they viewed the “duty of the president and country” as to “reform these crying domestic wrongs” and “not to attempt the civilization of alien peoples by powder and shot.” (6)

 

Although many anti-imperialists vocalized their criticism broadly, supporters of imperialism were more influential. Senator Albert J. Beveridge delivered a speech in which he provided the economic rationale for American presence in the Pacific. Beveridge stated, “Our largest trade henceforth must be with Asia. The Pacific is our ocean. More and more Europe will manufacture the most it needs, secure from its colonies the most it con-sumes. Where shall we turn for consumers of our surplus? Geography answers the question. China is our natural customer. She is nearer to us than to England, Germany, or Russia, the commercial powers of the present and the future. They have moved nearer to China by securing permanent bases on her borders. The Philippines give us a base at the door of all the East.” Beveridge’s arguments were among those that influenced an Open Door Policy in China which provided U.S. access to Chinese markets expanding American economic influence in the region. [7]

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The turn of the century marked a noticeable expansion for the U.S. While American progressives sought to address the social ills lingering from previous eras with the aid and assistance of the federal government, a sense of superiority fueled interests in expanding the nation’s reach beyond its continental boundaries. Ultimately, the tensions reflected in domestic reform and American Imperialism will continue to shape discussion of politics, economics, and civil rights in the modern era.