Chapter 23: Section 1, Part 1: A Pacific Empire

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Chapter 23 Section 1, Part 1 A Pacific Empire

• Main Idea At the end of the 1800s, the United
  States became a world power, acquiring new
  territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean.

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A. A Tradition of Isolation

• For the 1st 75 years, America kept to itself and
  had little to do with foreign nations
• This was good for a young nation, since we were
  busy developing

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B. Dealing with Japan

• Japan had closed its doors to Westerners since
  the 1600s (feared foreign influence)
• Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Tokyo in 1853
  with four warships and a letter from Pres.
  Fillmore asking Japan to open trade with the U.S.
• A year later they signed the Treaty of Kanagawa,
  which opened two ports for trade and agreed to
  help shipwrecked sailors

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- President Fillmore sent Commodore Matthew Perry
to Japan in 1853.
Commodore Matthew Perry
Japanese portrayal of Commodore Matthew Perry
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- Perry arrived with four steam-powered warships,
impressing the Japanese.
(Above) Commodore Perrys Black Ships in 1853
(Left) a Japanese ship, 1850s made so Japanese
sailors would be unable to sail beyond the shores
of Japan
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Perrys Visit
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C. Sewards Icebox

• Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska
  from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million .02/acre
• Most Americans thought this was a foolish buy
  (worthless land) called it Sewards Folly
• Alaska turned out to be a wise purchase. It was
  rich in natural resources (gold, oil, etc.)

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Sewards Folly
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Many Americans referred to the purchase as
Sewards Folly or Sewards Icebox, thinking
Alaska was a barren wasteland.
1867 map from U. S. Coast Survey Office
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Thomas Nast ridicules the purchase of Alaska from
Russia by depicting Secretary of State William H.
Seward as an elderly mother caring for her child,
a small version of Pres. Andrew Johnson dressed
as Uncle Sam. On the wall poster in the cartoons
background, Uncle Sam is shown trudging in
snowshoes across the icy tundra, planting
American flags on Alaskan mountaintops, as polar
bears and walruses watch. A picture of an Eskimo
family is sarcastically labeled One of the
Advantages.
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Alaska, however, turned out to be rich in fish,
gold, copper, timber, oil and coal.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports oil,
Alaska's most important export.. It runs 800
miles, from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of
Alaska at Valdez.