SOL Review Materials for Unit Four

1
SOL Review Materials for Unit Four

• Conflict and Cooperation The Spanish-American
  War and the United States Foreign Policy in Latin
  America, 1898 - 1930

2
Reasons for the Spanish American War

• Protection of American business interests in
  Cuba. The United States had and interest in many
  Cuban businesses
• Oil
• Sugar Cane Refineries
• Tobacco Plantations
• Hotels and Casinos
• Agricultural Products

3
Reasons for the Spanish American War

• American support of Cuban rebels to gain
  independence from Spain
• For almost a decade, Americans had been raising
  money for Cubans seeking independence. Jose
  Marti was the leader of the Cuban independence
  movement.
• Americans gave money to the cause.

4
Reasons for the Spanish American War

• Rising tensions between Spain and the United
  States as a result of the sinking of the USS
  Maine in Havana Harbor
• The USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor on
  February 15, 1898. The circumstances were
  mysterious, but it is likely that the ships
  destruction was an accident.
• Remember the Maine! was the battle cry of the
  United States during the war.

5
Reasons for the Spanish American War

• There were exaggerated news reports of the events
  in Cuba a practice known as yellow
  journalism.
• Newspaper editors William Randolph Hearst and
  Joseph Pulitzer both engaged in this practice,
  blaming the Spanish for atrocities like the
  explosion of the Maine.
• They wanted the US to declare war on Spain, some
  said, only to sell newspapers.

6
Results of the Spanish American War
The United States emerged as a world power,
earning the respect of major military powers in
Europe after decisively defeating the Spanish in
the war. Other imperialist nations took note
the United States was a formidable opponent.
7
Results of the Spanish American War
At the end of the war, Spanish misrule over Cuba
was over. Cuba gained its independence. The
United States still considered Cuba a
protectorate, however meaning that while Cuba
was independent, our nation could intervene in
their affairs if turmoil or disorder occurred.
8
Results of the Spanish American War

• At the end of the Spanish-American War, the
  United States also claimed three colonies
• Guam
• Puerto Rico
• The Philippines
• In the Philippines, a brutal civil war was
  conducted, and hundreds of thousands died before
  the United States took over the islands.

9
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

• The Roosevelt Corollary asserted the United
  States right to interfere in the economic
  matters and disputes of nations in Latin America
  or the Caribbean the entire Western Hemisphere.
  Indeed, we claimed that we had the right to
  settle any disputes financial or political,
  between nations in the Western Hemisphere. We
  were the new police power in the region.

10
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
The United States claimed the right to intervene
in any part of the Caribbean, Central America, or
South America if their was a disturbance. In
essence we were establishing our own Sphere of
Influence in the Western Hemisphere.
11
The Construction of the Panama Canal is an
example of Big Stick Diplomacy.
Originally, Columbia (capital city Bogota)
refused to give the US permission to build the
Panama Canal. Roosevelt resorted to force,
though. He encouraged Panama to claim
independence, sent in the USS Nashville, and
signed a treaty to build the canal.
12
Thanks to Theodore Roosevelt, the Panama Canal
was completed in 1914, joining the Atlantic and
the Pacific Oceans.