These notes are here to help you in cases of absences, lost notes, and so forth; not to replace paying attention in class. Under no circumstances may you use these notes on your tests. You may only use your handwritten notes on tests. These notes are here only for the use of Mr. Falkenberg's history students. These notes remain the intellectual property of Mr. Falkenberg.

The Era of Teddy Roosevelt

I. Alfred Thayer Mahan

wrote the Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1890, study of English navy

to be great, you must act greatly (build a strong navy)

we must make a merchant fleet, back it up w/navy

Pacific should be our lake

we should have stepping stones (islands) to China (myth)

Mahan got seasick every time he got on a ship

II. Pacific Expansion = New Manifest Destiny
A. Midway (1867) - where US defense begins

B. Crisis of the Flag Pole , 1889

we get an agreement for a naval base on Pago Pago

Germany wants a base too, raises German flag, we take it down etc

Germany sends ships, we send our 3, Britian sends 35 to see what's happening

in March a typhoon hits, all ships sink

negotiations: we get Pago Pago + call it American Somoa

C. Hawaii - (run by Henry + Sanford Dole)

1884 we lease Pearl Harbor, no tariff on sugar at that time

1890 McKinley Tariff will wreck Hawain economy

revolt backed by Doles + others overthrows Queen Lil

President Cleveland refused to annex, but it was annexed in 1898

D. Wake Island - 1899, 1 mi by 1.5 mi

III. Spanish-American War Causes

A. 1896 Election

-McKinley the Republican expansionist defeated WJ Bryan the Democrat who said "We stop at water's edge"

B. Cuban Revolt 1896 - Cuba is ruled by Spain at the time

low sugar prices start it

Cuba is ruled by Valeriano "The Butcher" Weyler

C. How do we get involved

1. Yellow Journalism

Hearst vs Pulitzer

they exagerate Spain's atrocities to sell more papers

they each sell over 1 million papers per day

2. Remember the Maine - Feb 15, 1898

our top ship was paying a "goodwill visit" in Havana Harbor

an explosion sinks the ship, over 200 Americans die

investigation shows Spain did it

but the ship is towed away to deeper waters in 1911

3. de Lome Telegram -he was a Spanish ambassador to the US

sent a telegram to a friend in Cuba saying that McKinley would not declare war because he had no backbone

TR had said the same thing

telegram was intercepted + given to Hearst (what will he do)

4. War will be good for Republicans

-1898 elections + for McKinley will be up for re-election in 1900

D. War is Declared - April 25, 1898 with an amendment added

-Teller amendment = the US isn't allowed to take Cuba after the war

IV. The War - most Americans died of disease

A. The Philippines

Assistant Secretary of the Navy TR orders Commodore Dewey to take his fleet from China if the US declares war

Dewey destroys the Spanish fleet in a few hours, eats his breakfast on the ship, w/no loss of US lives

Wesley D. Merrit takes city of Manila with 11,000 troops

B. Puerto Rico - called the Picnic

Nelson Miles was stunned to see kids waving US flags on the docks

3 Americans die, 1 fell overboard, 2 others shot selves with victory cannon

C. Cuba

hardest thing about winning here was getting here (took 3 months to get enough ships together)

General Shafter had 17,000 men, won the battle of Santiago with little resistance

TR quit his job as Assistant Secretary of Navy to get into the action

TR recruited the Rough Riders (polo players, cowboys + Indians)

TR led the Rough Riders on charge up Kettle Hill

TR called it the "Only war we had"

wrote an article which was nicknamed "Alone in Cuba" in The Outlook

V. Treaty of Paris, Dec 10 1898

US gets Puerto Rico, Guam, + the Philippines

US will assume $20 m in Spanish debt (to not rub it in, etc)

Dole boys + many Congressmen don't like annexation of Philippines (Why?)

Philippines, etc will be labelled dependencies, not territories because territories would have to become states

they were not called protectorates because protectorates have a lot of independence

Platt Amendment 1901 put in Cuban Constitution allows the US to interefere in Cuba + gives US 99 year lease to Guantanamo Bay

VI. TR
A. Background - childhood asthma, Harvard graduate, police commissioner, governor of New York, historian, conservationalist, boxer, wrestler, rancher

B. Election of 1900 - rematch of McKinley and Bryan

TR is added to McKinley's ticket as VP by Mark Hanna (McKinley campaign chairman)

Hanna hopes to never hear from TR again this way

C. McKinley's Assassination - Sept 7, 1901 in Buffalo

Hanna: "My God! That @## Cowboy is now President"

TR became the youngest president in history

he was very popular and easily won the election of 1904

D. Various facts about TR as President

created 5 National parks + 50 bird sanctuaries

set aside 148 million acres

he started the FDA

the NCAA credits TR as its founding father (TR called for a conference on college football)

the Teddy Bear is named after TR

he is one of 4 presidents carved in Mt. Rushmore

VII. The Big Stick - TR's foreign policy, he believed in Monroe Doctrine

-however, he was only US president with 0 military deaths

Venezuela Crisis -Germany sends ships to collect debts, TR puts Dewey on alert, Germans went home

Cuba - sent in Marines to put down a revolt, made Taft the temporary Governor

Dom-Republic -sent in Marines + took over the customs office + forced them to pay debts to Europe

Panama Canal

1848+50: US/Britain/Colombia signed treaties to build a canal

Britian will drop out due to wars in Africa

France began to build a canal = 3 miles to death, TR was furious with Colombia

1903 we offer to buy French Canal Company for $40m, Colombia rejects

Nov 3 1903, Panamanian Revolution, we recognize Panama on Nov 9

we supply Panama. w/ food + arms

TR sends ships to coast of Columbia, they give Panama independence

Panama gives US a 5 mile strip to run forever, we are allowed to do anything we want in this strip, in return we have to protect Panama

years later TR made "I took Panama" statement in a speech to college students

F. Roosevelt Corollary - sort of an addition to the Monroe Doctrine

-US will act as International Police (see Big Stick examples 1-3)

VIII. Japan**

A. First Sino-Japanese War - 1894-95

Japanese attack Manchuria through Korea, gains an empire

Triple intervention by France,Russia,Germany take it all away

Admiral Togo/General Nogi see Russia as main enemy, go home to plot

B. Russo-Japanese War (TR is delighted)

Japan invaded Port Arthur Feb 6, 1904; declared war Feb 10

TR hoped Japanese would win, they are doing our job

he liked Japan and Russia pointed at each other + away from the Philippines

war ended at Tsushima Straits where Japan crossed the T on Admiral Zinovil Rozhdeftvenskii who had practically sailed around the world, he lost 32 of 34 ships

C. Treaty of Portsmouth

TR was asked to mediate the peace, he invited both sides to the US

all he really did was send two telegrams but he won the Nobel Peace Prize

Japan got Korea + Manchuria as Sphere's of Influence but no money

D. Taft/Katsura Agreement 1905

not a treaty, treaties have to be approved by the Senate

US recognizes Japan's primary interests in Korea, they recognize our primary interests in the Philippines

E. Gentlemen's Agree 1906 (not a treaty)

California Crisis: Japanese students barred from schools, racism toward Japan in general, TR fears this will lead to war

so Japan agrees to stop migration to California, TR agrees to get kids back in Calif schools (Japanese will migrate to Hawaii instead, then to California)

*TR sends telegram to governor of California, Mayor of San Francisco, + president of San Francisco school board, threatens to declare martial law + hang board pres

F. Root/Takahira Agreement 1908 (not a treaty)

we recognize Japanese primary interests in Manchuria

they recognize US in Philippines

G. Great White Fleet - sending the Big Stick out on a world tour

Admiral Pratt misunderstood + painted our 27 ships white

ships went to Japan gun ready but they invited our men to go ashore, 200 Americans go AWOL in Japan

Japanese returned the men to Pearl + checked depth

IX. Taft

A. Election of 1908

offers from TR = president or Supreme Court justice

Taft's wife choose president for him

defeated WJ Bryan (now a 3 time loser)

the Republicans came up with a funny slogan "Vote for Taft this time. You can vote for Bryan any time."

TR retires as president so he can hunt in Africa

B. Taft angers TR

environment - offers to sell forest land

Japan - some of Taft's friends want to build a RR in Manchuria

C. The boss is back

X. Election of 1912

A. TR runs

TR won nearly every state primary, including Taft's home state of Ohio

Taft controlled credentials at the Republican convention + kept some of TR's delegates out, Taft won the nomination by cheating

B. Bull Moose Party

TR refused to give up and ran with the Progressive Party

TR gave the party the nickname of Bull Moose

Bull Moose Party issues were 1. Women's vote 2. Minimum wage 3. End of child labor

C. Wilson - was the Democrat's candidate

he won the election because Republican vote was split

Wilson had less than 50% of the popular vote

TR refused to run in 1916 and Wilson was re-elected (campaign slogan was "he Kept us out of war")

Wilson refused to let TR fight in WWI

it looked like TR would be Republican choice to run for president in 1920, but he died in his sleep at age 60

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