becoming a world power, 1898 1917 (part ii)

Chapter 3

BECOMING A

WORLD POWER,

1898-1917 (PART II)

Except for the Philippines and Guam, the United States

made no effort to take control of Asian lands.

Such a policy could have caused a war with other world powers

already established in the area.

Additionally, Americans were not prepared to accept the financial

and political costs of Asian conquest.

The United States chose a diplomatic rather than a

military strategy to achieve its foreign policy objectives.

For China, in 1899 and 1900, it proposed the policy of

the “open door.”

The United States was concerned that the actions of other world

powers in China would block its own efforts to open up China’s

markets to American goods.

CHINA AND THE “OPEN DOOR”

Britain, Germany, Japan, Russia, and France each desired

their own piece of China, where they could monopolize

trade, exploit cheap labor, and establish military bases.

By the 1890s, each of these powers was building a sphere

of inf luence .

A sphere of influence is any area in which one nation wields

dominant power over another or others.

To prevent China’s breakup and to preserve American

economic access to the whole of China, McKinley’s

secretary of state, John Hay, sent “open door” notes to

the major world powers.


This French polit ical car toon depicts China as a pie about to be car ved up by Queen Victoria (Great Brita in) , Kaiser Wilhelm II (Germany) , Tsar Nicholas II (Russia) , Marianne (France) , and a samurai (Japan) while a Chinese mandarin helpless ly looks on.

THE

GREAT

POWERS

The notes asked each power to open its Chinese sphere

of influence to the merchants of other nations and to

grant them reasonable harbor fees and railroad rates.

Additionally, Hay asked each power to respect China’s

sovereignty by enforcing Chinese tariff duties in the

territory it controlled.

Each world power indicated their support for the Open Door policy

but refused to implement it until all of the other powers had done.

Hay took the optimistic approach by declaring that all of

the world powers had agreed to observe his Open Door

principles.

He regarded their approval as “final and definitive.”


The first challenge to Hay’s policy came from the

Chinese.

In May 1900, a Chinese organization, commonly referred

to as the “Boxers,” sparked an uprising to rid China of

all “foreign devils” and foreign influences.

Hundreds of Europeans were killed, as were many Chinese men and

women who had converted to Christianity.

In response, the imperial powers raised an expeditionary

forces to rescue international diplomats and to punish the

Chinese rebels.

The force, which included 5,000 American soldiers, rushed over

from the Philippines, broke the Beijing siege in August, and ended

the Boxer Rebellion soon thereafter.


Fearing that other major powers would use the rebellion as a reason to demand greater control over Chinese territory, Hay sent out a second round of notes. The second notes asked each power to respect China’s political

independence and territorial integrity, in addition to guaranteeing unrestricted access to its market.

Additionally, the world powers requested that the Chinese government pay them reparations for their property and personnel losses during the Boxer Rebellion. Hay convinced them to accept payment in cash rather than in

territory.

By keeping China intact and open to free trade, the United States had achieved a major foreign policy victory. Americans began to see themselves as China’s savior as well .


On September 5, William McKinley and First Lady Ida

McKinley rode a train to Niagara Falls and attended an

evening fireworks display at the Pan-American

Exposition.

McKinley delivered a very well received speech, the last of which he

would ever give.

In the late afternoon of September 6, 1901, President

McKinley attended a public reception held in the Temple

of Music at the Exposition fair grounds.

McKinley would be greeting a crowd of thousands of adoring

citizens.

He insisted on shaking the hands of as many citizens as humanly

possible for the time.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

The President was well guarded by Secret Service agents, Buffalo police officers, and Exposition security; yet, in the reception receiving line was a major concern: McKinley’s wide exposure to such a large crowd.

Standing to either side of the President was his personal secretary George B. Cortelyou and President of the Exposition, John G. Milburn. Cortelyou and Milburn were assisting in introducing the President to

the citizens eager to shake the hand of their beloved and revered President.

Ten minutes into the reception, McKinley was approached by a man sporting what was observed by security and onlookers to be a harmless bandage over his right hand.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

McKinley offered a greeting with his left hand, which was slapped aside by twenty-eight year old laborer and professed anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who shot twice into the President’s body from a revolver hidden beneath the handkerchief. The assassin’s weapon of choice was a snub nose .32 caliber Iver -

Johnson revolver.

Attempting to fire a third shot, Czolgosz was knocked to the ground by James B. Parker, who pummeled Czolgosz and broke his nose.

Czolgosz was secured immediately and arrested. When the crowd understood the magnitude of events, cry’s roared to

“lynch him!” while he was dragged away by authorities.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

• Czolg osz was

g reat ly

in f luenced by

anarchis t

Emma

Goldman.

• With an

increas ing

appet i te for

rad ica l i sm,

Czolg osz

in tended to

fu l f i l l h i s new

v is ion by

emula t ing

Gaetano

Bresc i , the

assass in of

King Umber to

I of I ta ly.

LEON

CZOLGOSZ

Weak and bleeding profusely from the abdomen,

McKinley’s only thoughts were that of his wife Ida.

As Cortelyou held the President in his arms he whispered, “My

wife… be careful, Cortelyou, how you tell her. Oh, be careful.”

McKinley was then rushed to the Exposition emergency

room by way of an electric ambulance and treated for his

wounds.

Unfortunately, the hospital was not properly equipped for

such a surgery and the most experienced surgeon was

away performing an operation in another town.

Surgery was performed by Dr. Matthew Mann at 5:20 p.m., who

operated with little light and without the use of modern technology.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

DR.

MATTHEW

MANN

For many years, controversy sur rounded the qua l i ty of care g iven to Pres ident McKin ley, par t i cu la r ly with respect to his dec i s ion to per for m immediate surger y on the Expos i t ion g rounds ra ther than t ranspor t ing h im to the new operat ing amphi theater a t Buffa lo Genera l Hospi ta l .

One bullet hit McKinley’s right sternum and the other was embedded deep in his abdomen .

The bullet resting at the surface was extracted with little effort.

The other bullet, which tore portions of McKinley’s stomach, pancreas, and kidney, could not be found.

Worried that a continued search would strain the President’s body too much, Dr. Mann and his team of surgeons decided to discontinue the search and sewed up what they could.

McKinley was moved to Milburn’s house where he seemed to be recovering well. After the shock of the shooting, the nation was excited to hear the

good news about the president's well-being.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

It was thought by all of the President’s care-givers that

McKinley was doing well and would make a complete and

timely recovery.

With such optimistic predictions for McKinley’s full recovery, Vice -

President Theodore Roosevelt left for the remote Adirondack

mountains with his wife Edith and children.

Roosevelt was hundreds of miles away, deep in the

wilderness, when McKinley took an unexpected turn for

the worse on Friday, September 13.

Hand delivered telegrams were brought up the mountains to

Roosevelt informing him of the President’s day -to-day declining

health.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

The final telegram to reach Roosevelt read:

"THE PRESIDENT APPEARS TO BE DYING AND MEMBERS

OF THE CABINET IN BUFFALO THINK YOU SHOULD LOSE

NO TIME COMING."

Wasting no time as requested, Roosevelt left the mountain

cabin around midnight.

Forced to leave his family behind, Roosevelt swiftly began the

sixteen mile trek down the mountain by horse and buggy through

heavy mud, rain, and darkness.

Roosevelt was still hours away from reaching the train

station when his presidential aspirations came to fruition.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

Having done everything medically possible, President

William McKinley died at 2:15 a.m. on September 14,

1901, of gangrene.

As the shocking news spread over the wires, a great sadness befell

the entire nation.

Roosevelt learned of McKinley’s death upon arriving at

the train station at 5:22 a.m.

His personal secretary, William Loeb, Jr., handed him a

telegram sent by Secretary of State John Hay that read:

“THE PRESIDENT DIED AT TWO-FIFTEEN THIS MORNING.”

A DAY AT THE FAIR

Roosevelt boarded the train, headed to the Milburn house in Buffalo to pay his respects to the President and meet with the Cabinet.

Roosevelt left the Milburn home to go to the home of his personal friend, Ansley Wilcox, where the emergency inauguration was being arranged. A little more than twenty-four hours after McKinley’s death,

Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office and became the youngest President of the United States at the age of forty -two.

On September 15, the President’s funeral train traveled from Buffalo, New York to Washington D.C., then Canton, Ohio where he was buried at the Westlawn Cemetery.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

On September 23, Czolgosz’s trial began.

The assassination of President James Garfield and trial of his

assassin Charles Guiteau was examined extensively for guidance.

The prosecution won the insanity debate and proved

within three days that Czolgosz was of sound mind when

he shot the President.

In his written confession, Czolgosz stated :

“I killed President McKinley because I done my duty. I didn’t believe

one man should have so much service and another man should have

none.”

The jury deliberated for a mere thirty minutes, convicted

him of first degree murder and sentenced him to death.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

On October 29, 1901, at 7:12 a.m. Leon Czolgosz was

electrocuted at Auburn State Prison.

His last words were:

“I am not sorry. I did this for the working people. My only regret is

that I haven’t been able to see my father.”

Having vehemently denounced the church, no religious

service was performed.

For security purposes, Czolgosz’s remains were not given

to the family for burial.

He instead was buried on the Auburn, New York prison grounds.

A DAY AT THE FAIR

Ensuring American dominance in the Western

Hemisphere ranked high on Roosevelt’s list of foreign

policy objectives.

In 1904, he issued a “corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine,

which had asserted the right of the United States to keep

European powers from meddling in hemispheric affairs.

In mathematics, a corollary is an addition to a theorem.

In his corollary, Roosevelt declared that the United States

possessed a further right:

The right to intervene in the domestic affairs of nations in the

Western Hemisphere to suppress disorder and prevent European

intervention.

THE ROOSEVELT COROLLARY

The Roosevelt corollary formalized a policy that the

United States had already deployed against Cuba and

Puerto Rico in 1900 and 1901.

Subsequent events in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic had

further convinced Roosevelt of the need to expand the scope of

American intervention in hemispheric affairs.

Both Venezuela and the Dominican Republic were

controlled by corrupt dictators and had defaulted on

debts owed to European banks.

Their delinquency prompted a German-led naval blockade and

bombardment of Venezuela in 1902.

Additionally, Italy and France threatened an invasion of the

Dominican Republic in 1903.


The United States, under Roosevelt, did not hesitate to

intervene to make sure that loans were repaid and social

stability was restored.

By 1903, the United States had forced the German navy to retreat

from the Venezuelan coast.

By 1905, the United States had assumed control of the Dominican

Republic’s nation collections and refinanced their national debt

through American bankers.

Rarely in Roosevelt’s tenure did the United States show

such a willingness to help people establish democratic

institutions or achieve social justice.

When the Cubans rebelled against their puppet government in 1906,

the United States sent in the Marines to silence them.


This polit ical

car toon

depicts

Theodore

Roosevelt

using the

Monroe

Doctrine to

keep

European

powers out

of the

Dominican

Republic.

ROOSEVELT

COROLLARY

Roosevelt’s varied interests in Latin America embraced

the building of a canal across Central America.

The president had long believed that the nation needed a way of

moving ships quickly from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean,

and back again.

Central America’s narrow width, especially in its southern

half, made it the logical place to build a canal.

In fact, a French company had obtained land rights and had begun

construction of a canal across the Colombian province of Panama in

the 1880s.

By 1901, however, the French Panama Company had gone bankrupt.

Roosevelt was not deterred by the French failure.

THE PANAMA CANAL

Roosevelt instructed his advisors to develop plans for a

canal across Nicaragua.

The Panamanian route chosen by the French was much shorter and

was nearly forty percent complete but the French company

demanded $109 million for its rights.

In 1902, however, the company reduced the price to $40

million, a sum that Congress considered appropriate.

The agreement, formalized in the Hay-Herran Treaty,

gave the United States a six-mile-wide strip across

Panama on which to build the canal.

Colombia would receive a one-time $10 million payment and yearly

fee of $250,000.

THE PANAMA CANAL

The Colombian legislature rejected the proposed payment

as insufficient and began to stall negotiations.

The solution presented to Roosevelt was simple:

If Colombia stood in the way, just make a new country that would

be more agreeable.

Led by a former director of the French canal company

with U.S. Army assistance, Panamanians revolted against

Colombia in November 1903.

The U.S.S. Nashville steamed south and pointed its guns in

Colombia’s direction and Panama was born with the U.S. Navy as its

midwife.

THE PANAMA CANAL

Recognized faster than any new government had ever bee, Panama’s regime received: $10 million, a yearly fee of $250,000, and guarantees of

independence.

In return the United States got the rights to a ten-mile strip across the country – the Canal Zone .

Since the zone comprised most of Panama and would be guarded by American troops, the United States effectively controlled the country.

By 1904, the first wave of Americans were in Panama.

From day one, the work was plagued by the same problems the French had encountered: tropical heat, the jungle, and the mosquitoes.

THE PANAMA CANAL

One of the few positive results of America’s Cuban

experience was the discovery that mosquitoes spread

yellow fever.

The disease had been eliminated from Havana during the American

occupation.

There were still plenty of people who thought the idea

that mosquitoes carried disease was nonsense and they

kept U.S. Army doctor, William Gorgas , from carrying

out his plan of effective mosquito control.

John Stevens, who came to the project in 1905, gave the

dig the organization that it desperately needed and Dr.

Gorgas a free hand to eliminate yellow fever and malaria.

THE PANAMA CANAL

• Bor n nea r

Mobi le , AL,

Gorgas

cont racted

ye l low fever a t

For t Brown,

Texas.

• His recover y

made h im

immune to i t s

e f fect s, wh ich

made h im the

l i ke l y cho ice to

so lve Panama’s

outbreak .

• His ac t ions

a l lowed for h i s

p romot ion to

Surgeon

Genera l o f the

Ar my.

DR.

WILLIAM

GORGAS

Unfortunately, Jim Crow came to Panama as well. The name Jim Crow is often used to describe the segregation laws,

rules, and customs which arose after Reconstruction (1877) and continued until the mid-1960s.

Most of the laborers were blacks from the Caribbean. They were housed and fed separately, and paid in silver while the

whites were paid in gold.

Additionally, the death rate by accident and disease for blacks was five times that of whites in Panama.

Without explanation, Stevens left the dig, and was replaced by army engineer George W. Goethals . Taking over in 1907, Goethals completed the canal ahead of

schedule and under budget, despite all challenge that the canal posed.

THE PANAMA CANAL

• Pr ior to h i s

work in

Panama,

Goetha ls was

p laced in

charge of the

Musc le Shoa ls

cana l

constr uct ion

on the

Tennessee

River.

• Addit ional ly,

he bui l t cana l s

near

Chattanooga ,

Tennessee and

a t Colber t

Shoals,

Alabama.

GEORGE W.

GOETHALS

First planned under William McKinley, aggressively begun

by Theodore Roosevelt, carried out by William Howard

Taft, the Panama Canal was completed in 1914 by

Woodrow Wilson.

Ironically, the grand plans for a gala opening were canceled.

War in Europe was looming and the news of the canal’s

completion was lost in preparations for the coming

hostilities.

THE PANAMA CANAL

becoming a world power, 1898 1917 (part ii)

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