Austin Burchill

IAH 201

IAH 201 Paper 1

At the time of the Spanish American war the United States went from relative
isolation to increased global involvement because of increased interest in economic
growth, a hope to become a world power, and an eminent concern for national security.
The consequences on American society of that greater involvement were the change in
the demographic in the workforce, and foreign disagreements over trade and territories.

The main reason the United States moved from isolationism to increased global
involvement is due to the on-going interest in foreign trade, which would bring economic
growth. One day before his assassination, William McKinley spoke the nation about his
plan for the future. Isolation is no longer possible or desirable. McKinley said, The
period of exclusiveness is past. The expansion of our trade and commerce is the pressing
problem. Commercial wars are unprofitable. A policy of good-will and friendly trade
relations will prevent reprisals. 1 The intent behind McKinleys speech was to build
public support for his new program through a series of speeches during the fall of 1901.
His new program was not like by Republicans in congress due to their strict isolationist
nature. He felt like the only way to bring economic growth to the country was by
expanding the territorial power of the nation. Wars the United States entered were wars to
take over land not only for territorial power but also for the goods/exports the lands had
to offer. The Spanish American War brought the United States Guam, Puerto Rico, and
for a price, the Philippines. The short 4-month war also brought the United States control
over the Cuba who had been wrongly bullied by Spain in the recent years. McKinley saw
1

William McKinley, The Last Speech of William McKinley (Buffalo, New York), September 5, 1901,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/filmmore/reference/primary/lastspeech.html.

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the war as a stepping-stone for a new United States policy of getting involved in foreign
affairs when economic growth was inevitable. A consequence to his outspoken beliefs
were not all American saw imperialistic acts as a smart political move at this time which
led to his eventual death on September 14th, 1901. McKinleys death gave way to an even
more imperialistic thinker. Teddy Roosevelt, in his book The Strenuous Life published in
1899, gave the nation a strong understanding of his policies. He stress expansion and not
waiting inside friendly confines. No great world powers were isolationist. Once he
became President, taking over for McKinley, he said, Any country whose people
conduct themselves well can count upon our hearty friendship. If a nation shows that it
knows how to act with reasonable efficiency and decency in social and political matters,
if it keeps order and pays its obligations, it need fear no interference from the United
States. Chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the
ties of civilized society [however], may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require
intervention by some civilized nation, and in the Western Hemisphere the adherence of
the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States, however
reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an
international policepower.2 With these men in power, the United States moved quickly
into global involvement.

There are many reason imperialistic thinkers thought the United States must move away
from isolationist thinking. With the United States becoming the a bigger and bigger
2

Theodore Roosevelt, Annual Message to Congress, December 6,

1904, http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=56&page=transcript.

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power in the Western Hemisphere, they felt as though it was time to show their
dominance and not allow other powers to influence colonies and countries in their
hemisphere. Their attack on Spain was to control Cuba. The United States over the next
10 years expanding influence in the world by trading with countries such as China
through the Open-Door Policy and continued to expand their Western Hemispherical
dominance by creating the Panama canal that helped to move military and trade ship
faster between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. The next strong imperialistic move by the
United States was the decision to send troops into World War I. Much of the nation
wanted to stay neutral in the conflict but Woodrow Wilson gave an emotional and
patriotic speech, which solemnly told American citizens it is time to fight against these
monsters. Wilson went on to say, American ships have been sunk, American lives
taken, in ways which it has stirred us very deeply to learn of, but the ships and people of
other neutral and friendly nations have been sunk and overwhelmed in the waters in the
same way. There has been no discrimination. The challenge is to all mankind. Each
nation must decide for itself how it will meet it.3 The wrongful acts of Germany gave the
United States more reason to become involved in foreign affairs. Wilson expressed to the
country they were in harms way at this point. For this reason, the United States fought
against the bullies of the world.

The change in American policies going from isolation to an increased global involvement
had many influences on the country. With men away at war and joining the army, women
began to become an importance in the workforce. While the United State remained
3 Woodrow Wilson, War Messages, 65th Cong., 1st Sess. Senate Doc. No. 5, Serial No.
7264, Washington, D.C., 1917; pp. 3-8, passim.

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isolated, women were housewives and men ran the workforce. Women had no opinion
but to stay home because jobs werent available for them. With jobs being vacated by
soldiers, women had to go to work for their husbands to bring home food for their
children. This era of women in the workplace only lasted til the victorious men on the
military came back from the war. The 1919 Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act forced
most women to leave their wartime roles as men came home and factories switched to
peacetime production. Women, for a good reason, felt mistreated by the new act. Later in
1919, The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 made it illegal to exclude women
from jobs because of their gender.4 This started the Suffragette Movement, which was
directly related to the United States decisions to move from isolation to becoming
involved in international affairs.

With a change in the homeland factories being a consequence on international

involvement, the decisions to push countries to trade and the unjust manor of going about
trade created tensions between countries and the United States. America benefited heavily
from the Russo-Japanese War. Japanese troops were being killed even in victory, and
while Japan got the glory, American and British merchants had the cheap goods available
to sell in the parts of China the Russians were being driven out of.5 Japanese and United
States tension quickly began due to continued disagreement. This tension built when the
California voters felt as though the Japanese-American population was overwhelming the
white population. This led to the San Francisco School Boards decision to ban Japanese4 Adie, Kate. "What Did World War I Really Do For Women?" BBC News. BBC, n.d.
Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

5 Chapter 4: Lead Up to WWI: Textbook

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Americans from attending public schools. This created more tension between the
Japanese government and the United States government. With this continued tension
rising due to what Roosevelt said was his inability to override the courts decision.
Decisions like these continued to irritate the Japanese who had just started to overcome
the losses they endured through the Russo-Japanese War. The consequence of the United
States continued arrogance later harmed their national security. With much good coming
from trade, the arrogance of the United States caught up with them. With both the
countries understanding the power of each others military, they felt peace was best.
Gentlemens Agreement of February 1907, satisfied neither side but prevented
(postponed) serious international consequences: he persuaded the school board to reduce,
although not to end, discrimination against Japanese students, and he persuaded the
Japanese in return to reduce, although not to eliminate, immigration to the United
States.6

With the policy of isolationism keeping the country safe, there was no way to
expand that way. No way to engage in trade, or wars, which at times bring territories.
There is a risk but one that may be worth the reward. The decision to become an
international power had flaws but also had a plan for the United States to become a world
power.

Gentlemens Agreement of February 1907 see Daniel McFarland; Aimee Eng, The Japanese Question:
San Francisco Education in 1906 (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 111

Austin Burchill
IAH 201

IAH 201 Paper 1