{"id":3984,"date":"2020-09-24T01:24:30","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T01:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/?page_id=3984"},"modified":"2026-02-26T15:29:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:29:25","slug":"imperial-diplomacy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/course-syllabus\/imperial-diplomacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Imperial Diplomacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote>\n<h3>Did Americans embrace imperialism in the late nineteenth century?<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>CHAPTER 8:\u00a0 The War of 1898, the New Empire, and the Dawn of the American Century, 1893-1901<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;To be sure, the nation broke precedent by acquiring overseas colonies with no intention of admitting them as states. At the same time, in its aims, its methods, and the rhetoric used to justify it, the expansionism of the 1890s followed logically from earlier patterns, built on established precedents, and gave structure to the blueprint drawn up by James G. Blaine in the previous decade.&#8221; (Herring, p. 299)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;George C. Herring, <em>From Colony to Superpower:\u00a0 U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776<\/em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 299.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Timeline<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>1893 \/\/ Columbian Exposition in Chicago and &#8220;Panic&#8221; begins<\/li>\n<li>1894 \/\/ Wilson-Gorman tariff and Cuban revolt<\/li>\n<li>1895 \/\/ Olney re-asserts Monroe Doctrine<\/li>\n<li>1896 \/\/ Election: McKinley (R) vs. Bryan (D)<\/li>\n<li>1897 \/\/ McKinley holds off rush to war over Cuba<\/li>\n<li>1898 \/\/ Spanish-American War<\/li>\n<li>1899 \/\/ Philippines annexation and insurrection; Open Door notes<\/li>\n<li>1900 \/\/ Election:\u00a0 McKinley (R) vs. Bryan (D); Boxer rebellion<\/li>\n<li>1901 \/\/ McKinley assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt becomes president<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>KEY PLAYERS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.06.54-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3985 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.06.54-PM-796x1024.png\" alt=\"Forerunners\" width=\"400\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.06.54-PM-796x1024.png 796w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.06.54-PM-233x300.png 233w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.06.54-PM-768x987.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.06.54-PM.png 840w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3980\" style=\"width: 768px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-1.40.14-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3980\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3980\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-1.40.14-PM.png\" alt=\"Large Policy\" width=\"758\" height=\"926\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-1.40.14-PM.png 758w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-21-at-1.40.14-PM-246x300.png 246w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3980\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">From L to R \/ top to bottom: Alfred Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, John Hay, Henry Cabot Lodge<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_3986\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.19.11-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3986\" class=\"wp-image-3986\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.19.11-PM.png\" alt=\"Anti-Imperialists\" width=\"400\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.19.11-PM.png 812w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.19.11-PM-260x300.png 260w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.19.11-PM-768x887.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3986\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A businessman, a philosopher and two politicians. Can you identify these four leading anti-imperialists?<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Other Key Players, Witnesses or Examples<\/h3>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-3984 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/assignments\/profiles-in-diplomacy\/davis-richard-h\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2014\/12\/Davis-Richard-H-200x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Davis\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2014\/12\/Davis-Richard-H-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2014\/12\/Davis-Richard-H.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2218'>\n\t\t\t\tRichard Harding Davis\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/?attachment_id=2755'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"269\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2017\/04\/root-269x300.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Root\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-2755\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2017\/04\/root-269x300.png 269w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2017\/04\/root.png 355w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 269px) 100vw, 269px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-2755'>\n\t\t\t\tElihu Root\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<h3><strong>KEY TERMS:\u00a0 War of 1898 \/\/ Open Door Notes (1899-1900)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>War of 1898<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cWhat was once called the Spanish-American War was the pivotal event of a pivotal decade, bringing the \u2018large policy\u2019 to fruition and marking the United States as a world power.\u00a0 Few events in U.S. history have been encrusted in myth and indeed trivialized.\u00a0 The very title is a misnomer, of course, since it omits Cuba and the Philippines, both key players in the conflict.\u00a0 Despite four decades of \u2018revisionist\u2019 scholarship, popular writing continues to attribute the war to a sensationalist \u2018yellow press,\u2019 which allegedly whipped into martial frenzy an ignorant public that in turn drove weak leaders into an unnecessary war.\u00a0 The war itself has been reduced to comic opera, its consequences dismissed as an aberration.\u00a0 Such treatment undermines the notion of war by design, allowing Americans to cling to the idea of their own noble purposes and sparing them responsibility for a war they came to see as unnecessary and imperialist results they came to regard as unsavory.\u00a0 Such interpretations also ignore the extent to which the war and its consequences represented a logical culmination of major trends in nineteenth-century U.S. foreign policy.\u00a0 It was less a case of the United States coming upon greatness almost inadvertently than of it pursuing its destiny deliberately and purposefully.\u201d\u00a0 \u2013George Herring,\u00a0<em>From Colony to Superpower,\u00a0<\/em>p. 399<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>John Hay to Theodore Roosevelt, July 27, 1898<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It has been a splendid little war; begun with the highest motives, carried on with magnificent intelligence and spirit, favored by that Fortune which loves the brave.\u00a0 It is now to be concluded, I hope, with that fine good nature, which is, after all, the distinguishing trait of the American character.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>George Herring, <em>From Colony to Superpower<\/em>, Chapter 8:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">&#8220;The ease and decisiveness of the victory intoxicated Americans, stoking an already overheated chauvinism. &#8216;It was a splendid little war,&#8217; Ambassador John Hay chortled from London (giving the conflict an enduring label), &#8216;begun with the highest motives, carried on with magnificent intelligence and spirit, favored by that fortune which loves the brave.'&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Explain the origins of the \u201clarge policy\u201d and identify some of the key figures in its formation.<\/li>\n<li>Would you make any distinctions between the American \u201clarge policy\u201d of the 1890s and European-style imperialism of that same era?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Open Door Notes (1899-1900)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;The Open Door Notes have produced as much mythology as anything in the history of U.S. foreign relations.\u00a0 Although he knew better, Hay encouraged and happily accepted popular praise for America&#8217;s bold and altruistic defense of China from the rapacious powers.\u00a0 These contemporary accolades evolved into the enduring myth that the United States in a singular act of beneficence at a critical point in China&#8217;s history saved it from further plunder by the European powers and Japan.\u00a0 More recently, historians have found in the Open Door Notes a driving force behind much of twentieth-century U.S. foreign policy.\u00a0 Scholar-diplomat George F. Kennan dismissed them as typical of the idealism and legalism that he insisted had characterized the American approach to diplomacy, a meaningless statement in defense of a dubious cause &#8211;the independence of China&#8211; which had the baneful effect of inflating in the eyes of American s the importance of their interests in China and their ability to dictate events there.\u00a0 Historian William Appleman Williams and the so-called Wisconsin School have portrayed the notes as an aggressive first move to capture the China market that laid the foundation for U.S. policy in much of the world in the twentieth century.&#8221; (George Herring, <em>From Colony to Superpower<\/em>, pp. 333-4)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Herring uses the Open Door episode as way to further delineate major schools of thought about American diplomatic traditions.\u00a0 Earlier in the semester, Walter Russell Mead tried something similar.\u00a0 Can you summarize the different interpretive approaches on your own by this point?<\/li>\n<li>Among American diplomats and secretaries of state, John Hay usually ranks quite high.\u00a0 How you would characterize his accomplishments?\u00a0 Do recent shifts in American attitudes about imperialism and race diminish the standing of statesmen like Hay (or figures like Theodore Roosevelt) in your eyes?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-3317\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/1900-Chinese-Spheres-1024x709.jpg\" alt=\"China map\" width=\"940\" height=\"651\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/1900-Chinese-Spheres-1024x709.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/1900-Chinese-Spheres-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/1900-Chinese-Spheres-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/1900-Chinese-Spheres-434x300.jpg 434w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2019\/03\/1900-Chinese-Spheres.jpg 1188w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/2011\/11\/10\/mapping-out-the-u-s-in-chinas-boxer-rebellion\/\">Student-produced map of the Boxer Rebellion<\/a> (Julianne Greco)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/embed?mid=1ctRbDQ8wG2sMxt70a2PQE4jiTgQ\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>19th-Century Imperialism &#8211;By the Numbers<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>Between 1870 and 1900, Britain added more than four million square miles to its imperial holdings, France more than three and a half million, and Germany one million.\u00a0 The new rush for empire further destabilized an already unsettled world. &#8211;Herring, 268<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>During this same period, the US added approximately 500,000 square miles of annexed territory (Guam, Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico); including Alaska (1867) raises the figure above 1 million square miles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Image Gateway<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">&#8220;In what Lodge called &#8216;the hardest, closest fight I have ever known,&#8217; the Senate approved the treaty 57\u201321 in February 1899, a bare one vote more than necessary, and a result facilitated by the defection of eleven Democrats.74 McKinley was easily reelected in 1900 in a campaign in which imperialism was no more than a peripheral issue.&#8221; &#8211;Herring, Chapter 8<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2022-01-16-at-12.54.59-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-5572\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/files\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2022-01-16-at-12.54.59-PM-1024x516.png\" alt=\"Cartoon\" width=\"940\" height=\"474\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For more information on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/pictures\/resource\/ppmsca.28668\/\">this famous 1899 cartoon<\/a> (&#8220;School Begins&#8221;) by Louis Dalrymple for <em>Puck<\/em> magazine in January, see Brian Shott&#8217;s essay in David Prior&#8217;s edited collection on <em>Reconstruction and Empire<\/em> (2022)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.presidency.ucsb.edu\/documents\/1900-democratic-party-platform\">Democratic National Platform, 1900<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Who were the imperial soldiers?<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-118pinsker\/course-syllabus\/immperialism\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3987\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.23.58-PM-817x1024.png\" alt=\"Presly Holliday\" width=\"600\" height=\"752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.23.58-PM-817x1024.png 817w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.23.58-PM-239x300.png 239w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.23.58-PM-768x962.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/files\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-9.23.58-PM.png 886w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>NOTE &#8211;Anti-Imperialists above (clockwise from upper left: Andrew Carnegie, William James, William Jennings Bryan, and &#8220;Pitchfork&#8221; Ben Tillman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did Americans embrace imperialism in the late nineteenth century? CHAPTER 8:\u00a0 The War of 1898, the New Empire, and the Dawn of the American Century, 1893-1901 &#8220;To be sure, the nation broke precedent by acquiring overseas colonies with no intention of admitting them as states. At the same time, in its aims, its methods, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":10,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3984","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3984"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4737,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3984\/revisions\/4737"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-282pinsker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}