American empire overseas, 1898–1917

Every step in words

1. 1898: Hawaii and the war with Spain

   Borders as of 10 December 1898

   Congress annexed Hawaii in July 1898. In December, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish–American War: Spain gave up Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines (the US paid $20 million), and gave up Cuba, which US troops occupied until 1902; after that Cuba was independent but under heavy US control.

   The US had become a colonial power, and Americans argued hard about it. Anti-imperialists like Mark Twain said ruling other peoples went against American ideals. Filipinos who wanted independence fought the US from 1899 to 1902.

   Topic 7.2, Topic 7.3

2. 1900: American Samoa

   Borders as of 16 February 1900

   The US, Britain and Germany split the Samoan Islands. The US took the eastern islands, with the harbor of Pago Pago.

   Coaling stations for steamships, like Pago Pago, Pearl Harbor and Guam, let the navy reach across the Pacific to Asian markets, which was the goal of thinkers like Alfred Thayer Mahan.

   Topic 7.2

3. 1917: The U.S. Virgin Islands

   Borders as of 31 March 1917

   The US bought the Danish West Indies from Denmark for $25 million and renamed them the Virgin Islands.

   The islands guarded the sea routes to the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914, at a time when the US feared Germany might seize them during World War I.

   Topic 7.2, Topic 7.5