WEBVTT 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:00.719 Hi, everyone, and welcome 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:01.599 back to Heimler's History. 00:00:01.640 --> 00:00:03.119 Now as America comes out 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:04.240 of the Gilded Age, 00:00:04.281 --> 00:00:07.319 we are filthy rich and itching to flex our 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:09.839 collective strength on the world stage. 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:11.520 And when we looked around at the world, 00:00:11.561 --> 00:00:13.719 it turns out that European countries had 00:00:13.760 --> 00:00:16.239 been flexing their muscles for decades 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:18.519 in something called "Imperialism." 00:00:18.560 --> 00:00:20.199 And so, not to be outdone, 00:00:20.240 --> 00:00:22.239 America looked around and decided 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:24.040 to gather up some lands 00:00:24.081 --> 00:00:26.559 for an overseas empire of her own. 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:27.879 Now, when I think of America's age 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.000 of imperialism, the best 00:00:29.080 --> 00:00:31.281 metaphor to my mind is hunger. 00:00:31.365 --> 00:00:33.325 "Daddy's hungry." 00:00:33.408 --> 00:00:34.159 And in this lecture, 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:36.239 we're going to see what Daddy America was 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:38.639 hungry for, why Daddy America got so 00:00:38.680 --> 00:00:40.839 hungry in the first place, and what it was 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.560 that Daddy found to stuff down his gullet. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:44.639 Let's get to it. 00:00:44.680 --> 00:00:46.560 (It's time to kick it old school). 00:00:47.873 --> 00:00:58.799 [MUSIC] 00:00:59.040 --> 00:01:04.721 So, what was Daddy hungry for? Well, first, Daddy was hungry for new markets. 00:01:04.762 --> 00:01:09.975 You see, America had found a way to grow more food and produce more manufactured crap than the 00:01:10.517 --> 00:01:14.520 American public could possibly consume. And so, what do you do in that case? 00:01:14.937 --> 00:01:21.206 Well, you look for foreign markets, and so we trained our eyes on Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. 00:01:21.290 --> 00:01:22.480 But Daddy was also 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:24.279 hungry for raw materials. 00:01:24.320 --> 00:01:25.679 You see, despite the abundance 00:01:25.720 --> 00:01:27.599 of resources packed under the crust 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:29.000 of the American continent, 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:30.480 we did not have it all, 00:01:30.521 --> 00:01:32.679 and so if we were going to keep feeding 00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:35.040 those factories, we needed to find other 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:36.159 lands that had raw 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:37.800 materials that we did not. 00:01:37.841 --> 00:01:40.159 Okay, that was what Daddy was hungry for. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.639 Now, why was it that Daddy was hungry? 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:43.799 Well, two reasons. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:45.160 First, there was the lingering 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:47.319 idea of Social Darwinism. 00:01:47.360 --> 00:01:49.039 You'll recall that guys like John D. 00:01:49.080 --> 00:01:50.760 Rockefeller applied the principles 00:01:50.801 --> 00:01:53.039 of survival of the fittest to his business 00:01:53.080 --> 00:01:54.879 practices, but now he decided to apply 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:56.159 those principles at the level 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:57.679 of nations as well. 00:01:57.720 --> 00:01:59.640 America had proved herself to be one 00:01:59.681 --> 00:02:01.759 of the strongest and fittest in the world, 00:02:01.800 --> 00:02:04.079 and therefore was justified in finding 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:05.839 the weak and consuming them. 00:02:05.880 --> 00:02:07.039 "Daddy's hungry." 00:02:07.080 --> 00:02:08.639 But the second reason Daddy was hungry was 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:10.199 because of that old idea 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:12.040 of manifest destiny. 00:02:12.424 --> 00:02:14.600 That was the old idea that God had given 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:17.319 us the right to possess the entirety 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:19.890 of the continent from sea to shining sea, 00:02:19.973 --> 00:02:21.680 and at this point, we had done it. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:23.879 All the land, which we can now consider 00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:25.159 the lower 48 states, 00:02:25.200 --> 00:02:26.800 were in our possession. 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:29.039 The great expanse of America stretched 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:30.039 from the Atlantic 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:31.639 to the Pacific seaboards. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:32.800 And listen, a hunger like 00:02:32.841 --> 00:02:35.239 that doesn't just die off overnight. 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:37.039 For example, I love gummy bears, 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:38.839 and just because I eat a four-pound bag 00:02:38.880 --> 00:02:40.719 of gummy bears today doesn't mean I'm 00:02:40.760 --> 00:02:41.759 gonna be satisfied 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:42.839 for the rest of my life. 00:02:42.880 --> 00:02:44.399 Next morning, I'm gonna wake up thinking, 00:02:44.440 --> 00:02:45.999 "I could do that all over again." 00:02:46.040 --> 00:02:47.999 So, even though the Civil War distracted 00:02:48.040 --> 00:02:49.000 us for a little while, 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:51.039 now that everything was put back together 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:52.840 again, Daddy was hungry for more. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:54.680 And since we had nowhere else to go on 00:02:54.721 --> 00:02:56.760 this continent, we had to look elsewhere. 00:02:56.843 --> 00:02:57.880 Now, not surprisingly, 00:02:57.921 --> 00:03:00.639 this impulse got us into some skirmishes, 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:01.360 most notably 00:03:01.401 --> 00:03:03.934 the Spanish-American War of 1898. 00:03:04.017 --> 00:03:05.479 Now in order to tell this story, 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:07.119 we need to begin in Cuba. 00:03:07.160 --> 00:03:07.959 Now Cuba had been part 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:09.360 of the Spanish Empire since the late 00:03:09.401 --> 00:03:11.840 1400s, and the Cubans had had just 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:14.486 about enough of foreign imperial rule. 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.040 And so, the Cubans roused themselves 00:03:17.081 --> 00:03:19.700 into a revolt against their Spanish lords. 00:03:19.783 --> 00:03:22.079 Now, if you'll recall, way back in the day, 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:23.600 America embraced something 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:25.119 called the Monroe Doctrine. 00:03:25.160 --> 00:03:26.840 And I compared the Monroe Doctrine 00:03:26.881 --> 00:03:29.319 to a dog lifting its leg and peeing all 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:30.719 over the Western Hemisphere, 00:03:30.760 --> 00:03:31.640 and here's why. 00:03:31.880 --> 00:03:33.519 Because the Monroe Doctrine said 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:35.560 that everything in the Western Hemisphere 00:03:35.601 --> 00:03:38.039 essentially belongs to America, 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:39.440 and therefore we don't want any 00:03:39.481 --> 00:03:41.513 European intervention over here. 00:03:41.596 --> 00:03:42.559 So, as it turns out, 00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:43.919 Cuba happens to be 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:45.080 in the Western Hemisphere, 00:03:45.121 --> 00:03:47.479 and therefore could not avoid the sprinkle 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:49.039 of the American urinary 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:50.520 habit of imperialism. 00:03:50.561 --> 00:03:53.608 And so, America took up the Cuban cause. 00:03:53.692 --> 00:03:55.560 Now why would America want to do this? 00:03:55.601 --> 00:03:57.639 Well, at least one reason was something 00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:59.360 that came to be known as "yellow 00:03:59.480 --> 00:04:01.520 journalism," and essentially what was going 00:04:01.600 --> 00:04:03.679 on is that people like Joseph Pulitzer 00:04:03.720 --> 00:04:05.560 were publishing in their newspapers 00:04:05.601 --> 00:04:07.679 accounts that were both spurious 00:04:07.720 --> 00:04:10.559 and outlandish about Spanish atrocities 00:04:10.600 --> 00:04:12.880 against the Cubans in order to arouse 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:14.959 public support for the Cuban cause. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:16.079 Now in many cases, 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:17.719 there was a kernel of truth to these, 00:04:17.760 --> 00:04:19.760 but they were blown way out of proportion. 00:04:19.801 --> 00:04:22.120 So, at this point, the American public was 00:04:22.200 --> 00:04:23.440 clamoring for a fight, 00:04:23.481 --> 00:04:25.839 and so we sent our newest Navy destroyer 00:04:25.880 --> 00:04:27.719 down to Cuba and just parked 00:04:27.760 --> 00:04:29.519 it right in Havana Harbor. 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:30.880 Nothing going on here, 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:33.106 just came down to say, "Hay." 00:04:33.190 --> 00:04:34.360 And as you can imagine, 00:04:34.401 --> 00:04:37.000 this move caused an awful lot of tension 00:04:37.080 --> 00:04:39.160 between America and Spain, 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:42.407 but nothing really happened until one day. 00:04:42.491 --> 00:04:46.199 In the evening of February 15th, 1898, 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.872 the USS Maine exploded, 00:04:48.955 --> 00:04:52.000 killing 260 American sailors. 00:04:52.083 --> 00:04:53.839 Now, of course, Joseph Pulitzer and his 00:04:53.880 --> 00:04:55.120 army of yellow journalists 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:56.520 jumped all over this. 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:58.360 They pumped out ream after ream 00:04:58.401 --> 00:05:00.720 of newspapers accusing the Spanish 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:02.279 of destroying the Maine. 00:05:02.320 --> 00:05:03.959 Now just so you know, in 1976, 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:05.479 the U.S. Navy did an extensive 00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:07.199 investigation into the explosion, 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:08.079 and what they found was 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:09.680 that the overwhelming amount of evidence 00:05:09.721 --> 00:05:11.959 suggested an internal explosion, 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:13.519 which is to say it was not 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:15.199 in fact caused by the Spanish. 00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:17.039 But investigating the truth didn't 00:05:17.080 --> 00:05:19.039 much matter to the American public. 00:05:19.080 --> 00:05:20.639 We wanted Spanish blood. 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:22.559 Now to emphasize just how much Americans 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:24.360 wanted to get into a fight despite any 00:05:24.440 --> 00:05:26.200 action that might lead to a diplomatic 00:05:26.280 --> 00:05:28.360 solution, you should know that American 00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:30.999 diplomats presented Spain with a list 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.000 of demands saying, "Do this, 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:34.440 and we will not go to war." 00:05:34.481 --> 00:05:37.399 And apparently, Spain really did not want 00:05:37.440 --> 00:05:38.759 to go to war with America, 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:40.639 because they complied with all 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:41.360 of the demands, 00:05:41.401 --> 00:05:43.679 including the most stringent of them, 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:45.512 to which America said, "Hmm, 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:46.839 now, we really didn't 00:05:46.880 --> 00:05:47.919 think you all would do all that. 00:05:47.960 --> 00:05:49.620 You all still want to start a war? 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:50.679 All right, we're gonna go to war." 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:51.719 "Wait, what?" 00:05:51.760 --> 00:05:52.320 Why? 00:05:52.400 --> 00:05:54.879 Well, President McKinley knew how unwise 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.279 it would be to not start a war because, 00:05:57.320 --> 00:05:59.120 hey, elections were coming up, 00:05:59.161 --> 00:06:01.319 and if he didn't give the people what they 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:03.399 wanted, then they wouldn't reelect him. 00:06:03.440 --> 00:06:04.679 And that is how you get 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.119 the Spanish-American War. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:07.760 Now, I'll just cut to the end of what 00:06:07.801 --> 00:06:10.039 McKinley called this splendid little war 00:06:10.080 --> 00:06:12.679 because it only lasted for 114 days, 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:14.079 and I'll let you know that America 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:15.760 triumphed on behalf of the Cubans 00:06:15.801 --> 00:06:18.039 and repulsed Spain from the last scrap 00:06:18.080 --> 00:06:20.171 of their once vast New World empire. 00:06:20.255 --> 00:06:22.119 And one of the strange strategies we 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:23.799 employed to win this battle 00:06:23.840 --> 00:06:25.840 in the Caribbean was by invading another 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:28.240 Spanish possession way over in the 00:06:28.320 --> 00:06:31.224 Pacific, namely the Philippine Islands. 00:06:31.308 --> 00:06:32.279 And the freedom-loving 00:06:32.320 --> 00:06:33.319 Filipinos were like- 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:34.839 "Yay, the Americans are 00:06:34.880 --> 00:06:36.319 here to make us free!" 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:37.640 And as the war closed, 00:06:37.681 --> 00:06:39.919 we sat across the treaty table from Spain 00:06:39.960 --> 00:06:41.679 and took the Philippine Islands off 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:43.600 their hands for a cool 20 million. 00:06:43.641 --> 00:06:45.760 And once President McKinley saw how 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:48.599 backwards and brown and un-Christian these 00:06:48.640 --> 00:06:50.199 Filipinos were, actually, 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:50.839 don't tell anybody, 00:06:50.880 --> 00:06:52.359 but their leader was highly educated 00:06:52.400 --> 00:06:53.199 and the Filipinos were 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:54.840 already mostly Christians. 00:06:54.881 --> 00:06:57.159 McKinley decided to do the right thing 00:06:57.200 --> 00:07:00.080 and keep the Filipinos under American rule 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:01.160 until they became, 00:07:01.280 --> 00:07:02.359 you know, more American. 00:07:02.400 --> 00:07:04.199 And since the Philippine Islands were just 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:05.720 so dang far away, 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:08.160 we began to think that we needed a rest 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:10.239 stop, you know, some place between our 00:07:10.280 --> 00:07:11.840 western coast and Asia 00:07:12.280 --> 00:07:13.800 where we could just chill and eat some 00:07:13.880 --> 00:07:15.919 coconut meat, maybe some place like, 00:07:15.960 --> 00:07:17.480 I don't know, Hawaii. 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:19.679 So, in 1898, America went ahead and brought 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:21.319 a bunch of diseases to the native 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:23.039 Hawaiians and killed a bunch of them off 00:07:23.080 --> 00:07:24.359 and was like, "So, if you all aren't using 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:26.119 these islands anymore, we'll take them." 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:27.880 And that's how you get the 50th 00:07:27.960 --> 00:07:29.440 state of the United States. 00:07:29.481 --> 00:07:31.559 Now with all this imperialistic activity, 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:33.439 there arose, not surprisingly, 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:35.039 a great clamor from a bunch 00:07:35.080 --> 00:07:36.999 of people saying this is wrong. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:38.679 The folks who were saying this were called 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:40.599 the Anti-Imperialist League, 00:07:40.640 --> 00:07:42.520 and they argued that America should not be 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:44.800 taking over nations and ruling other 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:46.680 peoples because, in case you forgot, 00:07:46.840 --> 00:07:49.079 there's a deep conviction in the soul 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.280 of America that people must be 00:07:51.400 --> 00:07:53.159 governed by their own consent. 00:07:53.200 --> 00:07:54.560 A philosopher during that time named 00:07:54.601 --> 00:07:56.639 William James put it magnificently. 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:58.360 He said he couldn't believe that America 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.320 could puke up its ancient soul in five 00:08:01.400 --> 00:08:03.650 minutes without a wink of squeamishness. 00:08:03.733 --> 00:08:05.279 But on the other side of the argument 00:08:05.320 --> 00:08:06.880 were the expansionists. 00:08:06.960 --> 00:08:09.039 They raised arguments about patriotism 00:08:09.080 --> 00:08:11.440 and about how America had a civilizing 00:08:11.520 --> 00:08:12.959 mission in the world, 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:14.719 not to mention that the possibilities 00:08:14.760 --> 00:08:16.160 for the expansion of trade 00:08:16.201 --> 00:08:18.199 were positively fabulous. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:20.200 And in the end, it was the expansionists 00:08:20.241 --> 00:08:22.719 who won out, and on February 6th, 1899, 00:08:22.760 --> 00:08:24.799 Congress approved the treaty with Spain 00:08:24.840 --> 00:08:27.319 and America became an empire. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:29.120 And that's all we have time for now. 00:08:29.320 --> 00:08:30.360 I'll see you next time.