20Asia

=Study Guide: 1898 - The Onset of America's Troubled Asian Century= Michael H. Hunt, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Key Terms/Events Definitions
//Insular cases//: Name for a series of Supreme Court cases from 1901-1904. Focused on the question of US citizenship of people in US territories. They concluded that these people were NOT automatically US citizens. They were given their "fundamental rights" (life, liberty, and property) but were denied the same legal rights of US citizens.


 * Key Arguments:**

With the expansion of American imperialism into the Pacific, 1898 proved to be a fateful year that set the tone for U.S.-Asian relations for the next century. The primary issue at hand involved the United States creating a dominant colonial empire in the Pacific, which was opposed by resistant factions of nationalists in Asian countries(Philippines, China, Korea, Vietnam) focusing on their own goals- including fostering their own national identities. Cuba and Puerto Rico (Just some additional information) ** · Main motive was to protect American business in the Caribbean · Also wanted these islands for security purposes || · Roads and telegraph lines built · Schools were built · Sanitation improved · Yellow fever was reduced || · 1917: Puerto Ricans granted US citizenship · Mostly under US control · Granted right to elect officials in 1947 || · Demanded for complete independence in 1900 · McKinley wanted to slowly put down Cuban nationalism · Agreed to let Cuba have independence if they accepted some limitations || · US had right to oversee the economy · US could veto Cuban foreign policy · US could intervene to protect citizens · US could build a naval base at Guantanamo Bay · Passed in 1901 by one vote in the Cuban assembly || · Cuban economy was dominated by US businesses · Cubans began to hate the power of the US businesses · Fidel Castro seizes power in 1959 and seizes American businesses and establishes a communist regime ||
 * ** Term ** || ** Definition/Information ** ||
 * 1. Motives for Occupation || · Occupation began shortly after the civil war
 * 2. American Aid || · Islands developed rapidly
 * 3. Puerto Rico || · US and Puerto Rico often debated self-government
 * 4. Limits to Cuban Independence || · Cuba resented US control of the island
 * 5. Platt Amendment || · List of limitations to Cuban independence
 * 6. Aftermath || · American investment in the Cuban economy soared

The Philippines and Insurrection
· Imperialism in Philippines and Guam was solidified with Madrid’s surrender in the Spanish-American war during August 1898 · American policy took the character of “benevolent assimilation”, which was based on the idea of advancing the Filipino society to make it more like the United States- reformed, democratic, etc. o Form of humanitarian imperialism? – “Set them in pathway of the world’s best civilization” o Consequently, American involvement in the Pacific took the form of redeeming “backward Asians” and civilizing the East with Western reforms · McKinley’s move to annex the Philippines in 1898 created a swell of contention at home with protest groups, as well as in the Philippines- nationalist insurrection · To reach peace between the Filipino leaders and guerrillas, a tentative bargain was issued: o United States would have immediate colonial control o Philippines would ultimately gain independence through increasing participation in governance · United States experience in the Philippines by creating semi-colonial relations with nationalist leaders focused on their own goals would be repeated in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam throughout the 20th Century
 * ** Term ** || ** Definitions/Information ** ||
 * 1. Beginnings || * Treaty of Paris signed 2/6/1899 ending the Spanish-American war
 * Approved in Senate by vote of 57-27
 * Amendment to grant the Philippines independence is defeated by one vote
 * With this defeat the US annexed the Philippines ||
 * 2. Building Tension || * Tension between Filipinos and Americans on the islands was building for months
 * Filipinos thought they were going to be granted independence
 * An American soldier fired on a Filipino patrol two days before the Senate vote
 * Fighting broke out among American and Filipino soldiers ||
 * 3. A New Kind of Warfare || * War broke out that lasted from 1899-1902
 * American soldiers faced a kind of warfare they had never seen before
 * Filipino forces used guerilla tactics rather than fight army to army
 * Filipino insurgents, or //insurrectos//, attacked in short, quick bursts and blended in with the civilian population ||
 * 4. Emilio Aguinaldo || * Commander of the Filipino forces
 * Was an ally with the US during Spanish-Am. War
 * Captured by the US in 1901, and changed his alliance to the United States ||
 * 5. US Tactics || * US forces imprisoned many civilians in response to attacks
 * US soldiers were given orders to execute all males above the age of 10 if they did not surrender
 * Filipino prisoners were executed for every American soldier killed ||
 * 6. Role of African-Americans || * All four regular African-American regiments served and two volunteer regiments served
 * Volunteer regiments were commanded by black officers
 * African-Americans at home were strongly against the conflict
 * Were especially against racist views of the Filipinos by the military
 * Black soldiers faced the same discrimination in the army as they had back home
 * Many blacks deserted the army
 * Some joined the Filipino Insurgence ||
 * 7. Filipino Independence || * Filipino insurrection was a failure
 * The US lost interest in maintaining the colony
 * Most of the responsibility was handed over to the Filipino people by the 1910s
 * 1934: US grants the Philippines a commonwealth status, which gave the Filipinos authority over local issues
 * 1946: the Philippines gain their independence after the end of WWII ||
 * 8. The Insurrection and the Election of 1900 || * McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan
 * War was generally unpopular among the American people
 * Bryan, however, chose to focus his attention on the economy rather than the insurrection
 * McKinley’s running mate, Theodore Roosevelt, campaigned in favor of the war
 * McKinley was victorious in the election ||

China:

 * The Chinese refused to play the role American expansionists had assigned to them.
 * In 1900, McKinley authorized the second major American military intervention in Asia after the Boxer uprising.
 * 4,000 American troops and some foreign troops joined together in North China, took Beijing, quelled the Boxers, and scoured the countryside.
 * The Qing dynasty were the rulers of China.
 * When the Qing dynasty fell in 1912, it was replaced by an incompetent repbilican government, and China was more vulerable to foreign pressure.
 * Chiang Kai-shek, the most prominent Chinese republican leader, resumed the task of state regeneration in the late 1920's and 1930's.
 * In 1949, Mao Zedong and the Communist Party took control of China and took to state building.
 * When the Communist Party declared its support for anti-imperialist policies and the creation of a strong state, ot signaled an end to Chinese-foreign relations.
 * Chinese policy makers had viewed the United States as a counterweight to more aggressive powers.
 * In general, Chinese diplomats did not care for the American system of government and believed it to be chaotic.

· The Japanese were more focused on creating their own empire than struggling to preserve an existing empire from American control · With the process of nationalist state-building, Japan developed professional armed forces and economic growth, which sparked Japan’s run to an Asian empire · Between 1895 and 1910, Japan attacked China, seized Taiwan, and defeated Russian forces · The Japanese empire-building effort culminated in the possessions gained through the start of the Second World War (included the Philippines, Korea, China, Vietnam) · Thusly, Japan ignored American attempts to control the region and instead created its own Pacific empire through its increasing militarism, industrialism in the 1900s
 * Japan:**

Vietnam and Korea:
· American policy in the Philippines beginning in 1898 brought forth a nationalist insurrection led by Emilio Aguinaldo- this turn of events would eerily foreshadow happenings in Vietnam 60 years later · Once the Philippines policy steadily lost public support, the events following this decline were indicative of events to come in the Korea (1950) and Vietnam (1965) conflicts


 * Word Documents of Components of the Above Material:**