Why did the United States build an overseas empire at the turn of the twentieth century?
Analyze the causes of American imperialism, including economic, military, and ideological motives, the annexation of Hawaii, and foreign policies such as the Open Door, the Roosevelt Corollary, and dollar diplomacy (NGSSS SS.912.A.4, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on American imperialism for the Florida US History exam: the economic, military, and ideological causes of overseas expansion, the annexation of Hawaii, the Open Door Policy, the Panama Canal, the Roosevelt Corollary and Big Stick diplomacy, and dollar diplomacy, with worked stimulus questions.
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What this topic is asking
At the end of the nineteenth century the United States, now an industrial giant, began to build an overseas empire. The NGSSS benchmark SS.912.A.4 wants you to analyze why the United States turned to imperialism, what territories and policies resulted, and how presidents projected American power abroad. This sits in Reporting Category 1 and is often tested with a cartoon, a map of new possessions, or a quotation arguing for or against expansion.
The causes of imperialism
The annexation of Hawaii
American sugar planters in Hawaii overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy with US support, and in 1898 the United States annexed the islands. Hawaii offered rich sugar plantations and, crucially, the naval base at Pearl Harbor, a strategic stepping-stone across the Pacific.
The Open Door Policy in Asia
As European powers and Japan carved China into exclusive spheres of influence, the United States feared being shut out. Secretary of State John Hay issued the Open Door Policy, demanding that China remain open to trade with all nations on equal terms. It protected American commercial access without requiring the United States to seize Chinese territory.
Power in Latin America
In the Western Hemisphere, the United States acted as a regional power:
- Theodore Roosevelt secured the route for and built the Panama Canal, a strategic waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific, supporting a Panamanian revolt against Colombia to do it.
- The Roosevelt Corollary (1904) added to the Monroe Doctrine the claim that the United States could act as an international police power in Latin America to keep order and keep Europeans out.
- Big Stick diplomacy (Roosevelt) meant negotiating while backing demands with naval power; later, dollar diplomacy (Taft) used American investment to gain influence, and "moral diplomacy" (Wilson) tied recognition to democratic behavior.
Try this
Q1. Identify two motives that drove American imperialism around 1890. [2]
- Cue. Any two of: economic (markets and raw materials); military and strategic (a strong navy needing bases and coaling stations); ideological (a sense of mission or superiority).
Q2. Explain the purpose of the Open Door Policy. [2]
- Cue. To keep China open to trade with all nations on equal terms, protecting American commercial access rather than letting European powers divide China into exclusive spheres of influence.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of FLDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksA 1900 cartoon shows the United States holding open a door labeled CHINA while European powers crowd behind, unable to divide the country among themselves. The cartoon refers to which US foreign policy?Show worked answer →
A single-select stimulus item (Reporting Category 1, SS.912.A.4).
Correct answer: the Open Door Policy, which called for keeping China open to trade with all nations rather than divided into exclusive European spheres of influence.
Markers reward connecting the "open door" imagery to equal trading rights in China. Distractors such as the Monroe Doctrine (the Western Hemisphere) or the Roosevelt Corollary (Latin America) name policies aimed at a different region.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksSupporters of American expansion in the 1890s argued that the United States needed overseas colonies to gain raw materials, markets, and naval bases. This argument is an example of which motive for imperialism?Show worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 1, SS.912.A.4).
Correct answer: economic and military motives, the desire for resources, new markets for American goods, and coaling stations and bases for the navy.
Markers reward identifying the resources-markets-bases argument as economic and strategic. A distractor naming only religious or humanitarian motives misses the central economic driver, and one naming isolationism contradicts the expansionist argument.
Related dot points
- Analyze the causes and consequences of the Spanish-American War, including yellow journalism, the explosion of the USS Maine, the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and the debate between imperialists and anti-imperialists (NGSSS SS.912.A.4, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Spanish-American War for the Florida US History exam: yellow journalism and the USS Maine, the war with Spain, the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, the Philippine-American War, and the imperialist versus anti-imperialist debate, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the causes of World War I, the reasons the United States entered the war in 1917, including unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Zimmermann Telegram, and the American contribution to Allied victory (NGSSS SS.912.A.5, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on US entry into World War I for the Florida US History exam: the MAIN causes of the war, American neutrality, unrestricted submarine warfare and the Lusitania, the Zimmermann Telegram, the declaration of war, and the American Expeditionary Force, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the impact of World War I on the home front, including war mobilization, propaganda, the Espionage and Sedition Acts and limits on civil liberties, Schenck v. United States, and the Great Migration (NGSSS SS.912.A.5, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the World War I home front for the Florida US History exam: war mobilization and propaganda, the Espionage and Sedition Acts and limits on civil liberties, the Schenck v. United States decision, women in the workforce, and the Great Migration, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze Wilson's Fourteen Points, the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, the Senate debate and rejection of the treaty, and the return to isolationism after World War I (NGSSS SS.912.A.5, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Treaty of Versailles for the Florida US History exam: Wilson's Fourteen Points, the terms of the treaty and the League of Nations, the Senate debate over the League and Article X, the role of Henry Cabot Lodge, and the American return to isolationism, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the causes and effects of the Second Industrial Revolution, the rise of corporations and entrepreneurs such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, the growth of trusts and monopolies, and the free enterprise system (NGSSS SS.912.A.3, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Second Industrial Revolution for the Florida US History exam: the causes of rapid industrial growth, the rise of corporations and entrepreneurs such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, trusts and monopolies, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the free enterprise system, with worked stimulus questions.
Sources & how we know this
- US History End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications — Florida Department of Education (2013)
- US History Reporting Category Statements — Florida Department of Education (2013)