American Imperialism

Teach your students about America's Age of Imperialism, a period between the mid-19th and 20th centuries when the U.S. expanded its political and economic influence into new territories throughout the world. This informative array of primary source documents includes pivotal policy statements such as the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary and political cartoons on U.S. relations with Latin America emperor of Japan. Students will be intrigued by the photo-posters on the Spanish-American War and the 1926-1929 military intervention in Nicaragua. A letter from Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii asking Congress to return crown lands will provoke lively classroom discussions about U.S. foreign policy, both past and present. This portfolio includes a Study Guide with reproducible student activities and a timeline of events between 1823 and 1934. 4 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * Origins of American Imperialism * The Road to Expansion * The Policy of Intervention * The United States and Asia 14 Primary Source Documents: * Excerpts from President Monroe's message to Congress (Monroe Doctrine), 1823 * President Fillmore's message to the emperor of Japan, 1852, and a nineteenth-century illustrated Japanese translation of his letter * Graphic views of U.S.-Caribbean relations before the Spanish-American War, 1851-1896 * Memorial of Queen Liliuokalani in relation to the crown lands of Hawaii, 1898 * Lou Henry Hoover letter describing her experience in Tientsen during the Boxer Rebellion, 1900 * Poster: Documents and photographs relating to the Spanish-American War, 1898 * Excerpt from a speech by Senator Albert J. Beveridge on policy toward the Philippines, Congressional Record, 1900 * Excerpt from "Letter from the Hon. George F. Hoar," published by the Anti-Imperialist League, 1899 * Proclamation by the U.S. government to the inhabitants of Guam, 1900 * First and last page of the treaty with Cuba that includes the Platt Amendment and a transcript of the amendment, 1903 * Excerpts from President Theodore Roosevelt's annual message to Congress (Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine), 1904 * Political cartoons concerning U.S.-Mexican relations, 1913-1916 * Poster: Map and photographs relating to the U.S. military intervention in Nicaragua, 1926-1929 * Letter referencing FDR's Good Neighbor Policy, Arthur Bliss Lane to the president of Nicaragua, 1933