Admin. Review Mahan’s tenets of Sea PowerMahan’s tenets of Sea Power –Geographic Position –Physical Conformation –Extent of Territory –Number of Population.

Admin

Review

• Mahan’s tenets of Sea Power– Geographic Position– Physical Conformation– Extent of Territory– Number of Population– National Character– Character of the Government

• Mahan’s Strategic questions:– What is a navy’s function? – How should a navy be deployed?– Where should the coaling stations needed to support them be

established?– What is the value of commerce destruction, and should this be

a primary or secondary goal of naval action?

Review cont.

• Corbett– Points of agreement with Mahan – Points of disagreement with Mahan

• Worldwide influence of Mahan’s writings• Was the decision to build a battle fleet a

correct one for the US? Was it unanimous?

Lesson 8:

The U.S. Navy and American Imperialism

1898-1914

Learning Objectives

• Know the influence of the mass media in U.S. relations with Spain and the effect of the destruction of the U.S.S. Maine on public opinion.

• Comprehend the impact of Mahanian doctrine on the naval strategy and thinking in preparation for and conduct of the war.

• Comprehend the reasons for the acceleration of U.S. Navy expansion following the war with Spain.

Learning Objectives

• Know the effect of the Progressive Era in domestic politics on the Navy.

• Comprehend the threats and resultant actions taken by the U.S. concerning activities in the Pacific and Caribbean during the period 1900-1914.

Remember our Themes!

• The Navy as an Instrument of Foreign Policy• Interaction between Congress and the Navy• Interservice Relations• Technology• Leadership• Strategy and Tactics• Evolution of Naval Doctrine

The Spanish-American War

Causes

• Decreased isolationism in U.S. public and Congress

• Cuban Revolution (1895-1898):– U.S. investments threatened– Spanish authorities commit atrocities against Cuban

civilians– Sympathetic to Cubans

USS Maine

Havana, Cuba

February 1898

The Fuze

• USS Maine Explosion - February 1898:– Havana, Cuba.– Mission — protect U.S. citizens and property.– U.S. public angered - blame placed on Spain.

• “Free Cuba!”• “Remember the Maine!”

• President William McKinley– Congress declares war on Spain -- April 1898.

Fighting the War

• Geography– Spanish Empire-

• Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Guam

– U.S. strategic interests• Panama Canal, Hawaii

• U.S forces– Atlantic: Sampson/Schley– Asiatic: Dewey

President William McKinley

Naval Orders of Battle

• United States– North Atlantic Squadron

• Sampson based in Key West.• Schley’s “Flying Squadron” in Norfolk.• USS Oregon sent from Pacific to Atlantic.

– Asiatic Squadron• Commanded by Commodore George Dewey at Hong Kong.

– Sent by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt.

• Spain– Inferior naval forces.

• Montojo - Manila Bay• Cervera - Cape Verde Islands

Fighting the War

• Cuba– Blockade of Santiago harbor (1 May)– Amphibious landing at Daiquiri (June 20)– Destruction of Cevera’s Fleet (July 3)

• Sampson/Schley command controversy• Naval Results

Rear AdmiralWilliam T.Sampson

Commander

North Atlantic Squadron

Rear AdmiralWinfield Scott

Schley

Commander

North AtlanticFlying Squadron

Spanish-AmericanWar

AdmiralPascual Cervera

Commander

Spanish Fleet

Battle of Santiago de Cuba

Battle of Santiago

• American blockade of Santiago Harbor.– Guantanamo Bay seized by Huntington’s battalion of Marines.

• Amphibious landing at Daiquiri.– Confusion between Army and Navy: Shafter and Sampson.

• Rough Riders’ Teddy Roosevelt.– Leads charge at the Battle of San Juan Hill.

• Spanish governor orders fleet to flee harbor - 1 July 1898.– Sampson / Schley command controversy.

• Results and lessons:– Spanish home fleet recalled while en route to the Philippines– U.S. technological superiority overwhelms Spanish.– U.S. becomes dominant power in the Caribbean Sea.– Improvement needed in fire control and amphibious doctrine.

USS Oregon Battle of Santiago

Battle of Santiago

U.S. “Empire” Established

• From Spain in 1898:– Puerto Rico– Guam– Philippines– Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba(Spain sells other island territories in the Pacific to the

German Empire in 1899.)

• Formerly Independent: – Hawaii (Annexed 1898)– Wake Island - 1899– “American” Samoa (Harbor of Pago Pago) - 1899

American Pacific TerritoriesCoaling Stations for Ships

U.S. Navy after the War• Battle Ships principle warship• Mahan's advocacy of fleet engagements vindicated.

– Commerce raiding discredited. • Construction programs to be completed by 1905:

– 10 first-rate battleships.– 4 armored cruisers.

• Global empire yields:– Overseas bases.– Expanded obligations to protect overseas interests.

• Dewey heads new Navy General Board.– First U.S. peacetime strategic planning apparatus.– Missions are to devise war plans and assess foreign navies’

capabilities.

Progressive Era Politics(1901-1914)

• Strong Presidents:– Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and

Woodrow Wilson.• Republican Congress funds battleships and

canal construction.– Large increases in federal budget.– Large increase in percentage of federal budget for

Department of the Navy.• Dewey and General Board

– Access to Secretary of the Navy and / or the President on a regular basis due to increased importance of the Navy.

Pre-WWI International Concerns

• Expanding Interests of Germany, U.S. attention to Caribbean

• Expanding Interests of Japan, U.S. attention in Pacific

The Caribbean

• Threat: Germany– U.S. has stake in Caribbean

• Annexation of Puerto Rico• Naval base in Cuba

– Germany has strong interest in Latin America– Venezuela Crisis (1902)

• Germany wants base there• Germany (plus Britain, Italy) blockades to recover

from default on 12.5 million loan

Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine

• Caribbean Sea– Vital defense of the U.S. - Navy protects access to

Panama Canal.• European relations with Latin America.

– Venezuela Crisis (1902) demonstrates need for U.S. to ensure European powers need not intervene in Western Hemisphere.

Panama Canal

• Renewed U.S. desire for canal in Central America.– Link between Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.

• Need for the canal is highlighted by USS Oregon’s long transit to the Battle of Santiago.

• Strong support from President Theodore Roosevelt.– Essentially Mahanian

Panama Canal

• Panamanian Revolution against Colombia - 1903.– Engineered and influenced by U.S.– Panama Canal Zone ceded to U.S.

• Construction of the canal begins in 1904.– Completed in 1914.

• Increased importance of U.S. control of Caribbean Sea.– Protection of Panama Canal is vital to defense of the

U.S.

“The Big Stick”

• Theodore Roosevelt (December 1904):– U.S. obligated “in flagrant cases of wrong-doing or

impotence (in Latin America) to the exercise of an international police power.”

• Constant interventions by Navy and Marines:– Haiti, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.– Cuba - Platt Amendment.– Vera Cruz, Mexico.

• “Yankee Imperialism” despised by many Latin Americans.

U.S. Interests in the Far East

• War Plan Orange– U.S. Navy plan for war with Japan.– Defense of the Philippines and defeat of the

Japanese Navy.

The Open Door

• U.S. “Open Door” policy in China:– Policy has two aspects.

(1) Ensure territorial integrity of China.(2) Ensure free trade in China for all countries.

– China’s Boxer Rebellion - 1900• U.S. Marine Regiment attached to U.S. Army force protecting

Westerners.– Counter European and Japanese attempts at

“spheres of influence”.• Yangtze River Patrol - U.S. gunboats protect American

commerce.

Japanese Opening and Modernization

• Commodore M.C. Perry - 1854– Treaty of Kanagawa– European powers quickly follow U.S. lead.

• Meiji Restoration - 1868– End of Tokugawa Shogunate’s feudal system.– Emperor restored to power.

• Increased trade with the West.• Rapid modernization of industry and armed forces.• Colonial expansion begins on Pacific Islands.• Japanese Navy

– From the Age of Galleys directly to the Modern Age.– Skips entirely the Age of Sail.