THE CHOICES PROGRAM BROWN UNIVERSITY
VIDEO COLLECTION

Imperial America: U.S. Global Expansion, 1890-1915

VIEW CURRICULUM UNIT

Introduction: Imperial America

What is imperialism?
What are administrative and settler colonies?
What is structural racism?

Part I: Empire and the Making of the United States

Why is it important to say “settler colonialism” instead of “westward expansion”?
The Conquest of North America
What was the North American West like before Europeans arrived?
How did Indian societies adapt to the arrival of Europeans?
How did Americans justify their settler colonialism?
What was Jackson Turner’s “Frontier Thesis”?
How were other imperial powers competing for territory around the turn of the twentieth century?

Part II: The War of 1898 and the Philippine-American War

How did Spanish colonialism influence Cuba?
What was the relationship between Cuba and the United States in the nineteenth century?
How did the 1895 war for independence change Cuba’s relationship with United States?
How did Americans use a public health crisis in Cuba during the 1895-1898 War for Independence to call for U.S. intervention?
Why have the United States and Cuba had such a close relationship historically?
How did U.S. political cartoons attempt to justify U.S. imperialism?
Why is it important for Americans to study the Philippine-American War?
How were the U.S. wars to colonize Native American territory similar to the Philippine-American War?

Part III: Empire With and Without Colonies

How long were the Philippines a colony of the United States?
How have Native Hawaiians continued to resist U.S. settler colonialism of their lands?
What is neocolonialism?
Why don’t you use the term “U.S. protectorate” for the period from 1899 to 1934 in Cuba?
What was the Platt Amendment?
What were some of the differences between the U.S. protectorate in Cuba and formal U.S. colonialism?
How did Cuban politicians attempt to use the Platt Amendment to their own advantage?
How did the United States influence Cuba during the period of the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?
How did the Spanish continue to influence Cuba during the era of the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?
How did gender and race relations evolve in Cuba during the period of the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?
How was life for working-class Cubans affected by the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?
Why did many Cubans resent the close ties between Cuban and American elites during the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?
How did struggles over health and disease impact Cubans during the transition to independence?
What were the Open Door Notes?
What is “free” trade?
How and why did President Roosevelt intervene in Colombia in order to secure Panama’s independence?
What was the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and why was it significant?
How did U.S. construction of the Panama Canal symbolize its growing imperial power in the region?
What was the U.S. “dollar diplomacy” policy?
How did people in Latin America and the Caribbean view the U.S. “dollar diplomacy” policy?
How did U.S. military interventions affect Caribbean and Latin American countries?
How did people in Latin America and the Caribbean resist U.S. imperialism?
Why did some elites in Latin American and Caribbean nations support U.S. imperialist policies?
Why did some elites in Latin American and Caribbean nations oppose U.S. imperialist policies?
How did U.S. interventionism in the early 20th century establish the United States as a new kind of imperial power?

Lesson: American Progress: Analyzing a Portrayal of Manifest Destiny

Analysis of “American Progress” by John Gast (1872)
The Conquest of North America
How do you go about analyzing a work of art?

Lesson: Native Hawaiian Resistance to Annexation

How have Native Hawaiians continued to resist U.S. settler colonialism of their lands?

Lesson: U.S. Soldiers’ Experiences in the Philippine-American War

How were the U.S. wars to colonize Native American territory similar to the Philippine-American War?

Lesson: Cartoon Analysis: Race and Empire in U.S. Political Cartoons

How did U.S. political cartoons attempt to justify U.S. imperialism?

Lesson: Historical Memory at San Juan Hill in Santiago de Cuba

What are the purposes of historical memorials?
How did the 1895 war for independence change Cuba’s relationship with United States?
How to analyze public memorials
How did the United States influence Cuba during the period of the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?
How was life for working-class Cubans affected by the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?
Why did many Cubans resent the close ties between Cuban and American elites during the U.S. protectorate (1899-1934)?

Lesson: Getting to Know an Influential Anti-Imperialist

How have Native Hawaiians continued to resist U.S. settler colonialism of their lands?
Why did some elites in Latin American and Caribbean nations support U.S. imperialist policies?
Why did some elites in Latin American and Caribbean nations oppose U.S. imperialist policies?
How did people in Latin America and the Caribbean resist U.S. imperialism?
Back to top