AP US History Document Based Question s1

AP US History Document Based Question

Directions: The following question requires you to construct an essay that integrates your interpretation of Documents A-H and your knowledge of the period referred to in the question. In the essay you should strive to support your assertions both by citing key pieces of evidence from the documents and by drawing on your knowledge of the period.

To what extent was the “New Manifest Destiny” of the 1890s and early 1900s a continuation of the “Old Manifest Destiny” of the 1840s?”

Document A

Washington, December 2, 1845. “In pursuance of the joint resolution of Congress ''for annexing Texas to the United States,'' …. The executive government, the Congress, and the people of Texas in convention have successively complied with all the terms and conditions of the joint resolution. A constitution for the government of the State of Texas, formed by a convention of deputies, is herewith laid before Congress.” Messages and Papers of the Presidents, James K. Polk, Vol. IV, p. 385-416.

Document B

ARTICLE I. “From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and conventions between the United States and Great Britain terminates, the line of boundary between the territories of the United States and those of her Britannic Majesty shall be continued westward along the said forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's Straits, to the Pacific Ocean: Provided, however, That the navigation of the whole of the said channel and straits, south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, remain free and open to both parties.” Oregon Boundary Treaty, 1846, United States Statutes At Large, 1846, p. 869-870.

Document C

“Our policy in regard to Europe, nevertheless remains the same, which is not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers;…. But in regard to those continents…. It is impossible that the allied powers should extend their political system to any portion of either continent without endangering our peace and happiness; nor can anyone believe that our southern brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such interposition in any form with indifference....” (December 2, 1823.) James Monroe, Monroe Doctrine, America, Vol.5, Pg.294 - Pg.295. Document D

"Massachusetts Voices Condemnation (1847)" “Resolved, That the present war with Mexico has its primary origin in the unconstitutional annexation to the United States of the foreign state of Texas while the same was still at war with Mexico; that it was unconstitutionally commenced by the order of the President, to General Taylor, to take military possession of territory in dispute between the United States and Mexico, and in the occupation of Mexico.… Resolved, That such a war of conquest, so hateful in its objects, so wanton, unjust, and unconstitutional in its origin and character, must be regarded as a war against freedom, against humanity, against justice, against the Union, against the Constitution, and against the Free States….” "Resolves. Concerning the Mexican War, and the Institution of Slavery. Old South Leaflets (1904), vol. 6, no. 132, pp. 10-11, 30-31. The American Pageant, Document, Chapter 19.

Document E

“Liberty Follows” Document F

JOINT RESOLUTION To provide for annexing the Hawaiian “Whereas the Government of the Republic of Hawaii having, in due form, signified its consent, in the manner provided by its constitution, to cede absolutely and without reserve to the United States of America all rights of sovereignty of whatsoever kind in and over the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies, and also to cede and transfer to the United States the absolute fee and ownership of all public, Government, or Crown lands, public buildings or edifices, ports, harbors, military equipment, and all other public property of every kind and description belonging to the Government of the Hawaiian Islands, together with every right and appurtenance thereunto appertaining: Therefore, Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That said cession is accepted, ratified, and confirmed….” Approved, July 7, 1898. Hawaiian Treaty of 1897, U.S. Statutes at Large, 55th Cong., Sess. II, Res. 55, p. 750-751.

Document G

“Today the United States is practically sovereign on this continent, and its fiat is law upon the subjects to which it confines its interposition. Why? It is not because of the pure friendship or good will felt for it. It is not simply by reason of its high character as a civilized state, nor because wisdom and justice and equity are the invariable characteristics of the dealings of the United States. It is because, in addition to all other grounds, its infinite resources combined with its isolated position render it master of the situation and practically invulnerable as against any or all other powers.” Olney Doctrine, 1895. Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1895, Part I, p. 545-562. Department of State, Washington, July 20, 1895.

Document H

Executive Mansion, April 11, 1898. “In view of these facts and of these considerations I ask the Congress to authorize and empower the President to take measures to secure a full and final termination of hostilities between the Government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a stable government, capable of maintaining order and observing its international obligations, insuring peace and tranquility and the security of its citizens as well as our own, and to use the military and naval forces of the United States as may be necessary for these purposes. And in the interest of humanity and to aid in preserving the lives of the starving people of the island I recommend that the distribution of food and supplies be continued and that an appropriation be made out of the public Treasury to supplement the charity of our citizens…. I await your action.” President McKinley's War Message, 1898. A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1897, Vol. X, ed. James D. Richardson, p. 139-150. Document I

Document J

JOINT RESOLUTION “First. That the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent. Second. That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the Government of the United States does hereby demand, that the Government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters…. Fourth. That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said Island except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the Island to its people.” Teller Resolution, 1898, United States Statutes at Large, Vol. 30, 55th Cong., Sess. II, p. 738-739. Approved, April 20, 1898 Document K

Department of State, Washington, September 6, 1899. “Earnestly desirous to remove any cause of irritation and to insure at the same time to the commerce of all nations in China the undoubted benefits which should accrue from a formal recognition by the various powers claiming ''spheres of interest'' that they shall enjoy perfect equality of treatment for their commerce and navigation within such ''spheres,'' …. that each within its respective spheres of whatever influence…. First. Will in no way interfere with any treaty port or any vested interest within any so-called ''sphere of interest'' or leased territory it may have in China. Second. That the Chinese treaty tariff of the time being shall apply to all merchandise landed or shipped to all such ports as are within said ''sphere of interest'' (unless they be ''free ports''), no matter to what nationality it may belong, and that duties so leviable shall be collected by the Chinese Government.” Hay's Circular Letter of 1899, Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols and Agreement Between the United States of America and Other Powers, 1776-1909, Vol I, Park I, p. 246-247.

Document L Document M

" The unoccupied arable lands of the earth are limited, and will soon be taken .... Then will the world enter upon a new stage of its history - the final competition of races, for which the Anglo-Saxon is being schooled .... Then this race of unequaled energy, with all the majesty of numbers and the might of wealth behind it - the representative, let us hope, of the largest liberty, the purest Christianity, the highest civilization .... will spread itself over the earth. If I read not amiss the powerful race will move down upon Mexico, down upon Central and South America out upon the islands of the sea over upon Africa and beyond. And can any one doubt that the result of this competition of races will be the "survival of the fittest"? Source: Josiah Strong. Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis. New York: American Home Missionary Society, 1885.

Document N

"Is the United States .... prepared to allow Germany to acquire the Dutch stronghold of Curacao, fronting the Atlantic outlet of both the proposed canals of Panama and Nicaragua? Is she prepared to acquiesce in any foreign power purchasing from Haiti a naval station on the Windward Passage, through which pass our steamer routes to the Isthmus? Would she acquiesce to a foreign protectorate over the Sandwich Islands [Hawaii] that great central station of the Pacific? Whether they will or no, Americans must now look outward. The growing production of the country demands it. An increasing volume of public sentiment demands it…Three things are needful: First, protection of the chief harbors, by fortifications and coast-defense ships .... Secondly, naval force, the arm of offensive power, which alone enables a country to extend its influence outward. Thirdly, no foreign state should henceforth acquire a coaling position within three thousand miles of San Francisco .... " Source: Alfred T. Mahan. The Interest of America in Sea Power. Boston: Little, Brown, 1897.

Document O

"Much as we abhor the war of "criminal aggression" in the Philippines, greatly as we regret that the blood of the Filipinos is on American hands, we more deeply resent the betrayal of American institutions at home.... Whether the ruthless slaughter of the Filipinos shall end next month or next year is but an incident in a contest that must go on until the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are rescued from the hands of their betrayers…. The training of a great people for a century, the aspiration for liberty of a vast immigration are forces that will hurl aside those who in the delirium of conquest seek to destroy the character of our institutions." Source: Platform of the American Anti-Imperialist League, 1899. Document P

"The Philippines are ours forever .... And just beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable market. We will not retreat from either. We will not repudiate our duty in the archipelago. We will not abandon our opportunity in the Orient. We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee, under God, of the civilization of the world. And we will move forward to our work .... with gratitude .... and thanksgiving to Almighty God that He has marked us as His chosen people, henceforth to lead in the regeneration of the world .... Our largest trade henceforth must be with Asia. The Pacific is our ocean . . . . And the Pacific is the ocean of the commerce of the future .... The power that rules the Pacific, therefore, is the power that rules the world. And, with the Philippines, that power is and will forever be the American Republic." Source: Senator Albert J. Beveridge. Speech to 56th Congress, Congressional Record 1900.

Document Q

"We are also of opinion that the power to acquire territory by treaty implies, not only the power to govern such territory, but to prescribe upon what terms the United States will receive its inhabitants .... In all these cases there is an implied denial of the right of the inhabitants to American citizenship until Congress by further action shall signify its assent thereto .... It is obvious that in the annexation of outlying and distant possessions grave questions will arise from differences of race, habits, laws and customs of the people, and from differences of soil, climate and production, which may require action on the part of Congress that would be quite unnecessary in the annexation of contiguous territory, inhabited only by people-of the same race, or by scattered bodies of native Indians." Source: Supreme Court Decision. Downes v. Bidwell, (one of the Insular Cases) 1901.

Document R

"It is not true that the United States feels any land hunger or entertains any projects as regards the other nations of the Western Hemisphere, save such as are for their welfare. All that this country desires is to see the neighboring countries stable, orderly, and prosperous. . . . Chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation, and in the Western Hemisphere the adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an international police power.” Source: Theodore Roosevelt. Annual Message to Congress, December 6, 1904. Document S