American Heritage 100 :: Fall 2006 [/\\] BYU

my student notes and resources from amh 100 at byu. i can make mistakes, so corrections are welcome.

use 'search this blog' above to search through my notes.

as an international student, i don't know much about american heritage either.

Nov 29, 2006

OUTLINE
I.  Manifest Destiny 
A. Pushing Native Americans out of the way
1. The "Trail of Tears"

II. European Imperialism

III. American imperialism
A. Monroe Doctrine, 1823
B. Spanish American War, 1898
C. Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
D. Rejection of imperialism

IV. The American Role in the World: Making the
World Safe for Democracy
A. World War II
1. Contrary strains: Isolationism vs Moral
leadership

V. America in the world today
A. The challenge of Iraq


LECTURE NOTES

American Exceptionalism

:Does america have a unique mission in the world?

Contradictory strains

:Isolationism and Moral Leadership

George Washington on America's role in the world
-why mess up our peace and prosperity in the issues of europe
-strong voice for isolationism
-washington recognized america did not have the strength to fight in a european war
-don't get involved in foreign leadership

Thomas Jefferson on America's role in the world
-"The last hope of human liberty rests on us"
-reference to the american experiment on freedom
-be a light to the world- moral leadership
-jefferson loved france due to timing of french revolution

Manifest Destiny
-Pushing native americans out of the way
-the "trail of tears", 1830s
-americans feel that their future was to spread across width of the continent
-america grew rapidly in the 19th century
-new states didn't come in as colonies, but came in on equal terms with other states

"American Progress" John Gast [picture]
-a woman is america's destiny, westward
-leads way for pioneers, stages coaches, railroads follow her

Native americans during 1830s
-underwent indian removal under Andrew Jackson
-they believed indians could not co-exist

Cherokees
-adopted slavery
-adopted alphabet
-adopted a constitution

Americans still insisted the native americans (indians) were barbarians and uncivilized

Supreme Court ordered Cherokees to stay in Georgia
-Andrew Jackson defied it, and moved the cherokees onto native indian reservations

European Imperialism

-picture [in slides] depicts the britain, russia, france, germany, japan carving up of china
-carved up to (spheres of influence for favorable trade)

In response to european imperialism they do their own... american imperialism
-usa overthrows hawaii's government
-usa builds up a navy

[picture] england takes a bite out of africa

American Imperialism [move from isolationism to imperialism]
-The Monroe Doctrine 1823
--Western hemisphere closed to european colonization
-The Spanish American War 1898
--a ship blew up in cuba, blamed Spain
--beat them
--established america as a world power
-Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
--"Chronic, wrongdoing, or and impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may . . . 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 . . . to the exercise of an international police power."
--he is saying when latin american countries are in chaos, it can threaten the stability of the region, then can threaten us trade interests, the usa has the right to step in a fix things

a cartoon says imperialism is contrary to the principles on which the usa was founded

Rejecting Imperialism
-Woodrow Wilson: entered world war I
--did so because "Making the world safe for democracy"
-Franklin D. Roosevelt: The "Four Freedoms"

The American Role in the World
-making the world safe for democracy

World War II
-Isolationism or moral leadership?
--Charles Lindberg spent time in germany
--he saw germany was very strong
--he felt america was not prepared to fight the germans
--he started speaking out for isolationism

Charles Lindberg-Audio Clip
-destination of country does not call for involvement in european wars
-only enter a war if it is absolutely essential to the welfare of your nation

Attack on Pearl Harbor forced America into the 2nd war
-FDR jumped into the war
-justified involvement in the war using "Moral Leadership"

FDR, State of the union address Jan 6, 1941
"In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression --everywhere in the world.The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world."

FDR's 4 freedoms:
Freedom of Speech
Freedom to Worship
Freedom from want [see slides]
Freedom from Fear

Fighting for an Ideal, not an empire
-FDR says if you are fighting for freedom we will support you

Gordon B. Hinckley on America's role in the world

"Out of all the terrible sacrifices of the First World War and the Second World War, and subsequent wars, this nation has not reached out for territory to hold, but has been magnanimous in assisting those who have been impoverished by the costs of conflict. What other nation on the face of the earth has done what the American people did under the Marshall plan for the rehabilitation of Europe."

"We have reached out and paid a terrible price to help those of other nations. The world is so much the better, I firmly believe, for the presence of the United States of America."

America in the World Today
-The challenge of Iraq

Moral leadership?

MEDIA CLIP: torture
-Bush says we do not torture
-McCain puts a law banning torture for all american agencies
-Bush says he will veto any law saying "no torture" that does exempt the CIA (allowing the CIA to torture)

McCain on torture
"What I do mourn is what we lose when by official policy or official neglect we allow, confuse or encourage our soldiers to forget that best sense of ourselves, that which is our greatest strength--that we are different and better than our enemies, that we fight for an idea, not a tribe, not a land, not a king, not a twisted interpretation of an ancient religion, but for an idea that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights."
-Senator John McCain, Newsweek, Nov 21. 2005

Self-interest or Virtue?
-Should the USA have gone into the war or not
-was their selfish reasons for getting into the war

MEDIA CLIP: bill o'reilly vs michael moore
-moore says bush lied
-o'reilly says imperfect information
-controversy over why did we get into the iraq war

The necessity of a virtuous citizenry
"We have to keep winning the peace in every generation by emphasizing over and over the fundamental need for virtue in the human heart"- Jeffery Holland

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