How to Hide an Empire

by Daniel Immerwahr

  21 “the public rightly,” etc.: Quoted in Jed Lewison, “Palin Goes Birther,” Daily Kos, December 3, 2009, www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/12/3/810660/-Palin-goes-birther.

  22 58 percent of Republicans: Poll by Research 2000, reported in “Birthers Are Mostly Republican and Southern,” Daily Kos, July 31, 2009, www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/31/760087/-Birthers-are-mostly-Republican-and-Southern.

  23 “Why doesn’t he,” etc.: The View, ABC, March 23, 2011.

  24 “There’s at least,” etc.: “Donald Trump Responds,” NYT, April 8, 2011.

  25 threatened to write a book: The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, CNN, January 6, 2016.

  26 “an enveloping fire”: Choe Sang-hun, “North Korea Says It Might Fire Missiles into Waters Near Guam,” NYT, August 9, 2017.

  27 “Guam is American,” etc.: Eddie Baza Calvo, August 9, 2017, youtu.be/YgdXG-LPUBw.

  28 60 percent of the island’s: Michael Kranz, “Here’s How Puerto Rico Got into So Much Debt,” Business Insider, October 9, 2017.

  29 more likely to die … fewer federal personnel: A. J. Willingham, “A Look at Four Storms from One Brutal Hurricane Season,” CNN, November 21, 2017. A full comparison of Maria and Harvey is Danny Vinik, “How Trump Favored Texas over Puerto Rico,” March 27, 2018, Politico, www.politico.com/story/2018/03/27/donald-trump-fema-hurricane-maria-response-480557.

  30 less media: Anushka Shah, Allan Ko, and Fernando Peinado, “The Mainstream Media Didn’t Care About Puerto Rico Until It Became a Trump Story,” Washington Post, November 27, 2017.

  31 charitable giving: Marco delia Cava, “Why Puerto Rico Donations Lag Behind Fund-raising for Harvey, Irma Victims,” USA Today, October 5, 2017.

  32 “Recognize that we”: “In Battered Puerto Rico, Governor Warns of a ‘Humanitarian Crisis,’” NYT, September 25, 2017.

  33 a slight majority of mainlanders: Morning Consult, National Tracking Poll 170916, September 2017, morningconsult.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/170916_crosstabs_pr_v1_KD.pdf.

  34 thirty overseas bases: David Vine, Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World (New York, 2015), 5.

  35 U.S. bases: Department of Defense, Base Structure Report, Fiscal Year 2015 Baseline, 6; Vine, Base Nation, 4.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book wouldn’t have been remotely possible without the work of previous scholars who have insisted, for decades, that the U.S. Empire is a worthy object of study. My citations convey only a small fraction of my debts to them.

  Nor were those the only debts accrued. I began my research in 2011 on a yearlong fellowship at Columbia University’s Committee on Global Thought. The National Endowment for the Humanities funded another year’s research at the Huntington Library (with support from my employer, Northwestern University). An Andrew Carnegie Fellowship allowed me to finish the thing. The three uncluttered years these fellowships provided were an obscene privilege, the contemplation of which often reduces me to guilty twitching.

  Putting me still further in the red are the debts to colleagues who took the time to read chapters and offer their suggestions, corrections, and/or alarmingly accurate disquisitions on my personal and intellectual inadequacies. They were unstinting and, lacking any realistic prospect of repayment, I offer my bare gratitude here. May glory everlasting shine upon Ken Alder, Hannah Appel, Seth Archer, Beth Bailey, Juliana Barr, Kathleen Belew, Daniel Bessner, Megan Black, Brooke Blower, Catherine Carrigan, Oliver Charbonneau, Will Chou, Patrick Chung, Brian DeLay, Kornel Ehmann, José-Antonio Espín-Sánchez, David Farber, Dexter Fergie, Ted Fertik, Caitlin Fitz, Camilla Fojas, Danna Freedman, Andrew Friedman, Paul Frymer, Margaret Garb, Lally Gartel, Adam Goodman, Antara Haldar, Gretchen Heefner, Laura Hein, Mariah Hepworth, Rebecca Herman, Lauren Beth Hirshberg, Hi‘ilei Hobart, Alex Hobson, Phil Hoffman, A. G. Hopkins, James Hudspeth, Adam Immerwahr, Julia Irwin, Sheyda Jahanbani, Sylvester Johnson, Tim Johnson, Peter Kastor, Jinah Kim, Sam Kling, Naomi Lamoreaux, Henri Lauzière, Sam Lebovic, Bobby Lee, Niko Letsos, Beth Lew-Williams, Erez Manela, Dan Margolies, Diana Martinez, Rebecca McKenna, Alison McManus, Fred Meiton, Stephen Mihm, Sarah Miller-Davenport, Garrett Dash Nelson, Tore Olsson, Louis Pérez, Margaret Power, Andrew Preston, Bill Rankin, Ben Remsen, Paul Rhode, Ariel Ron, Eric Rutkow, Daniel Sargent, Nitasha Sharma, Carl Smith, Susan Smith, George Spisak, Helen Tilley, Jonathan Winkler, and Marilyn Young. My fellow Huntingtonians, busy with books of their own, charitably faked interest as I tried my thoughts on guano and hookworm out on them. (“Perhaps you could branch out to other topics?” was the sage though ultimately fruitless advice.) In that group, Danna Agmon, Tom Cogswell, Alice Fahs, Dena Goodman, Steve Hindle, Peter Lunenfeld, Tawny Paul, and Asif Siddiqi are to be particularly commended for keeping their eye-rolling to a minimum.

  Other readers, hallowed be their names, risked still higher levels of exposure to this book in its radioactive draft state. Alvita Akiboh, Michael Allen, Kevin Boyle, Gerry Cadava, Doug Kiel, Susan Pearson, and Mike Sherry donned lead aprons and tentatively probed large chunks of the manuscript at a workshop at Northwestern. For his aid with the military-related chapters, Colonel Aaron O’Connell deserves a Purple Heart. Deborah Cohen, David Hollinger, Tanner Howard, John Immerwahr, Tom Meaney, Sam Means, and Stephen Wertheim, placing concerns for personal safety and future reproductive health aside, read the entire manuscript. Their advice mattered enormously.

  Special mentions are due to Brooke Blower, for drawing my attention to the empire-concealing aspects of FDR’s Pearl Harbor speech, and to Herman Eberhardt, for helping me understand its context. Chris Capozzola introduced me to the term Greater United States. Katharina Pistor recruited me to Standardization Studies. A. G. Hopkins generously shared the fruits of his own research in imperial history. Another mention is due to Ken Alder. “Nothing is more boring than the histories of engineering and chemistry,” Ken once told me. “And nothing is more interesting.” He was right, and it was under Ken’s influence that I saw just how interesting boring things could be.

  I read Julian Go’s lucid Patterns of Empire at the start of my research, and it’s still ringing in my ears (Julian bravely read a large portion of this book). Bill Rankin’s After the Map also induces tinnitus. I’ve adapted “territorial pointillism,” a featured concept in that book, for my own purposes.

  Talk of After the Map brings me to another sinkhole of uncomfortably deep debt. When I began, I knew nothing about making maps. Katie Chiu, Dave Sivertsen, and Ann Aler remedied that. Kelsey Rydland of Northwestern completed the training, which required hours of patient instruction of the “No no, you have to right click” variety. Having Bill Rankin on hand to critique the results was like getting Putt-Putt pointers from Tiger Woods. David Vine shared his astonishingly comprehensive data set for the world map of military bases, and Bobby Lee talked me through the complex business of nineteenth-century land cessions for my Indian Country map.

  Throughout this project, I’ve had the luck of working with highly capable research assistants: Callie Leone, Ryan Scales, Eddie Stein, and Adam Voortman.

  One always learns from one’s students, but rarely has a professor been as thoroughly schooled as I have by Alvita Akiboh and Michael Falcone. They read drafts, did research, and hashed out nearly every aspect of this book with me, from plot to prose. I’ve been greatly edified, to say the very least, by Akiboh’s dissertation on the material culture of the overseas territories and Falcone’s on the technologies of U.S. hegemony.

  Edward Orloff of McCormick Literary has been far more than an agent. He’s been an indispensable collaborator, to be praised for both his perspicacity and his patience. (“Edward, I think this book should be eight hundred pages and solely about infrastructure in the Second World War.” “Mmm, I see. And why do you think that?”) It was Edward who proposed the scope and structure of this book, Edward who set its tone.

  And Edward who dropped me into the deft hands of Alex Star at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. “You’re working with Alex S
tar?” was the spit-take reaction this news often elicited. The reputation is entirely deserved. Alex edited with gentle but authoritative discernment, saving me from my worst habits and encouraging my best. FSG’s intrepid Dominique Lear kept things moving briskly, Maxine Bartow hunted down textual errors like a hungry eagle terrorizing a rabbit warren, and, over at The Bodley Head, Stuart Williams and Jorg Hensgen offered sage advice from afar. To them all, I raise a full glass.

  Finally, life occasionally contains things beyond books. For this, I thank Lucas Alvarez, Erin Barnes, Brianna Benner, Gloria Bruce, Catherine Carrigan, Lally Gartel, Miklos Gosztonyi, Marion Gutwein, James Hudspeth, Adam Immerwahr, John Immerwahr, Stephen Immerwahr, Orion Johnstone, Pam Krayenbuhl, Sam Means, Wendy Seider, Teya Sepinuck, Jonathan Spies, and Charlie Max Ward.

  INDEX

  The page references in this index correspond to the print edition from which this ebook was created, and clicking on them will take you to the the location in the ebook where the equivalent print page would begin. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.

  Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.

  Abbey Road (Beatles), 368

  Abdullah, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, 375

  Abramoff, Jack, 393–94

  Abu Dhabi, 276

  Academy Awards, 261

  Adams, Henry, 67

  Adams, John, 26

  Adams, John Quincy, 39

  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain), 94

  Affleck, Ben, 3

  Afghanistan, 380, 381, 387; British invasion of, 121; Soviet incursion in, 374, 375, 377, 383; U.S. war in, 14, 107, 383–84, 481n

  Africa, 68, 138, 216–20, 284–85, 318, 326; colonization of, 63, 85, 120; languages of, 467n; rebellion against empires in, 230; slaves from, 319

  African Americans, 11, 13, 14, 79, 228, 238, 241; anti-imperialist, 81, 234; chemical weapons tests on, 151; free, in Louisiana Territory, 30, 77; Great Migration of, 251; as guano workers, 54–56, 55; music of, 358; in Philippine War, 96; Wilson’s racism toward, 116–17; in World War II, 172, 183

  Afrika Korps, 216

  Afro-Caribbeans, 11

  Afro-Cubans, 113–14

  Agattu (Aleutian Islands), 178

  Agent Orange, 377

  Agriculture, United States Department of (USDA), 346

  Aguinaldo, Emilio, 65, 110, 133, 161, 167, 304; in Philippine War, 90–93, 95–98, 102, 108; in war with Spain, 71–72, 88–89; during World War II, 191, 196, 199

  Aguinaldo, Hilaria de, 304

  Air Force, U.S., 296, 353, 355–57, 373, 375, 380, 388; in Gulf War, 376, 376–78; overseas bases for, 285, 295–96, 355, 372, 373, 375, 379, 380, 387; see also Army, Air Forces of

  Alabama, 37

  Alaska, 4, 12, 84, 156, 157, 172, 220, 395; on Greater United States map, 9, 9, 75; Gruening as governor of, 168–69; mainland indifference toward, 154–55; nuclear weapons in, 352; population of, 11; purchase of, 78–80; statehood of, 8, 17, 227, 229, 238–40, 245, 262, 396; during World War II, 165, 169–74, 178–85, 187, 197

  Alaska Federation of Natives, 395–96

  Alaskan Independence Party, 395

  Albania, 154

  Albizu Campos, Pedro, 137, 145, 149, 161, 244–45, 247, 255, 346, 425n, 426n, 456n; anti-imperialism of, 121; arrests and imprisonment of, 148, 258–59, 456n; attempts to attend Paris Peace Conference, 119–20, 145; childhood of, 108–109; at Harvard, 109–10, 143, 145, 156, 424n; hometown of, 108, 147, 242, 252; honored by Puerto Ricans in United States, 260–61; Puerto Rican independence advocated by, 115–16, 118, 146, 162; in U.S. Army, 110, 111, 119, 426n; Vieques Navy Base denounced by, 344

  Aldermaston (England) nuclear weapons facility, 356, 358–59

  Aldrin, Buzz, 277

  Aleutian Islands, 168, 171, 174, 179–85, 187, 201–203; nuclear weapons in, 352

  Alfabet for the World of Tomorrow, 323

  Algeria, 19, 220, 329, 396

  al-Qaeda, 6, 374–75, 381–83, 479n

  “America” (Smith), 415

  American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), 152–53

  American Birth Control League, 156

  American Civil Liberties Union, 145, 148–49, 253

  American Federation of Labor (AFL), 81

  American Guano Company, 51

  American Museum of Natural History (New York), 59–60

  American Samoa, 86, 113, 154–56, 165, 238, 434n; annexation of, 7, 17, 80, 229; on Greater United States map, 9, 9, 75; population of, 11, 262, 399

  American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 309

  “America the Beautiful,” 76, 416n

  Amritsar Massacre, 121

  Amsterdam News, 228

  Anchorage (Alaska), 168, 227

  Anglic, 323, 337

  Anglophones, see English language

  Anglo-Saxon Superiority (Demolins), 68

  Annapolis, 299

  annexation, 17–18, 46–47, 80–82, 112, 163, 218, 341, 413n; of Alaska, 78–80, 168; of American Samoa, 7, 17, 80, 229; anti-imperialist opposition to, 82, 85; fantasies of, 157, 262–63, 276–77; Greater United States maps showing, 9, 75; of guano islands, 47, 51–56, 52, 78, 85; of Hawai‘i, 80, 229, 245; of Kuwait by Iraq, 375; of Louisiana, 30, 32; of Mexican lands, 41, 77–78, 426n; post–World War II absence of, 228–29, 295, 315; of U.S. Virgin Islands, 114, 120; related to war with Spain, 7, 9, 17, 64, 67, 80, 84, 143, 155, 196, 304, 340

  Antarctica, 46

  anthems, 72, 76, 133, 347, 416n

  anti-imperialism, 17, 19, 67, 72, 79, 81, 103, 162; in Congress, 98, 112–13; and opposition to annexation, 82, 85; of Twain, 94–95; of Wilson, 115, 117, 425n

  Anti-Imperialist League, 95, 155, 156

  Apaches, 42, 81

  Apollo program, 263

  Appalachians, 25–28, 36

  Arabic, 118, 323, 330

  Arab oil embargo, 276

  Aramco, 372–73

  Arapahos, 42

  Arellano, Arcadio, 133

  Arellano, Juan, 133–36, 135, 161, 199, 210, 211, 429nn

  Arellano, Miguel, 133

  Argentina, 220

  Arizona, 68, 77, 81, 394

  Arizona, USS (battleship), 3

  Arkansas, 7, 39

  Armstrong, Neil, 277

  Army, U.S., 15, 82, 87, 107, 155, 163, 165–67, 195, 237, 376; air forces of, 168–70, 188, 199–202, 206, 232, 254, 264, 283–84, 287 (see also specific models of planes); Chemical Warfare Service, 150–52; Communications Service, 290; in Gulf War, 378; joint exercise of U.S. Navy and, 278; in Korean War, 273; in Louisiana Territory, 31; in Philippine War, 88–91, 93, 96–107, 110; plastics used for uniforms and equipment by, 272; postwar occupations run by, 224, 232, 234–35, 359, 363; protests by soldiers of, 232–34, 233, 236; segregation of, 119; Signal Corps, 290; in war with Spain, 67–72, 83, 85, 105, 279; in World War I, 107, 118, 119, 166, 232, 293, 305; in World War II, 4, 150, 163, 165–70, 173–77, 183, 185–86, 189, 201, 204, 211–12, 215–16, 222, 224, 229, 272–73, 284, 292–93, 305, 307–309, 321, 426n, 441n

  Army-Navy Club (Manila), 128

  Arnaz, Desi, 195

  Arnold, Gen. Henry H. (“Hap”), 201

  Art Deco, 428n

  Articles of War, 234

  Arvad, Inga, 337, 471n

  Asahina, Robert, 441n

  Ascension Island, 284

  ASCII encoding, 330

  Ashford, Bailey K., 137–43

  Ashford, María, 137, 138

  Asia, 168, 169, 171, 179, 220, 361; colonization of, 63, 158, 189, 196, 216, 229; rebellion against empires in, 230–31, 233–34, 236, 238; see also specific colonies, regions, and nations

  Asian Americans, 241, 370

  Asians, 13

  assassinations, 101, 161, 259; attempted, 16, 255

  Assassins (musical), 261

  Ateneo de Manila University, 15

  Atlanta Constitution, The, 228

  atlases, 12, 13, 74, 112

&n
bsp; atomic bombs, see nuclear weapons

  Atomic Energy Commission, 348–49

  atrocities, 96, 100, 206; see also massacres; torture

  Attu (Aleutian Islands), 178, 202–204

  Auschwitz, 268, 270

  Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (movie), 336

  Australia, 103, 161, 199, 200, 216, 308–309

  Austria, 90, 233, 312; post–World War II occupation of, 17, 224, 449n

  automobile industry, 265, 361, 369–70; see also specific corporations

  B-1 bombers, 398

  B-17 bombers, 169, 187–90, 199

  B-29 Superfortresses, 284

  B-47 bombers, 356

  B-52 bombers, 353, 354, 377

  B-52G Stratofortresses, 377

  Back to Bataan (movie), 443n

  Baghdad, 377–79, 386

  Baguio (Philippines), 124, 128–31, 131, 132–34, 159, 164, 189–90, 195, 428n

  Bahamas, 217, 220, 337

  Baidu website, 331

  Bakelite, 271

  Baker Island, 341

  Balanga (Philippines), 129

  Balangiga Massacre, 98–99, 99

  Baldoni, Luis, 145, 146, 148

  Baltimore, 54, 299, 300

  Bangladesh, 246, 334, 391

  Bank of Japan, 361

  Barber, Stuart, 345

  Barksdale Air Force Base, 377

  Barthes, Roland, 273

  Basic English, 322–24, 326, 327, 355

  Basilan, 103

  Bataan (movie), 194, 195

  Bataan, Battle of, 189–91, 193, 194, 201

  Batavia (Dutch East Indies), 189, 195

  Bates, Katharine Lee, 416n

  “Battle Cry of Freedom, The,” 76

  “Battle Hymn of the Republic, The,” 76

  battleships, see names of specific ships

  Bauno, Kilon, 349

  Bayan, 105

  Bay of Pigs invasion, 347–48

  BBC, 358

  Beatles, the, 357–59, 368, 369, 380, 389, 400

  Beaux Arts architecture, 133

  Beightler, Gen. Robert S., 206–207

  Belgium, 296, 301–302