[LONG] U.S. History 1 Honors - Alaska and Hawaii, the Spanish-American War, Acquiring New Lands, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Panama Canal

Imperialism

The policy in which stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weak countries.

What are the 4 main reasons to why the United States wants to become an Imperialist Power?

They wanted to Manifest Destiny, desired for military strength, thirsted for new markets, and had a strong belief in cultural superiority.

Why did the United States desire for military strength?

After observing that other countries were achieving military strength and doing well for themselves, the United States decided to try the same.

Alfred T. Manhan

An admiral of the Navy that built large, modern fleets of battleships. These battleships were known as the Great White Fleet since all the ships were painted white.

Great White Fleet

Large, modern fleets of battleships that were white and built by Alfred T. Manhan.

Why did the United States thirst for new markets?

American farms and factories produced much more than Americans could consume, so they needed new markets to sell their goods to. Additionally, if the U.S. needed any raw materials, they could now just take them.

How did cultural superiority play into this?

The United States thought that it had a responsibility to spread the idea of Christianity around the world to new areas. Natives of countries were taken over by the United States and were exploited and treated similarly to immigrants in the United States, even though Americans were on their soil.

William Seward

They were the Secretary of State under Lincoln and Andrew John. He paid $7.2 million to Russia for purchasing Alaska, which was 2 cents an acre. People made fun of him for this purchase, calling the barren wasteland "Seward's Folly," or "Seward's Icebox." However, Alaska was rich in timber, oil, and fishing and quickly became profitable.

Alaska

Land previously owned by Russia but was brought for 7.2 million dollars by William Seward for 2 cents an acre.

Hawaii

The U.S. had already been controlling interests in this land since the 1790s and was a major stop along the journey to Asia. On the island, American sugar plantations accounted for ¾ of all wealth produced on the island.

Hawaiian Sugar Tariff Fee

Raised sugar fees in Hawaii and called for the U.S. to annex Hawaii.

Pearl Harbor

A military base and also an entry to Hawaii.

What did Queen Liluokalani propose?

To take the voting rights away from rich landowners.

Sanford Dole

A plantation owner took charge of a bloodless revolution against Queen Liluokalani, in which the marines assisted. This revolution was a success.

True/False: Hawaiians never had a say to if they wanted to be a part of the United States.

True

Spain had been a major imperial power until when?

The late 1800s.

Why was the U.S. interested in Cuba?

For multiple purpose like gambling tourism, and American sugar plantations being the largest one.

Jose Marti

A Cuban poet and journalist who led a revolution for Cuban independence in 1895. He used guerilla warfare to get the better of the Spanish and would attack American-owned sugar plantations to provoke Americans into conflict with the Spanish. This made Americans split on fighting for Cuba.

Why did the Spanish-American War happen?

Because of Yellow Journalism, the De Lome letter, and the destruction of the U.S.S. Marine.

Yellow Journalism

The sensational style of writing which exaggerates the news to lure and enrage readers.

What 2 rival newspaper companies are primarily responsible for yellow journalism and who are they by?

The New York World-Run by William Randolph Hearst
The New York Journal-Run by Joseph Pulitzer

What was the focus of The New York World-Run newspaper and The New York Journal-Run newspaper?

The brutal rule of the Spanish over the Cuban people.

How did Yellow Journalism portray General Valeriano Weyler as?

They nicknamed him as "the Butcher," with them exaggerating Weyler's actions to include actions like poisoning wells or throwing babies off cliffs into shark infested water. While his actions were brutal, he simply did not do those things.

What did William Randolph famously say?

"If you furnish the pictures, I will furnish the war."

Who tried diplomatic means to end potential conflict with Spain in Cuba?

William McKinley

The De Lome Letter

A letter written from the Spanish Minister De Lome, which blasted McKinley for being "weak." Spanish apologized, but Americans were still angry over the contents of the private letter.

U.S.S. Maine

A ship sent to Cuba to pick up Americans stuck in the conflict a few days after the De Lome Letter was published. Several days later, the ship unexpectedly exploded, killing over 260 people. The originally unknown, but newspaper companies used the explosion as an opportunity to place blame on the Spanish, including a $50,000 reward for information on anyone involved. The real cause was that the boiler room was right next to the weapons room. Bad design led to the explosion.

Where did the first battles of the Spanish-American War take place?

In the Pacific with the taking of the Philippines.

War in Cuba During the Spanish-American War

125,000 Americans volunteered to fight in the war. This was the first major conflict following the Civil War, so Northerners and Southerners were fighting for the same thing for the first time in decades. U.S. troops lacked adequate supplies and modern weapons or training.

How many men, including the Rough Riders, landed in Cuba?

17,000

Who was the Calvary Regiment led by?

Theodore Roosevelt

The Battle of San Juan Hill

The Calvary Regiment's most famous battle that involved a dramatic uphill charge that captured the imagination of the press and declared Roosevelt the hero of the battle, even though he did little to win.

Rough Riders

The volunteer soldiers of the Calvary Regiment.

How many weeks did the Spanish-American War last?

15

The Treaty of Paris

A peace agreement signed in Paris after the Spanish-American War, in which the U.S. got Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guan, and purchased the Philippines for 20 million dollars.

What did the people of Puerto Rico want?

Independence

Foraker Act

An act that ended military rule and set up a civil government. Under this, the President of the United States could appoint the governor of Puerto Rico and the members of its upper house.

True/False: Puerto Rico is not a U.S. territory.

False

Why did people turn down Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state?

They feared the U.S. would take away their Latino heritage.

What can Puerto Rican citizens do?

Move freely between Puerto Rico and the U.S. without passports and are subjected to the military draft.

What can't Puerto Rican citizens do?

Vote in Presidential Elections.

What relationship did the Cuban government never mention in the constitution?

Cuba and the U.S.

Platt Amendment

An amendment that was forcibly added by the United States to the Cuban Constitution. It states that Cuba could not make treaties that might limit its independence or permit a foreign country to control them, the U.S. could intervene in Cuba, Cuba could not go into debt, and that U.S. could buy land for naval stations.

What were the effects of the Platt Amendment?

The U.S. would not remove troops until the amendment was signed. Additionally, in 1903, it was ratified and became a Cuban policy for 31 years. With all of this, it resulted in Cuba becoming a protectorate.

Protectorate

A country whose affairs are partially controlled by a stronger power.

Who was the Filipino that led the Philippine-American War?

They were outraged.

Who was the Filipino that lead the Philippine-American War?

Emilio Aguinaldo

How many Filipinos did Americans place in concentration camps, where they died if disease and starvation?

200,000

How many African Americans soldiers did the U.S. send to put down the Filipino's rebellion?

70,000

What did soldiers that were sympathetic to the Filipino's cause do?

They joined the rebellion.

What were the results of the Philippine-American War?

20,000 rebels died
4,000 Americans died
$400 million in damages

Why did America want to get involved in China?

China was an untapped market for U.S. investors to look to, Americans wanted to build railroads in China, and other countries like Britain, Germany, Japan, and Russia already settled along the coast of China.

What did the Secretary of State, John Hay, fear that the U.S. would get shut out of, and what was created as a result of this fear?

They feared that they might get shut out of colonial claims in China, resulting in the creation of the Open Door Notes.

The Open Door Notes

Letters addressed to the leaders of imperialist nations proposing that the nations share their rights with the United States, in which other powers accepted this.

The Boxer Rebellion

A rebellion in China that aimed at ending foreign influence in the country.

Who controlled many of China's port cities?

Outside powers.

Boxers

Boxers, called this often by Westerners because they knew martial arts, killed hundreds of missionaries and merchants from the West to try to rid the country of foreign rule.

Reaction to the Boxers

The reaction to the Boxers was to stop them. German, French, British, Japanese, and U.S. coalition forces to go to the Chinese capital. In 2 months, the rebellion had ended and thousands of the Chinese were killed.

Open Door Policy

A policy issued by John Hay out of fear that the fight to stop the boxers would prompt more outside influence, stating that "[the] U.S. would safeguard all equal and impartial trade with China." This policy said three things about the United States:
1. The U.S. economy depended on exports.
2. The U.S. had the right to intervene abroad to keep foreign markets open.
3. The U.S. feared that closing an area to American products, citizens, or ideas threatened America's survival.

In what year did the U.S. secure exclusive rights to build a canal across Central America?

1901

What were the two possible locations for the canal across Central America to be built?

1. Nicaragua, where a large lake would reduce the amount of work needed.
2. Panama, a part of Columbia at the time, which was a shorter trip, but there were more mountains and valleys in the way.

A French company started to dig the canal in Panama in the late 1800s but stopped after 10 years of digging. How much did they convince the U.S. to purchase the canal for?

40 million

What country did the U.S. have to negotiate with for the rights to build the Panama Canal?

Colombia

What happened when negotiations broke down between Colombia and the United States?

A Panamanian revolution took place with about 12 American warships along the coast.

How many days after did Panama declare their independence after the Panamanian revolution, which gave the U.S. rights to the Panama Canal?

15

In what year did construction for the Panama Canal begin?

1904

More than how many workers were draining swamps, removing brush, and drilling rocks to build the Panama Canal?

43,000

More than how many workers died while working on the canal from disease, including yellow fever and malaria, or from accident?

5,600

When was the Panama Canal completed?

August 15, 1914

The Roosevelt Corollary

An addition to the Monroe Doctrine, which asserted America's right to intervene in Latin American affairs.

Who was the Mexican Rebel that raided the town of Columbus, New Mexico, killing 17 people during the Mexican Revolution?

Francisco "Pancho" Villa

Who sent 15,000 soldiers into Mexica to look for Villa?

Woodrow Wilson

What did U.S. forces do when tensions on American and Mexican sides rose?

They pulled out.