TP7 Content Quiz 2 VIPES

#1 : Alaska/Seward’s Folly

Definition: 1867; SoS Seward bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million; Russia strapped for cash + feared losing territory to Britain; extended US reach into Pacific + Arctic, later paid off through gold and oil; criticized

#2 : Imperialism/Jingoism

Definition: Imperialism = nation extending power over foreign lands; Jingoism = aggressive, belligerent nationalism; fueled in 1890s by industrial overproduction, closing of frontier, and European competition

#3 : Anglo-Saxonism/American Exceptionalism

Definition: Beliefs in Anglo-Saxon racial superiority + unique US destiny and duty to lead and 'civilize' the world; provided moral and racial justification for 1890s imperialist expansion

#4 : Josiah Strong

Definition: Protestant minister; wrote Our Country (1885); argued Anglo-Saxon Christians destined to spread civilization globally; framed overseas expansion as religious duty to uplift 'inferior' races

#5 : Alfred Thayer Mahan

Definition: Naval officer and historian; wrote The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890); argued greatness requires strong navy, bases, and canal; heavily shaped Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy

#6 : John Fiske

Definition: Philosopher and lecturer; applied Darwinian ideas to history to promote superiority of English-speaking peoples; argued Anglo-Saxon institutions were destined to spread worldwide

#7 : Social Darwinism

Definition: Applied 'survival of the fittest' to human societies and nations; claimed wealthy/powerful nations naturally superior; justified domestic economic inequality and foreign domination of weaker peoples

#8 : Hawaiian Revolution

Definition: 1893; US sugar planters backed by US Marines overthrew Queen Liliuokalani; sparked by McKinley Tariff threat to sugar profits and queen's push for native power; led to 1898 US annexation + Pacific naval base

#9 : John Stevens/Bayonet Constitution

Definition: 1887 'Bayonet Constitution' forced on King Kalakaua, stripping royal power and restricting voting to wealthy foreign elites; Minister Stevens ordered US Marines ashore in 1893 to support planter coup

#10 : Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst

Definition: Rival newspaper publishers (New York World vs. New York Journal); pioneered sensational mass journalism; fierce circulation rivalry exaggerated Spanish atrocities in Cuba, whipping up public war fever in 1898

#11 : Yellow Journalism/Yellow Press

#12 : De Lôme Letter

Definition: 1898; stolen private letter by Spanish minister insulting President McKinley as weak; published by Hearst's Journal; inflamed American public outrage against Spain shortly before Maine explosion

#13 : U.S.S. Maine Explosion

Definition: Feb 1898; US battleship exploded in Havana harbor, killing ~260 sailors; sent to protect US interests; likely internal accident, but yellow press blamed Spain ('Remember the Maine'), spurring war declaration

#14 : Spanish-American War

Definition: 1898; brief war triggered by Cuban rebellion, yellow journalism, and Maine explosion; US defeated Spain in Cuba and Philippines; US gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and Philippines, becoming a world power

#15 : Rough Riders

Definition: First US Volunteer Cavalry organized by Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt; mix of cowboys, athletes, and easterners; famous for San Juan Hill charge, turning TR into a national hero

#16 : Cuba/Teller Amendment

Definition: 1898; passed with declaration of war against Spain; pledged US had no intention of annexing Cuba and would leave island to its people once Spain defeated; framed war as a fight for Cuban freedom

#17 : Treaty of Paris 1898

Definition: Ended Spanish-American War; Spain freed Cuba and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and Philippines to US for $20 million; ignited fierce domestic Senate debate over imperialism + sparked Philippine-American War

#18 : Cuba/Platt Amendment

Definition: 1901 amendment forced into Cuban constitution; limited Cuban sovereignty, gave US right to intervene, and leased naval bases like Guantánamo Bay; established indirect US control

#19 : Emilio Aguinaldo and Philippine-American War

Definition: 1899–1902; Filipino nationalists led by Aguinaldo fought US for independence after Treaty of Paris annexed islands; brutal war cost >4,000 US and hundreds of thousands of Filipino lives; fueled anti-imperialism

#20 : Puerto Rico

Definition: Ceded to US by Spain in 1898; strategic Caribbean possession to guard trade routes and future canal; organized as unincorporated territory with limited rights rather than statehood

#21 : Foraker and Jones Acts

Definition: 1900 Foraker Act set up civil government in Puerto Rico with US-appointed governor and tariffs; 1917 Jones Act granted US citizenship and elected legislature; adjusted rule without full self-government

#22 : Insular Cases

Definition: 1901+; series of Supreme Court rulings stating Constitution did not automatically apply in full to newly acquired territories; created 'unincorporated territory' status, allowing rule without full constitutional rights

#23 : American Anti-Imperialist League Definition: Founded 1898 by prominent figures (Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, Jane Addams); argued annexing colonies violated democratic self-government and Constitution; failed to stop Treaty of Paris ratification

#24 : Spheres of Influence

Definition: Regions in late-1800s China where European powers and Japan claimed exclusive trade and investment privileges; threatened to shut US commerce out of lucrative Chinese markets

#25 : Boxer Rebellion

Definition: 1900; Chinese secret society attacked foreigners and Christians in Beijing to oppose foreign domination and spheres of influence; crushed by multinational force including US; reinforced Open Door principle

#26 : Open Door Policy/John Hay

Definition: 1899; SoS John Hay's notes urging major powers to respect equal trading rights in China and avoid partition; protected US commercial interests without military colonization

#27 : “White Man’s Burden”

Definition: 1899 poem by Rudyard Kipling urging US to rule Philippines; popularized slogan framing imperialist subjugation as a noble, moral civilizing mission rather than economic exploitation

#28 : The Gentleman’s Agreement

Definition: 1907 informal pact; Japan agreed to halt emigration of laborers to US in return for San Francisco ending school segregation of Japanese students; defused tension while keeping racial restrictions

#29 : Big Stick Policy

Definition: Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy ('speak softly and carry a big stick'); used diplomatic negotiation backed by threat of naval power; positioned US as dominant Western Hemisphere power

#30 : Panama Canal

Definition: Completed 1914; shortened Atlantic-Pacific sea transit, boosting naval and commercial power; prompted by Spanish-American War transit delays; TR backed 1903 Panamanian revolt vs. Colombia, damaging regional ties

#31 : Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Definition: 1904; asserted US right to act as 'international police power' in Latin America during chronic wrongdoing or debt crises; expanded Monroe Doctrine into justification for US intervention

#32 : Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy

Definition: William Howard Taft's foreign policy; aimed to replace bullets with dollars by using US business investments and loans to gain influence in Latin America and East Asia; often still required military backing

#33 : Great White Fleet

#34 : Woodrow Wilson’s Moral Imperialism/”Watchful Waiting” Definition: Wilson's policy of spreading democracy abroad by teaching nations 'to elect good men'; 'watchful waiting' applied cautiously to Mexican Revolution, yet interventions in Haiti, DR, and Veracruz showed continued US control

#35 : Jones Law 1916

Definition: Philippine Autonomy Act; created elected Philippine bicameral legislature and committed US to eventual independence (achieved in 1946); signaled shift toward colonial self-government