STAAR TERMS: Spanish American War / Imperialism

Spanish American War

An international conflict between the U.S. and Spain during 1898. The outcome of this war consisted of the U.S. acquiring Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba.

Henry Cabot Lodge

A strong backer of U.S. intervention in Cuba in 1898, arguing that it was the moral responsibility of the U.S. to do so. He was a firm believer in imperialism fearing that if the U.S. was not imperialistic, the U.S. would not become a world power.

Teddy Roosevelt

The Assistant Secretary of the Navy who gave up his job in order to organize the Rough Riders (volunteers) to fight in the Spanish American War.

Alfred T. Mahan

An advocate or proponent for sea power and Western imperialism. He argued that a nation’s greatness and prosperity comes from sea power. His belief pushed the U.S. to build a bigger better navy at the end of the 19th century (1800s).

Sanford B. Dole

A lawyer and journalist in the Hawaiian Islands who advocated the Westernization and eventual U.S. control of Hawaiian culture and pressured the U.S. government to annex Hawaii.

Panama Canal

In 1903, Panama revolted against Columbia in order to get its independence. President Roosevelt sent warships to prevent Columbia from stopping the Panama revolt. To ensure U.S. protection against Columbia, Panama signed a treaty to lease the canal zone to connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean which would be under U.S. control.

Open Door Policy

Policy created by Secretary of State John Hay in order to protect the Chinese market for U.S. exports. He announced in 1899 that Chinese trade would be open to all nations despite China’s reluctance to trade with Westerners.

Dollar Diplomacy

Belief held by Howard Taft on how to promote U.S. interests by giving funds to foreign countries which would then force them to favor the interests of the U.S.

Imperialism

Occurs when a stronger country takes over a weaker country in order to exert (push) economic and political control. This goes hand-in-hand with the idea of expansionism (extending a country’s borders overseas to become more powerful).

Yellow Journalism

A style of reporting events that emphasizes exaggerations of news or sensationalism as a means of outselling competitor’s newspapers. It was these lies in newspapers that helped inflame the war fever after the sinking of the USS Maine which sparked the Spanish American War.

Joseph Pulitzer

The most innovative journalist of his time and pioneered techniques for reaching mass audiences. Much of his popular appeal depended on emphasizing shocking and sensationalistic articles which pushed Americans to want to go to war with Spain in the late 1800s.

William Randolph Hearst

In 1885, he entered his father’s journalism empire and used his father’s fortune to build the greatest media empire of his day. He used yellow journalism which helped push the U.S. into the Spanish American War.

Big Stick Diplomacy

Came from Teddy Roosevelt’s favorite quote, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” During Roosevelt’s administration, the U.S. adopted a greater willingness to threaten and use forces to win foreign policy goals in extreme scenarios. For example, building the Panama Canal.

Moral Diplomacy

When you promote democracy and stay away from imperialism. Wilson, a firm believer, wanted to make all government in the world akin to the U.S.’s government so the people could have control over their government instead of letting empires rule over multiple areas. This type of diplomacy is a large reason why the U.S. is involved with other countries today.

Treaty of Paris

Agreement made in 1898 that resulted in Spain surrendering control of Cuba and ceding Puerto Rico, parts of the West Indies, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. Treaty ended the Spanish-American War.

U.S. Expansionism

The Spanish-American War of 1898 ended Spain’s colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United Stated as a Pacific power. United States victory in the war produced a peace treaty that compelled the Spanish to relinquish the claims on Cuba, and to cede sovereignty over Guam, Puerto Rico, and sold the Philippines to the United States for $20 million dollars.

Missionaries

The spread of Christianity in these areas benefited European Christians because the spreading of religion meant more power because of numbers. These groups believed they were saving the population while many of these indigenous came to hate these groups. The goal of these Christian groups was to spread the idea of Christianity to “the little brown brother.” It was this type of group responsible for U.S. involvement in Hawaii.