[SHORT] 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.

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.

William Seward

Under Lincoln and John, Secretary of State paid $7.2 million to Russia for Alaska, a barren wasteland dubbed "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox," but it 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

Since the 1790s, the U.S. has held control over the island, where American sugar plantations accounted for ¾ of its wealth.

Hawaiian Sugar Tariff Fee

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

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 led a revolution for Cuban independence in 1895, using guerilla warfare and attacking American sugar plantations, causing splits among Americans.

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

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."

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 picking Americans up from Cuba exploded, killing over 260 people. Newspaper companies blamed the Spanish, offering a $50,000 reward for information. The explosion, however, was caused by a bad design because the boiler room was directly next to the weapons room.

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 for the war, marking the first major conflict after the Civil War, despite lacking supplies, modern weapons, and training.

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.

How many weeks did the Spanish-American War last?

15

Rough Riders

The volunteer soldiers of the Calvary Regiment.

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.

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?

Emilio Aguinaldo

What was the Filipinos reaction after the U.S. purchased their country and annexed them?

They were outraged.

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.

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. 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.

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

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