America’s Changing Role in the World: American Imperialism and World War I

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering terms, individuals, policies, and geographic regions associated with American imperialism and World War I.

Foreign policy

A country’s plans and actions for dealing with other countries. At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States increasingly used diplomacy, trade, and military power abroad.

Domestic policy

A government’s plans and actions about issues within its own country, such as education, taxes, and public services.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country’s power over other lands or peoples, through settlement, economic control, or political or military rule.

Anti-imperialism

Opposition to a country taking control of other lands and peoples. Critics argued that empire contradicted American ideals of self-government.

Isolationism

A preference for avoiding deep involvement in other countries’ conflicts and affairs. The United States moved away from this approach as its overseas influence grew.

Diplomacy

Negotiation and communication between countries to manage relations or resolve disputes.

Liberty

Freedom from unfair control and the right to make choices. Debates about liberty raised the question of whether people in U.S.-controlled territories should govern themselves.

Autonomy

The ability of a group or territory to govern itself in some matters, even if it is not fully independent.

Colony

A territory controlled by another country, which often makes major political and economic decisions for it.

Protectorate

A territory whose government is formally distinct but whose foreign affairs or defense are controlled by a stronger country.

Sphere of Influence

An area where a powerful country has special political or economic influence, even without formally ruling it.

First Amendment

The amendment protecting freedoms of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition. It became central to debates over dissent and government power.

Expansion

The growth of a country’s territory, population, or influence. U.S. expansion overseas increased around the turn of the twentieth century.

Alliance

An agreement between countries to cooperate, often for defense or shared goals. Alliances shaped international relations before World War I.

Monroe Doctrine

An 1823 U.S. policy warning European powers against creating new colonies or interfering in the Americas. The United States later used it to justify a stronger role in the region.

Roosevelt Corollary

Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 addition to the Monroe Doctrine, claiming the United States could intervene in Latin American countries to prevent European involvement.

Annex/Annexation

To add territory to a country. The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898.

Latin America

The parts of the Americas where Spanish, Portuguese, or French languages and cultures are widespread, including Mexico, Central America, much of the Caribbean, and South America. U.S. policy in this region was shaped by the Monroe Doctrine and later interventions.

“The White Man’s Burden”

A phrase from an 1899 poem by Rudyard Kipling that described imperial rule as a supposed duty of white people. It reflects racist ideas used to justify empire, not an objective truth.

Economic effects

Changes to jobs, trade, resources, and wealth. U.S. expansion could create new markets and access to resources, while also allowing outside powers to shape local economies.

Social effects

Changes in people’s daily lives, communities, culture, and relationships. Imperial rule could bring new institutions and migration, while disrupting local traditions and communities.

Political effects

Changes in who holds power and how decisions are made. U.S. control could limit local self-government and provoke resistance.

Nationalism

Strong identification with and loyalty to one’s nation or people. Nationalism inspired independence movements and also intensified international rivalries.

Ideology

A set of ideas and beliefs about how society or government should work. Competing ideologies influenced arguments for and against imperialism.

The Spanish-American War

An 1898 war between the United States and Spain, fought mainly in Cuba and the Philippines. Spain was defeated, and the United States gained control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines while Cuba became formally independent under significant U.S. influence.

The USS Maine

A U.S. Navy battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor, Cuba, in 1898, killing 266 crew members. The cause was uncertain, but sensational news coverage helped increase public support for war with Spain.

Independence

Freedom from the political control of another country. Cuba became independent from Spain after the Spanish-American War, though U.S. influence remained strong.

Sovereignty

A country’s or people’s right to govern themselves and control their own affairs. Debates about U.S. rule over overseas territories raised questions about sovereignty.

The Philippine-American War

A war between the United States and Filipino forces from 1899 to 1902, after the United States took the Philippines from Spain. Filipino fighters sought independence; the United States established control.

Paternalism

The belief that a more powerful person or group should make decisions for another group “for its own good.” U.S. leaders sometimes used this idea to defend control over other peoples.

President William McKinley

U.S. president from 1897 to 1901. He led the country during the Spanish-American War and the acquisition of overseas territories.

President Theodore Roosevelt

U.S. president from 1901 to 1909. He promoted a more forceful role abroad and expanded U.S. influence, especially in Latin America.

“Big Stick” diplomacy

Theodore Roosevelt’s approach of favoring negotiation while maintaining the threat of military force. The phrase comes from his advice to “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Taft’s “Dollar Diplomacy”

President William Howard Taft’s policy of encouraging U.S. investment and business abroad to increase American influence. It sometimes involved U.S. pressure or intervention to protect those interests.

The Platt Amendment

An 1901 amendment that limited Cuba’s ability to make some foreign agreements and gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuban affairs. It also allowed the U.S. to establish a naval base at Guantánamo Bay.

The Panama Canal

A canal across Panama connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Opened in 1914, it shortened sea routes and strengthened U.S. trade and naval power; the United States supported Panama’s separation from Colombia and controlled the Canal Zone for decades.

Civil liberties

Basic freedoms protected from unfair government interference, such as freedom of speech and the press. During wartime, government restrictions raised questions about how far these freedoms extended.

Treaty

A formal agreement between countries, often ending a war or setting rules for relations.

Armistice

An agreement to stop fighting, usually while peace terms are negotiated. The armistice ending World War I’s fighting took effect on November 11, 1918.

Militarism

Building up armed forces and treating military power as an important way to achieve national goals. Militarism contributed to tensions before World War I.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. His death set off a chain of events that led to World War I.

The Lusitania

A British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine in 1915. Nearly 1,200 people died, including 128 Americans, intensifying U.S. anger toward Germany.

The Zimmermann Telegram

A secret 1917 message from Germany proposing that Mexico join a war against the United States in return for help regaining territory. Its publication increased U.S. support for entering the war.

Propaganda

Information designed to influence people’s opinions or actions. During World War I, governments used posters, speeches, and news to build support for the war.

President Woodrow Wilson

U.S. president from 1913 to 1921. He led the country into World War I in 1917 and proposed the Fourteen Points as a plan for peace.

Patriotism

Love and support for one’s country. During wartime, patriotism encouraged service and support for the war effort, but it could also be used to pressure people to conform.

Selective Service Act (1917)

The law that required men in the United States to register for the military draft. It helped the U.S. Army grow quickly after the country entered World War I.

Espionage Act (1917)

A federal law that made certain actions intended to interfere with the U.S. war effort, such as obstructing military recruitment, crimes. It was used to prosecute some critics of the war.

Sedition Act (1918)

A wartime law that punished certain speech and writing considered disloyal or abusive toward the U.S. government or military. It restricted expression and was repealed in 1920.

Schenck v. United States

A 1919 Supreme Court case that upheld the conviction of Charles Schenck for distributing leaflets opposing the military draft. The Court ruled that speech could be restricted when it created a “clear and present danger.”

First Amendment rights

The First Amendment’s protections for speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.

Pacifist

A person who opposes war or believes conflicts should be resolved without violence. Many pacifists opposed U.S. entry into World War I.

Anarchist

A person who opposes centralized government and favors a society organized without it. During the Red Scare, some Americans treated anarchists and other radicals as threats because of their beliefs.

Socialist

A person who supports social or public ownership or control of important parts of the economy to reduce inequality. Socialist ideas influenced labor and political movements, and were heavily criticized during the Red Scare.

Rations

Limited amounts of food or other goods distributed during shortages. Governments used rationing in wartime to conserve supplies for soldiers and civilians.

Red Scare

A period of intense fear of communism and radical political movements in the United States, especially after World War I. It contributed to suspicion of immigrants, labor activists, and political dissenters.

WWI impacts on American women

Women took on more jobs in factories, offices, farms, and volunteer organizations while many men served overseas. These contributions strengthened arguments for women’s political rights; the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote nationally in 1920.

WWI impacts on African Americans

Many African Americans served in the military, including in segregated units, and others moved to northern cities for wartime jobs during the Great Migration. The war created opportunities but did not end discrimination or racial violence.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson’s 1918 proposals for peace, including open diplomacy, reduced arms, national self-determination, and a League of Nations. The final peace settlement did not adopt all of his ideas.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 peace treaty that formally ended the war between Germany and the Allied powers. It imposed penalties and territorial losses on Germany and created the League of Nations; the United States did not ratify it.

The League of Nations

An international organization proposed to help countries settle disputes and prevent future wars. The United States never joined because the Senate did not approve the Treaty of Versailles.

Cuba

An island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Florida and east of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Cuba was the main site of U.S. intervention in the Spanish-American War and later became formally independent with U.S. influence over its affairs.

Puerto Rico

An island in the northeastern Caribbean, east of Hispaniola and southeast of Cuba. The United States gained control of Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898, and it remains a U.S. territory.

Mexico

A country south of the United States, between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. It borders the U.S. Southwest and was an important neighbor in U.S. diplomacy and debates over intervention.

Hawaii

A chain of islands in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the mainland United States and northeast of the Marshall Islands. The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898; it later became a key Pacific naval and strategic location.

Guam

An island in the western Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Japan. The United States took control of Guam from Spain in 1898, making it a strategic Pacific possession.

The Philippines

An island country in Southeast Asia, in the western Pacific, east of Vietnam and north of Indonesia. The United States took control from Spain in 1898, then fought Filipino independence forces in the Philippine-American War. The Philippines gained official independence from the United States on July 4, 1946.

Panama

A country in Central America, between Costa Rica and Colombia, with coastlines on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal, opened in 1914, connected the Atlantic and Pacific and was important to U.S. trade and naval power.