U3-L19-25-Vocabulary Word study list

Foreign policy

Set of guidelines and practices that a nation follows in its relations with other nations.

Realism

In foreign policy, the belief that international relations should be guided by pragmatic self-interest and practical goals such as national defense and access to resources.

Diplomacy

The art of conducting negotiations with other nations.

Idealism

In foreign policy, the belief that moral values should influence international relations.

Unilateralism

A policy of not seeking military or political alliances with foreign powers.

Monroe Doctrine

Declaration by President James Monroe in 1823 warning European powers against future colonization in the Western Hemisphere or interference in Latin American republics.

Texas Revolution

The 1836 rebellion of Texans against Mexican rule.

Mexican War

War with Mexico from 1846-1847, resulting in Mexico ceding to the U.S. a huge region from Texas to California.

Cede

To give up or grant land to another country, typically by treaty.

Yellow journalism

Exaggerated style of newspaper reporting during the 1890s that was sparked by the rivalry between two New York City newspapers and helped inflame public support for war with Spain.

Rough Riders

Volunteer cavalry regiment recruited by Theodore Roosevelt to fight in Cuba in the Spanish-American War.

USS Maine

Battleship sunk in Havana harbor in 1898, an event that helped rouse public support for war with Spain.

Anti-Imperialist League

An organization formed during the Spanish-American War to oppose the establishment of U.S. colonies.

Big-stick policy

President Theodore Roosevelt’s strong-arm approach to foreign affairs, emphasizing diplomacy backed by force.

Moral Diplomacy

President Woodrow Wilson’s approach to foreign policy, focusing on promoting democratic ideals abroad.

Dollar Diplomacy

President William Howard Taft’s approach to foreign policy, focusing on encouraging and protecting U.S. trade and investment in Latin America and Asia.

Insurrection

A rebellion.

Annexation

Taking control of a territory and adding it to a country.

Central Powers

WWI coalition, headed by Germany and Austria-Hungary and later including the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, that opposed the Allied Powers.

Allied Powers

WWI coalition, headed by France, Britain, and Russia and later including Portugal, Japan, and Italy, that opposed the Central Powers.

Stalemate

Situation in a contest or conflict in which neither side can make a useful move.

U-boat

German submarine that was the first submarine employed in warfare, initially used during WWI.

Lusitania

Unarmed British ocean liner whose sinking by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915, influenced the U.S. decision to enter WWI.

Zimmerman Note

WWI, a coded telegram that German foreign minister Arthur Zimmerman sent to German minister in Mexico proposing that if the U.S. entered the war, Mexico and Germany should become allies; it helped influence the U.S. to declare war on Germany five weeks later.

Selective Service Act

Law passed by Congress in 1917 to create a national draft.

American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

WWI, the first U.S. military force to be deployed to France.

369th Regiment

WWI, African American regiment of the U.S. Army.

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

WWI, the final Allied offensive that brought about the end of the war.

Bond

Certificate issued by a government or a company that promises to pay back borrowed money at a fixed rate of interest on a specific date.

Women’s Peace Party

An organization, established by a group of pacifist women in 1915 in response to WWI beginning in Europe, that called for arms limitations and mediation to take the place of combat in Europe.

Great Migration

Beginning of WWI, the mass movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and Midwest in order to take jobs in industry.

Sedition Act

Law passed by Congress in 1918 to make it illegal to say anything disloyal, profane, or abusive about the government or the war effort.

Espionage Act

Law passed by Congress in 1917 to make it illegal to spy, interfere with government foreign policy, or resist the military draft.

Wobblies

Nickname for members of the Industrial Workers of the World (WWI), an anticapitalist labor organization in 1905.

Fourteen Points

End of WWI, a 14-part plan for peace presented by President Woodrow Wilson to Congress on January 8, 1918.

Big four

at the Paris peace conference, the nickname for the leaders of the four largest victorious nations of WWI, including U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French Prime Monitor Georges Clemenceau, and Italian Prime Monitor Vittorio Orlando

League of nations

an international organization established by the Allied Powers at the close of WWI to promote international peace and security

Treaty of Versailles

a peace treaty signed by the Allied Powers and Germany on June 28, 1919, at the Paris peace conference at the Palace of Versailles in France; it assigned Germany responsibility for the war, required Germany to pay reparations to the Allied countries, reduced Germany’s territory, and included the covenant for the League of Nations

Partisanship

rivalry between political parties based on strong disagreement about political principles

Panama Cana;

the canal built by the U.S. through the Isthmus of Panama to connect the Atlanta and Pacific Oceans