Key Terms: War and foreign Policy Across APUSH Periods

Spanish Conquest

Spanish military campaigns, led by figures like Cortes and Pizarro that subjugated Native American empires, establishing colonial dominance

Encomienda System Conflicts

tensions and violence between Spanish colonizers and Native Americans over forced labor, shaping early colonial foreign relationships

Pequot War (1639-1683)

Conflict between New England colonists and the Pequot tribe, resulting in colonial victory and expansion

King Philip's War (1675-1676)

A war between Native American tribes and NEw England colonists, one of the bloodiest conflicts per capitia in US history

Mercantilism

British economic policy that prioritized colonial resource extraction shaping Anglo-American trade and foreign policy

French and Indian War (1754-1763)

Part of the global 7 hears war, it pitted British and colonial forces against the french and their Native allies, reshaping North American geopolitics

Albany Plan of Union (1754)

Benjamin Franklin's proposal for colonial unity to counter French threats, through rejected, it influenced later cooperation

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Ended the French and Indian War, granting Britain control of Canada and leads east of the Mississippi

Proclamation of 1763

British policy prohibiting colonial settlement west of the Appalachians, straining relations with colonists

American Revolutionary War

(1775-1783)

Conflict that secured US independence from Britain, the key battles like Lexington, Yorktown, and Saratoga.

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Ended the Revolutionary War, recognizing US independence and granting territory to the Mississippi River

Jays Treaty (1794)

Resolved post-war tensions with Britain, securing trade nad averting conflict, though controversial among Americans

Pickneys Treaty (1795)

Established US boundaries and trade rights with Spain, securing access to the Mississippi River and New Orleans

XYZ Affair (1797-1798)

Diplomatic incident with France that led to the Quasi-War highlighting tensions in US foreign policy

Quasi-War (1798-1800)

Undeclared naval conflict with France, driven by French seizures of US ships

Barbary Wars

(1801-1805, 1815)

Conflicts with North AFrican states over piracy, asserting US naval power in the Mediterranean

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

DOubled US territory through a diplomatic deal with France, shaping westward expansio

Embargo Act (1807)

Jeffersons attempt to avoid war by banning trade with Britain and France, reflecting neutral foreign policy

War of 1812 (1812-1815)

Conflict with Britain over trade, impressment, nad Native AMerican alliances, ending in a stalemate

Traty of Ghent (1814)

Ended the War of 1812, restoring pre-war boundaries and fostering US-British reconciliation

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Declared the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European colonization, asserting US dominance in the Americas

Texas Annexation (1845)

US acquisition of Texas, escalating tensions with Mexico and leading to war

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

Conflcit over disputed territories, resulting in US victory and significant territorial gains

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Ended the Mexican-American War, ceding vast territories to the US

Manifest DEstiny

Ideology promoting US expansion across North America, driving foreign policy and conflicts like the Mexican-American War

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Failed proposal to ban slavery in terrotiries gained from Mexico, highlighting sectional tensions in foreign policy

Ostend Manifest (1854)

A failed US attempt to acquire CUba from Spain, reflecting expansionist ambitions

Civil War (1861-1865)

Internal conflict between the Union and Confederacy, with foreign policy implications as both sides sought European support

Trent Affair (1861)

Diplomatic crisis when the Union seized Confederate diplomats from a British ship, nearly escalating to war with Britain

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Shifted the Civil War's purpose to abolition, influencing European nations' reluctance to support the Confederacy

Spanish-American War

(1898)

Conflict spared by Cuban independence struggles and the sinking of the USS Maine, resulting in US victory

Treaty of Paris (1898)

ENded the Spanish-American War, granting the US control over Puerto Rico, Guam, and teh Phillippines

Open Door Policy (1899)

US policy advocating equal trade access in China, reflecting growing American influence in Asia

Philippine-American War (1899-1902)

US conflict to suppress Filipino independence, marking America's emergence as an imperial power

Big Stick Diplomacy

Theodore Roosevelt's policy of using military power to assert US influence, particularly in Latin America

Panama Canal (1914)

US built canal that enhanced global trade and naval power, secured through interventions in Panamas independence

Dollar Diplomacy

Taft's policy of using economic influence to expand US power in Latin America and Asia

World War I (1914-1918)

Global conflict in which the US entered in 1917, driven by German submarine warfare and the Zimmermann Telegram

Zimmermann Telegram (1917)

German proposal for a Mexican alliance against the US, prompting US entry into WWI

Fourteen Points (1918)

Wilson's plan for post-WWI peace, emphasizing self-determination and a League of Nations

Treaty of Versailles (1919)

Ended WWI but was rejected by the US Senate, leading to isolationism

Dawes Plan (1924)

Us backed plan to restructure German reparations, stabilizing European economies after WWI

Neutrality Acts (1935-1939)

Laws aimed at keeping the US out of EUropean conflicts, reflecting isolationist sentiment

Lend-Lease Act (1941)

Allowed the US to supply Allied nations during WWII, marking a shift from neutrality

Pearly Harbor (1941)

Japanese attack that prompted US entry into WWII, galvanizing public support for the war

World War II (1939-1945)

Global conflict in which the US played a decisive role, fighting in Europe and the Pacific

Manhattan Project

US program to develop the atomic bomb

United Nations (1945)

International organization founded with US leadership to promote peace and cooperation

Cold War (1947-1991)

Ideological conflict between the US and the Soviet Untion, shaping US foreign policy

Truman Doctrine (1947)

Pledged US support to nations threatened by communism, marking the start of containment policy

Marshall Plan (1948)

Provided economic aid to rebuild Europe

Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

US led effort to supply West Berlin during a Soviet blockade

NATO (1949)

Military alliance formed to counter Soviet aggression

Korean War (1950-1953)

US led UN intervention to repel North Korean invaasion of South Korea

Domino Theory

US belief that the fall of one nation to communism would lead to others

Vietnam War (1955-1975)

US intervention to prevent communist takeover of SOuth Vietnam

GUlf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

Authroized US military escalation in Vietnam, expanding presidential war pwoers

Tet Offensive (1968)

North Vietnamese attack that shifted US public opinion against the Vietnam War

Detenete

Nixon's policy of easing Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union and China through diplomacy

SALT I (1972)

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks with the Soviet Union, reducing nuclear arms escalation

Reagan Doctrine

Supported anti-communist movements worldwide, including Afghanistan and Nicaragua, to counter Soviet influence

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, 1983)

Reagan's proposed missile defense system "star wars"

End of the Cold War (1991)

Collapse of the Soviet Union, leaving the Us as the sole superpower

Persian Gulf War (1991)

US led coalition to expel Iraqi forced from Kuwai

NAFTA (1994)

Trade agreement with Canada and Mexico

9/11 Attacks (2001)

Terrorist attacks that reshaped US foreign policy leading to the War on Terror

Patriot Act (2001)

Expanded government surveillance to combat terrorism

Afghanistan War (2001-2021)

US invasion to dismantel al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban

Iraq War (2003-2011)

US invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein, based on claims of weapons of mass destruction