American Imperialism and the Spanish-American War

A collection of vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about American expansionism, the Spanish-American War, and the resulting foreign policy shifts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Manifest Destiny

An idea coined in the $1840s$ regarding America's expansion outside its borders to spread what was considered a superior way of life.

Seward’s Folly

The purchase of Alaska from Russia in $1867$ for the sum of $7,200,000.00$.

Alfred Mahan

An Annapolis graduate and historian who authored "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History" and argued that control of the seas was the key to world control.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History

A book written by Alfred Mahan that influenced world leaders to build strong, steel-navies to protect markets.

"White man’s burden"

A paternalistic idea expressed in a poem by Rudyard Kipling suggesting that white civilizations had a responsibility to govern and uplift "half devil and half child" peoples.

General Weyler

A Spanish general who implemented the harsh re-concentration policy in Cuba, resulting in over $200,000$ deaths from disease or starvation.

Re-concentration policy

A strategy used by the Spanish where Cubans were rounded up into concentration camps to suppress nationalist rebellion.

Yellow journalism

A style of reporting used by William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer that sensationalized and exaggerated events to influence American public opinion.

DeLome letter

A letter written by a Spanish diplomat that described President McKinley as weak and a "Peanut Politician," enraging the American public.

U.S.S. Maine

An American ship sent to Cuba to protect interests that blew up in Havana Harbor on Feb. $15$, $1898$, killing $260$ sailors.

Teller Amendment

A congressional resolution stating that the United States could not annex Cuba and must allow Cubans to govern themselves.

‐A Splendid Little War‐

A term coined by John Hay to describe the four-month long Spanish-American War that began in April $25$, $1898$.

Embalmed Meat

A term for the poor, often rotten or poisoned food supplied to the unprepared American Army during the Spanish-American War.

Rough-Riders

A volunteer cavalry unit formed in San Antonio consisting of cowboys and Eastern "dandies" that made Teddy Roosevelt a national hero at San Juan Hill.

Treaty of Paris $1898$

The treaty that ended the Spanish-American War, terminated Spain’s New World Empire, and established Cuba as an American Protectorate.

Anti-Imperialist League

An organization including members like Jane Addams, Mark Twain, and Andrew Carnegie that opposed the annexation of the Philippines on moral and political grounds.

Emilio Aguinaldo

A Filipino guerrilla leader who initially supported Americans against Spain but later turned against the U.S. when the Philippines were ceded to the United States.

Open Door policy

A policy proposed by John Hay in $1897$ to keep trade in China open for all countries rather than being carved into exclusive spheres of influence.

Boxer Rebellion

An uprising in China that led to American and British military intervention and committed America to long-term economic involvement in the region.

Great White Fleet

A term related to the expansion of the American Navy by $1907$, demonstrating the nation's emergence as a world power.