Age of Empire: American Foreign Policy, 1890-1914 (HIST 1493 – Ch. 22)

25 question-and-answer flashcards covering key people, events, and concepts from Chapter 22, Age of Empire: American Foreign Policy, 1890-1914.

What key economic and social factors pushed the U.S. away from post-Civil-War isolationism toward overseas expansion in the late 1800s?

Rapid industrial growth that demanded new markets and raw materials, plus missionary and reformer zeal to spread Christianity and American values.

According to Frederick Jackson Turner’s Frontier Thesis, why did many Americans look abroad after 1890?

The closing of the domestic frontier threatened America’s innovative spirit, so new ‘frontiers’ had to be sought overseas.

What three strategies did Alfred Thayer Mahan recommend in The Influence of Seapower upon History (1890)?

(1) Build a stronger modern navy, (2) establish a global network of naval/coaling bases, and (3) construct a canal across Central America.

Why were the Midway Islands important to Mahan’s naval vision?

They served as an early U.S. naval coaling station that extended the limited range of steam-powered ships across the Pacific.

What economic product made U.S. businessmen eager to control Hawaii in the late 1800s?

Sugar—nearly all Hawaiian sugar was exported tariff-free to the United States by 1890.

Who was Queen Liliuokalani, and how did her actions lead to U.S. annexation of Hawaii?

The Hawaiian monarch who tried to curb growing American influence; her stance prompted U.S. sugar planters and Minister John Stevens to stage an armed revolt, leading to annexation in 1898.

In what year did the United States formally annex Hawaii, and during which war?

1898, during the Spanish-American War.

What territories did the United States gain after the Spanish-American War?

Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and (through separate action) Hawaii, Samoa, and Wake Island.

What was ‘yellow journalism,’ and which two New York newspapers epitomized it?

Sensationalist reporting to boost sales; practiced by William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World.

What event triggered the cry “Remember the Maine!” in 1898?

The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor, which yellow newspapers blamed on Spain.

Who led the Rough Riders, and what hill did they famously charge during the Spanish-American War?

Theodore Roosevelt; they charged up Kettle Hill (next to San Juan Hill) in Cuba.

Which often-overlooked soldiers were instrumental to the Rough Riders’ success at San Juan Heights?

Several veteran African American regiments.

What happened to the Spanish fleet trying to escape Santiago harbor?

It met a U.S. naval blockade and was completely destroyed, with every Spanish vessel sunk.

Who was Emilio Aguinaldo, and what conflict did he lead?

Leader of Filipino rebels who fought a three-year war (1899-1902) for independence against U.S. rule.

Roughly how many American and Filipino combatants died in the Filipino-American War?

About 4,000 Americans and 20,000 Filipino fighters (plus up to 250,000 civilian deaths).

Why did President McKinley appoint William Howard Taft as civil governor of the Philippines in 1901?

To lessen direct military confrontation by shifting to civilian administration.

What were the two main provisions of the Platt Amendment (1901) regarding Cuba?

(1) Gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs to preserve stability; (2) granted the U.S. a naval base at Guantanamo Bay and limited Cuba’s treaty-making power.

What were John Hay’s Open Door notes (1899) designed to accomplish?

End spheres of influence in China and open all ports to equal, tariff-free trade for all nations, including the United States.

Summarize Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘big stick’ foreign policy phrase.

‘Speak softly and carry a big stick’—use diplomacy backed by the credible threat of military force.

How did the U.S. secure the right to build the Panama Canal in 1903?

By tacitly supporting Panamanian rebellion against Colombia—U.S. warships blocked Colombian troops, then the new nation accepted U.S. canal terms.

What did the Roosevelt Corollary add to the Monroe Doctrine?

It asserted the U.S. right to use military force as an ‘international police power’ to correct chronic wrongdoing in Latin America.

Define William Howard Taft’s ‘dollar diplomacy.’

Using U.S. economic power—loans, investments, and the threat of withdrawal—to achieve foreign policy goals: ‘substituting dollars for bullets.’

Give one example of Taft combining economic and military pressure under dollar diplomacy.

His attempt to pay off—and thus control—Central American nations’ debts with U.S. funds, backed by threats of military intervention when resisted.

By how much would Mahan’s proposed Central American canal shorten U.S. naval travel between the Atlantic and Pacific?

By roughly two-thirds of the distance and time.

After the Spanish-American War, how did the United States’ new island possessions affect its global standing?

They established the U.S. as the dominant power in the Caribbean and the South Pacific, signaling its arrival as a world empire.