America Claims an Empire Practice Flashcards

A set of 48 vocabulary flashcards covering the rise of American Imperialism, the Spanish-American War, and U.S. foreign policy transitions under Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson.

Imperialism

A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other (weaker) nations either politically, economically, or militarily.

Industrialization

A theme where countries that modernized viewed themselves as intellectually superior and used advanced weaponry and technology to take over others.

Social Darwinism

An ideological belief that more “fit” nations have the right to take over “lesser” ones.

“White Man’s Burden”

The perceived duty of Western nations to improve and “civilize” non-white places.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History

A work by Alfred T. Mahan noting the importance of a strong navy to protect business interests.

Alfred T. Mahan

An officer who urged the U.S. to build a large naval presence, establish Caribbean bases, and acquire Pacific islands like Hawaii.

Economic Imperialism

Colonizing areas to acquire natural resources and secure new markets to sell manufactured surplus goods.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that Americans had a God-given right to expand their borders across the continent and beyond.

American Exceptionalism

A belief central to U.S. political culture that Americans have a unique mission to spread freedom and democracy abroad.

Seward’s Folly

The purchase of Alaska from the Russians in $1867$ by Secretary of State William Seward.

Alaska

A territory purchased for its timber, minerals, and oil that eventually became a state in $1959$.

McKinley Tariff

A policy that imposed tariffs on imported sugar, prompting calls to annex Hawaii and make it a U.S. territory.

Pearl Harbor

The strategic location in Hawaii where the U.S. Navy established a naval base.

Queen Liliuokalani

The Hawaiian monarch who was overthrown by the USMC after threatening the power of white landowners.

Sanford B. Dole

The individual placed as the head of the Hawaiian government after the monarchy was removed.

Annexation of Hawaii

The process completed in $1898$ under William McKinley, leading to Hawaii becoming the $50^{th}$ state in $1959$.

José Martí

A poet and journalist who sparked a revolution in Cuba in $1895$ using guerilla warfare.

General Valeriano Weyler

A Spanish general who forced Cubans into concentration camps where thousands died from disease and starvation.

Yellow Journalism

A sensational and exaggerated style of news reporting used by tycoons Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst.

De Lôme Letter

An intercepted letter in Feb. $1898$ from the Spanish Ambassador that insulted President McKinley by calling him weak.

U.S.S. Maine

A U.S. ship that exploded in Havana on February $15, 1898$, resulting in the deaths of $260$ Americans.

“Remember the Maine!”

The rallying cry used after the Spanish were blamed for the explosion of an American battleship.

Commodore George Dewey

The U.S. commander who destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay within hours.

Emilio Aguinaldo

The Filipino rebel leader who initially joined U.S. forces to push out the Spanish.

Rough Riders

A volunteer cavalry regiment led by Teddy Roosevelt that invaded Santiago, Cuba.

Battle of Kettle Hill

An uphill charge by the Rough Riders and two African American regiments that preceded the Battle of San Juan Hill.

“A splendid little war”

The description used by Secretary of State John Hay to characterize the Spanish-American War.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

The agreement that gave the U.S. control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Puerto Rico

A territory made a commonwealth in $1952$, granting U.S. citizenship but not the right to vote in presidential elections.

Teller Amendment

A U.S. statement declaring that the United States had no intention of taking over Cuba.

Philippine-American War

A conflict from $1899$ to $1902$ in which the U.S. suppressed a rebellion using brutal tactics like water-boarding.

“Sick man of Asia”

A nickname for China during the late $19^{th}$ century when it was weak from war and foreign intervention.

Open Door Policy

Secretary of State John Hay’s proposal that China’s trading rights be shared so no single country could monopolize trade.

Boxer Rebellion

A nationalist uprising in China against foreign influence that was defeated by a force from eight different nations.

Anti-Imperialist League

A group whose members included Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie who opposed the expansionist policies of the McKinley administration.

Treaty of Portsmouth

The peace agreement negotiated by Theodore Roosevelt that ended the Russo-Japanese War.

Philippe Bunau-Varilla

An agent who successfully convinced the U.S. to take over the failed French attempt to build a canal in Central America.

Panama Canal

A strategic waterway constructed through Central America that opened in $1914$.

Monroe Doctrine

An $1823$ policy declaring the Americas exempt from further European colonization.

Roosevelt Corollary

An extension of the Monroe Doctrine stating the U.S. would act as an “international police power” in the Western Hemisphere.

“Big Stick Diplomacy”

Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy based on the proverb “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.”

Dollar Diplomacy

William Howard Taft’s policy of “substituting dollars for bullets” by providing financial aid and fostering business investment abroad.

Nicaragua

The nation where the USMC was sent in $1911$ to protect American bank interests in railroads and a national bank.

Missionary Diplomacy

Woodrow Wilson's policy that the U.S. had a moral responsibility to refuse recognition to undemocratic or oppressive regimes.

Joseph Pulitzer

The newspaper tycoon who, along with William Randolph Hearst, used Yellow Journalism to influence public opinion.

Guam

One of the Pacific territories acquired by the U.S. following the Spanish-American War.

$$1946$$

The year the Philippines finally became an independent nation.

$$1898$$

The year the United States Congress officially declared war on Spain.