U.S. History 2, Unit 2 Politics and Imperialism

A policy articulated by Secretary of State John Hay in 1899 calling for all Western powers to have equal access to Chinese markets. It aimed to prevent European powers from carving China into exclusive "spheres of influence"

Open Door Policy

Hawaii obtained large tracts of land and started lucrative sugar plantations. It was also ruled by an oligarchy based on sugar companies, together known as the ________

Big Five

Powers that depended variously on military conquest, colonization, occupation, or direct resource exploitation.

The Concept of Empire

An early law authorizing Americans to claim unclaimed islands containing guano (bird excrement used as fertilizer). This act served as a precursor to overseas expansion and the acquisition of America's first Pacific territories

Guano Islands Act (1856)

An incredibly influential 1890 book by Alfred Thayer Mahan arguing that national greatness depended on a strong navy and overseas coaling stations, which directly drove the modernization of the U.S. Navy

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History

A U.S. battleship that mysteriously exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898. Yellow journalists blamed the Spanish military, acting as the immediate catalyst for the Spanish-American War.

U.S.S. Maine

A style of sensationalized newspaper reporting—led by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer—that used exaggerated headlines and clickbait rather than factual reporting to sway public opinion and beat competitors.

Yellow Journalism:

A brief conflict resulting in a decisive U.S. victory over Spain. Through the resulting Treaty of Paris, the U.S. acquired its first major overseas territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines

Spanish-American War (1898)

A brutal, bloody guerrilla conflict fought after the U.S. chose to annex the Philippines rather than grant it independence. It was led by Filipino revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo and sparked massive domestic debate over American imperialism.

Philippine-American War (1899–1902):

An organization founded in 1898 to oppose American territorial annexation, particularly the Philippines. Members argued that ruling over un-consenting foreign populations violated the core democratic ideals of the U.S. Constitution.

American Anti-Imperialist League

The 26th President who championed an aggressive, interventionist foreign policy aimed at projecting American power globally.

Theodore Roosevelt

Foreign policy that relied on the implicit threat of military force to police international affairs, particularly in the Western Hemisphere.

Big Stick Diplomacy

An addition to the Monroe Doctrine proclaiming that the United States had the right to act as an "international police power" in Latin America to intervene and correct chronic wrongdoing or financial instability.

Roosevelt Corollary

A group of modern U.S. Navy battleships sent by Theodore Roosevelt on a world tour from 1907 to 1909. Painted white, the fleet served as a blatant display of America's rising military might.

The Great White Fleet

A massive engineering feat connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The U.S. engineered a Panamanian revolution against Colombia to secure the land rights, solidifying American strategic and economic dominance in the hemisphere.

Panama Canal

An aggressive, interventionist approach designed to project American military and economic power globally, transforming the United States into the primary policeman of the Western Hemisphere.

Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy

An ideological, gendered, and racialized justification used by late 19th-century imperialists to excuse and promote American overseas expansion

civilization

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries there was a massive shift in the national origins of people migrating to the U.S. Prior to the late 1800s the primary source of American immigrants were from _____

Northern and Western Europe (England, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia)

Refers to the severe cultural tension and internal religious debates that erupted at the turn of the 20^th century

Catholicism and the American Culture

What policy called for all Western powers to have equal access to Chinese markets?

Open Door Policy

Which act allowed Americans to claim Islands with guano deposits for the United States?

Guano Islands Act

Who was the Spanish general known for his policy of reconcentration in Cuba?

Valeriano Weyler

What event led to the U.S. declaring war on Spain in 1898?

The explosion of the USS Maine

Which territory did the United States NOT acquire from Spain as a result of the Treaty of Paris?

Hawaii

What was the primary cause of the Boxer Rebellion in China?

Opposition to foreign businesses and missionaries

Who led the Philippine forces against both the Spanish and American colonizers?

Emiliano Aguinaldo

What was the main reason for U.S. intervention in the Mexican Revolution?

Protect American economic interests

Which President is associated with the phrase “big stick” diplomacy?

Theodore Roosevelt

What doctrine did Roosevelt expand with his corollary to justify U.S. intervention in Latin America?

Monroe Doctrine

Which U.S. territory was annexed in 1898 at the behest of American businessmen?

Hawaii

Who declared the Spanish-American War as a “splendid little war”?

John Hay

What was the outcome of the Philippine-American War for the Philippines?

Continued American occupation

Which cartoonist created an image showing President McKinley measuring an obese Uncle Sam for larger clothing?

John S. Pughe

What military event made Theodore Roosevelt a national hero?

Battle of San Juan Hill

Which President was assassinated leading to Theodore Roosevelt becoming President?

William McKinley

Who were the rough riders?

American cavalry regiment in the Spanish-American war

What was the purpose of the Great White Fleet?

Demonstrate American naval power

Which American naval officer played a key role in the Spanish-American War by defeating the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay?

George Dewey

What year was the Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish-American war signed?

1898

Which American journalist’s newspapers are most associated with the term “yellow journalism” during the lead-up to the Spanish-American War?

William Randolph Hearst