Imperialism / WWI PEDLIGS

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Alfred Thayer Mahan

• Naval Admiral

• Imperialist

• Wrote The Influence of Sea Power Upon History

  • believed that America should at least acquire defensive bases in the Caribbean and the Pacific and take possession of Pacific islands like Hawaii

Albert Beveridge

• Republican Senator

• Imperialist

• Advocate of a strong US Navy

• Gave speech called March of the Flag

  • justified the annexation of the Philippines, thus promoting the growth of American imperialism

William McKinley

• 25th president of the US

• Assassinated 6 months into his second term

• Imperialist

• Led US in Spanish-American War

• Raised protective tariffs that promoted American industry

• Maintained the gold standard

Josiah Strong

• Imperialist

• Leader of the Third Great Awakening

• Social Gospel movement founder

• Expansionist who blended racist and religious reasons to justify American expansion

  • saw the Anglo-Saxon race as trained by God to expand throughout the world and spread Christianity along the way

George Dewey

• United States Naval Officer

• Remembered for his victory at Manila Bay in the Spanish-American War

• Helped the United States capture the Philippines from Spain and become an imperialist nation

Henry Cabot Lodge

• Republican Senator

• Imperialist

• represented the imperialist faction of the Senate

• called for the annexation of the Philippines

• believed the U.S. needed to have a strong navy and be more involved in foreign affairs

• Disagreed with the Versailles Treaty

  • chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Queen Liliuokalani

• strong nationalist leader

• the last reigning queen of Hawaii

• voiced the slogan, “Hawaii for the Hawaiians;”

• insisted that native Hawaiians should control the Islands

• American planters renewed their efforts to secure the annexation of Hawaii to the United States

William Randolph Hearst

• Sensationalized the news in order to be popular (yellow journalism)

• San Francisco Examiner, New York Evening Journal and other papers pilloried corporate greed and power and corrupt politicians, and promoted American imperialism

Woodrow Wilson

• 28th U.S. president

• Democrat

• Anti - Imperialist

• led America through World War I (1914-1918);

• Advocate for Moral Diplomacy

  • wanted to base international action on moral principles

John Pershing

• American general

• “Black Jack”

• Led troops against "Pancho" Villa in 1916

• The commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I

George Creel

• investigative journalist

• politician

• head of the United States Committee on Public Information

  • propaganda organization created by President Woodrow Wilson during WWI

Pancho Villa

• Mexican revolutionary who killed many Americans in Mexico

• Attempted to provoke a war between Mexico and the U.S.

• Rival of President Carranza of Mexico.

Eugene Debs

• Socialist candidate for the 1912 presidential election

• believed in overthrowing capitalism in a peaceful, democratic way

• believed in government owning business and industry to benefit the working class.

Arthur Zimmerman

• German foreign minister

• Sent the Zimmerman telegram to Mexico during WWI

  • offered an alliance to Mexico if the US joined the Ally powers, promising land such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona

Spanish-American War

• 1898 war

• The US sided with Cuba in its ongoing war for independence from Spain because Cuban independence was in the US’ economic and strategic interests

• Cuba was liberated

• U.S. won the war, giving them of Spain’s overseas empire

• Turned into a major imperial power

Boxer Rebellion

• 1899 to 1901

• Anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian rebellion in China

• Protested the Japanese and Western influence in the area.

• Led by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists

USS Maine Explosion

• 1898

• Explosion of a US battleship anchored in Havana, Cuba that killed 266 US soldiers

• Blamed on Spain, giving reason for the US to intervene in the war

Great Rapprochement

• Reconciliation between the US and Britain

• New Anglo-American cordiality became a cornerstone of both nations and foreign policies as the 20th century started

Sinking of the Lusitania

• British passenger liner struck by German submarine torpedoes off the coast of Ireland on May 15, 1915

• The U-boat torpedoes sank the ship, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans

Great Migration

• Population shift

• 400,000 African Americans who left the South beginning in 1917–1918 and headed north and west to escape poverty and racial discrimination

• During the 1920s another 800,000 black people left the South.

Bolshevik Revolution

• Russian Revolution

• Working class radicals were Bolsheviks

• led by Vladimir Lenin against the Tsarist government of Nicholas II

• Bolsheviks created the Soviet Union, a communist state.

Armenian Genocide

• First genocide of 20th century

• Two million Armenians living in Turkey were eliminated from their historic homeland through forced deportations and massacres between 1915-1918

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty

• 1901 treaty between the United States and Great Britain granting the United States the right to construct the Panama Canal

World War I

• 1914–1918 war fought between the Central Powers and Allies

• The United States entered the war in 1917

Our Country

• 1885 book

• Written by a Protestant minister Josiah Strong

• Argued the superiority of Anglo-Saxon civilization in the U.S and its duty to spread their superior way of life to Latin America and Asia.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History

• 1890 book

• Written by Alfred Thayer

• Argued the importance of a navy

• Influenced the naval race among the world powers, the U.S. to expand overseas, and moved the U.S. to naval supremacy

De Lome Letter

• letter written in 1898 by Enrique Dupuy De Lome to a friend

• Called President McKineley weak and mentioned that Spain doesn't have good intentions with America

• Offended Americans and riled them up to go to war with Spain

White Man’s Burden

• A poem by Rudyard Kipling in 1899

• Spread awareness on the duty of white people to help out nonwhite people who they believed to be less developed

• Encouraged imperialism

Imperialism: Flag of Empire

• Speech in 1900 by William Jennings Bryan

• Argued that America shouldn’t expand and should continue to follow the values that are inherent in American democracy.

McKinley Tariff

• Tariff in 1890

• Implemented by William McKinley

• Raised protective tariff levels by 80%, making them the highest tariffs on imports in United States history

Teller Amendment

• amendment in 1890 that stated that the U.S won’t take over Cuba even after defeating Spain.

Platt Amendment

• An amendment in 1901

• Stipulated the conditions for U.S intervention in Cuban affairs and permitted the U.S to lease or buy lands to establish naval bases and coaling stations in Cuba

Foraker Act

• An act in 1900 that established Puerto Rico as an unorganized U.S territory

• Puerto Ricans were not given U.S citizenship, but the U.S president appointed the island’s governor and governing council.

Selective Service Act

• 1917 Act

• Provided for the registration of all American men between 21-30 for a military draft

  • age limit was later changed to 18-45.

Espionage Act

• 1917 act

• Made it a crime to obstruct military recruitment, to encourage mutiny, or to aid the enemy by spreading lies

Sedition Act

• 1918 act

• Prohibited speaking or writing “any abusive or disloyal language” about the United States government

Treaty of Versailles

• A treaty in 1919 that officially ended WW1

Social Darwinism (1870s)

• The belief associated with the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and popularized by Herbet Spencer that drew upon some of the ideas of Charles Darwin.

• Stressing individual competition and survival of the fittest

• Social Darwinism was used to justify economic inequality, racism, imperialism, and hostility to federal government regulation.

Big Sister Policy (1880)

• foreign policy enacted when America opened up trade with Latin American countries

• Extension of the Monroe Doctrine and claimed American influence over the Western Hemisphere

Jingoism (1898)

• Extreme patriotic supporters of the expansion and use of military power

• Jingists such as Theodore Roosevelt longed for a war in which they could demonstrate America’s strength and prove their own masculinity

Open Door Policy (1899)

• Policy in which Secretary of State John Hay informed the nations occupying China that the United States had the right of equal trade in China

Roosevelt Corollary (1904)

• addition to the Monroe Doctrine that affirmed the right of the United States to intervene in the internal affairs of Caribbean and Latin American countries to preserve order and protect American interests

Yellow Journalism

• Sensationalist news accounts meant to provoke an emotional response in readers

• Contributed to the growth of public support for American intervention in Cuba in 1898

Big Stick Diplomacy

• Aggressive foreign diplomacy backed by the threat of force

• Its name came from a proverb quoted by Theodore Roosevelt: “Speak softly and carry a big stick”

Moral Diplomacy

• type of diplomacy where it promoted human rights rather than conquer territory; compliments

Dollar Diplomacy

• type of diplomacy where is promoted economic influence over military influence

• substituting dollars for bullets; bribery

Isolationist

• Informal policy stemming from the belief that the US should not become involved with the affairs of other nations

• This mindset was especially popular following WW1.

Internationalist

• A belief in cooperation, mutual understanding, and collaboration among nations to address global challenges and promote peace and prosperity

Interventionist

• A policy or approach that involves a nation actively intervening in the affairs of other countries, often for political, economic, or humanitarian reasons.

Schlieffen Plan (1914)

• a strategic military strategy devised by Germany in World War I to quickly defeat France by swiftly invading through Belgium while keeping most forces focused on Russia in the east

Sussex Pledge (1916)

• a promise by Germany during World War I to limit submarine warfare and spare civilian lives, following the sinking of the passenger ship SS Sussex

War Bonds/Liberty Bonds (1917)

• government-issued financial instruments sold to the public as a way to raise funds for military expenses during times of war, with the promise of repayment with interest after a specified period

Wilson’s Fourteen Points (1918)

• a set of proposals by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson outlining a vision for a just and lasting peace after World War I, emphasizing principles like self-determination, open diplomacy, and the League of Nations

Anti-Imperialist League

• An organization founded in 1898 to oppose annexation of the Phillipines

• Some feared the annexation would bring competition from cheap labor; others considered Filipinos racially inferior and the Philippines unsuitable as an American territory

Insurrectos

• Cuban insurgents who wanted freedom from the Spanish and they torched cane fields and sugar mills which hurt American interests on the island

• They were now the new target of yellow journalism.

Rough Riders

• The nickname of Theodore Roosevelt’s regiment of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, which fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898

National War Labor Board

• Was created by Wilson in April of 1918 to settle labor disputes

• Supported an eight-hour workday with time-and-a-half pay for overtime, labor’s right to collective bargaining, and equal pay for women.

League of Nations

• The international organization proposed by Woodrow Wilson after the end of World War I to ensure world peace and security in the future through mutual agreement

• The United States failed to join the league because Wilson and his opponents in Congress could not work out a compromise.

Irreconcilables

• Senators, mostly Republicans, who opposed the Treaty of Versailles regardless of any reservations or not

• They did not want America to play any role as a world power; they were extreme isolationists aka anti-imperialists.

Reservationists

• Members of the Senate who were ready to ratify the Treaty of Versailles with modifications

Internationalists

• People who believed that America's national security requires involvement and sometimes diplomatic or military alliances overseas.

Four Minute Men

• a group of volunteers authorized by United States President Woodrow Wilson to give four minute speeches on topics given to them by the Committee on Public Information (CPI).

Committee on Public Information

• Focused on generating propaganda

• headed by George Creel and the purpose of this committee was to mobilize people's minds for war, both in America and abroad

• Tried to get the entire U.S. public to support U.S. involvement in WWI.

Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies)

• Organization that grew out of the activities of the Western Federation of Miners in the 1890s and formed by Eugene V. Debs and other prominent labor leaders

• Known as Wobblies

• Attempted to unite all skilled and unskilled workers in an effort to overthrow capitalism.

Insular Cases (1898)

• These were court cases dealing with islands/countries that had been recently annexed and demanded the rights of a citizen

• These Supreme Court cases decided that the Constitution did not always follow the flag, thus denying the rights of a citizen to Puerto Ricans and Filipinos

Schenck v. United States (1919)

• The Supreme Court invoked the Espionage Act to uphold the conviction of Charles Schenck, the general secretary of the Socialist Party, for mailing thousands of leaflets opposing the military draft

Debs v. United States (1919)

• Debs protested the War/the draft and encouraged readers that opposing the draft was constitutional

• His attorneys argued it was his 1st Amendment right to free speech

• The Supreme Court said this is outside of rights of free speech and convicted him under Espionage Act.