Unit 8: American Foreign Policy

Isolationism

not getting involved in the issues of other countries

Internationalism

Getting involved with the issues of other countries

foreign policy

government's strategy in dealing with other nations

imperialism

when a stronger nation controls a weaker country

Annexation

to add an area or region to a country or state; to take control over that territory or place

Annexation of Hawaii

US viewed this set of islands as an extension of its coastline. In order to avoid paying tariffs on the sugar grown there, they wanted this place.

Spanish-American War (1898)

A war between Spain and the United States, fought in 1898. The war began as an intervention by the United States on behalf of Cuba.

Yellow Journalism

type of journalism that presents little or no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism.

USS Maine

A massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship in Cuba's Havana harbor, killing 260 of the fewer than 400 American crew members aboard. Congress and the American public believed that Spain was to blame for the explosion and this led to a declaration of war.

Outcomes of the Spanish-American War

1. Granted Cuba independence, 2. Spain gave the US Puerto Rico and Guam and 3. US paid Spain $20 million for annexation of the Philippines

Platt Amendment

US reserved the right to intervene in Cuba to preserve peace; the US could buy/lease land i Cuba for naval stations (i.e. Guantanamo Bay)

Philippine-American War

an armed conflict between the First Philippine Republic and the United States.

The conflict arose when First Philippine Republic objected to the terms of the Treaty of Paris under which the United States took possession of the Philippines from Spain ending the Spanish-American War.

Panama Canal (1904)

Created an easier/shorter route for ships to bring goods from the East Coast to the West Coast

Monroe Doctrine

warned other nations against expanding their influence in the western hemisphere

Causes of WWI

Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism

mobilize

a country prepares their military for war

Executive Order 9066

United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones, clearing the way for the deportation of Japanese Americans to internment camps.

Japanese Internment Camps

forced relocation and incarceration in camps in the interior of the country of between 110,000 and 120,000[2] people of Japanese ancestry who had lived on the Pacific coast

Neutrality Acts

laws passed to limit US involvement in future wars

Lend-Lease Act

The US provided US military aid to foreign nations on the Allies during WWII

Atlantic Charter

joint declaration released by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14, 1941. It provided a broad statement of U.S. and British war aims.

Battle of Midway

decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Resulted in an Allied victory.

Battle of Okinawa

was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War during World War II. Resulted in an Allied victory.

The Manhattan Project

research and development project that produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II. It was led by the United States

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Two Japanese cities where the US dropped the atomic bomb which led to Japan's surrender in WWII

Yalta Conference

meeting of British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet premier Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt early in February 1945 as World War II was winding down.

United Nations

Peace keeping organization

Nuremberg Trials

Trials that brought Nazi war criminals to justice.

The Korean War

North Korea (Communist) versus South Korea (Democratic). Ends in a draw (no winner).

The Cold War

a state of political and military tension after World War II between the USSR and the US. Occurs between 1947-1991. US's goal is to prevent the spread of communism.

Potsdam Conference

The Big Three—Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (replaced on July 26 by Prime Minister Clement Attlee), and U.S. President Harry Truman—met in Potsdam, Germany, from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to negotiate terms for the end of World War II.

Satellite Nations

describe certain nations in the Cold War. These were nations that were aligned with, but also under the influence and pressure of, the Soviet Union. They were Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany.

Containment

action of keeping something harmful (i.e. Communism) under control or within limits.

Truman Doctrine

the principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or communist insurrection. First expressed in 1947 by US President Truman in a speech to Congress seeking aid for Greece and Turkey. It was seen by the communists as an open declaration of the Cold War.

Marshall Plan

an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II.

Berlin Airlift

The crisis started on June 24, 1948, when Soviet forces blockaded rail, road, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. The crisis ended on May 12, 1949, when Soviet forces lifted the blockade on land access to western Berlin.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949

The Rosenberg's

the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed for espionage during peacetime

McCarthyism

the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism."

Nuclear Arms Race

a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War.

Brinkmanship

the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, typically in politics.

Warsaw Pact

treaty between Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union, which was signed in Poland in 1955. It was actually a military treaty, which bound its signatories to come to the aid of the others, should any one of them be the victim of foreign aggression.

Eisenhower Doctrine

U.S. foreign-policy pronouncement by President Dwight D. Eisenhower promising military or economic aid to any Middle Eastern country needing help in resisting communist aggression.

Space Race

competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for supremacy in spaceflight capability.

U-2 Incident

a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down while in Soviet airspace while on a mission to spy on the USSR

Vietnam War

North Vietnam versus South Vietnam. The U.S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a Communist takeover of South Vietnam. It was a loss for the US.

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Vietminh slaughter French soldiers in the two month battle. Afterwards, the French surrendered and pulled out of Vietnam

Vietcong

people living in South Vietnam who support the communists in the North

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congress authorized President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. Was NOT a declaration of war.

Tet Offense

VietCong launched surprise attacks throughout South Vietnam

My Lai Massacre

Mass murder of 350-500 unarmed citizens in South Vietnam occurred on March 16, 1968 it prompted widespread outrage & support for the Vietnam conflict diminished

Kent State Protest

National Guard fires into the crowd of college students protesting at Kent State Univ. (Ohio), National Guard fired into the crowd 67 times in 13 seconds, 4 students killed and 9 wounded

Vietnam Syndrome

Americans now weigh risks of entering into conflicts

War Powers Act

President must inform Congress within 48 hrs. of sending troops into hostile areas; troops may remain only for 90 days unless Congress declares war

Iraq War

Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait; US sends troops to get Hussein out of Kuwait

9/11

Terrorist attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City that was coordiated by Al Queda leader Osama Bin Laden

Bush Doctrine

Three components: pre-emption, unilateralism, and expansion of democracy

Pre-Emption

attack a threatening nation before you are attacked

Unilateralism

the USA should act alone if necessary

Expansion of Democracy

support democratic nations across the globe