APUSH Vocab Quiz

Why

Big Sister Policy

Big Sister Policy

Pushed by James G. Blaine to rally Latin American nations behind uncle Sam’s leadership and opening Latin American markets to yankee traders -→ bore fruit in 1889

Great Rapprochement

Reconciliation between the U.S. and Britain - British + American friendship

McKinley Tariff of 1890

Raised barriers against the Hawaiian product. The outcome was that domestic businesses raised the prices of American products to unaffordable rates.

Insurrectos

Cuban immigrants who sought freedom from colonial Spanish rule

Maine

sunk when gunpowder exploded during US intervention in Cuban

Teller Amendment

Proclaimed that the US had overthrown Spanish misrule - would give Cubans their freedom (led to imperialistic European maniac smiles)

Rough Riders

name given to the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt resigned his position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in May 1898 to join the volunteer cavalry. The original plan for this unit called for filling it with men from the Indian Territory, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma. However, once Roosevelt joined the group, it quickly became the place for a mix of troops ranging from Ivy League athletes to glee-club singers to Texas Rangers and Indians.

Anti-Imperialistic League

To fight the McKinley administration’s expansionist moves. “The Anti-Imperialist League sprang into being to fight the McKinley administration's expansionist moves.”

Foraker Act

allowed the Puerto Rican island their own government, but  would remain many under the will of the US government, essentially making it a self governed territory. “ The Foraker Act of 1900 accorded the Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government

Insular Cases

Supreme court decision that stated that though the Puerto Ricans were under the will of the US government and part of the US, they didn't have all the benefits of being Americans, and did not receive citizenship. “... a badly divided Supreme Court decreed, in effect, that the flag did outrun the constitution, and that the outdistanced document did not necessarily extend with full force to the new windfall.

Platt Amendment

The Cubans own constitution. “ The Cubans were therefore forced to write their own constitution of 1901, the so-called Platt Amendment

Open Door Note

allowed foreign nations to have access to parts of China, with the basis that they would be fair in their pickings. “ He urged them to announce that in their leaseholds or spheres of influence they would respect certain Chinese rights and the ideal of fair competition.”

Boxer Rebellion

a chinese patriotic group that rebelled against all the foreign powers, killing many, and taking power. “ In what became known as the Boxer Rebellion, they murdered more than two hundred foreigners and thousands of Chinese Christians and besieged the foreign diplomatic community in the capitol, Beijing (Peking.)

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty

Allowed the US the right to make a canal and fortify it from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. “ It not only gave the United States a free hand to build the canal but concede the right to fortify it as well

Roosevelt Corollary

a declaration that if debts from the Latin Nations were not paid, then the US would step in and take power over it to gain back its money. “ he announced that in the event of future financial malfeasance by the Latin Nations, the United States itself would intervene take over the customs houses, pay off the debts, and keep the troublesome Europeans on the other side of the Atlantic

Gentleman’s Agreement

Stopped the Californaian school board from segregating Asians and whites, and also an agreement for Tokyo and Japan to lessen the amount of immigrants to the US. “ By this secret understanding, workled out during 1907-1908, Tokyo agreed to stop the flow of laborers to the American mainland by withholding passports

Root-Takahira Agreement

a peace treaty between Japan and the US that allowed the other control of their own military territories in the Pacific and the Open Door Policy to remain. “ It pledged both powers to respect each other's territorial possessions in the Pacific and to uphold the Open Door in China.

Monroe Doctrine

A US foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere off-limits to European colonization and intervention.

• Issued by: President James Monroe in 1823.

• Context: The doctrine was a response to fears that European powers would attempt to re-colonize newly independent Latin American countries.

• Key principles: Non-intervention and non-colonization.

• Significance: The doctrine became a cornerstone of US foreign policy and established the US as a dominant power in the Western Hemisphere.

• Impact: The doctrine has been cited as a justification for US intervention in Latin America, and has influenced US foreign policy towards the region to this day.

Purchase of Alaska 1867

Purchased in March 30, 1867 from Russia by the US

Treaty of Reciprocity 1875

• Parties involved: United States and Kingdom of Hawaii

• Purpose: To establish free trade between the two countries

• Terms: Hawaiian sugar and other products would be admitted into the US duty-free, while US goods would receive the same treatment in Hawaii

• Duration: 7 years, with automatic renewal unless one party gave notice of termination

• Significance: Helped to boost Hawaii's economy and increase US influence in the region, but also led to increased American control over Hawaiian affairs.

Bayonet Constitution 1887

Kalākaua was held at gunpoint & forced to sign the document. Weakened the powers of the monarchy & hawaiian citizens (native Hawaiians, Asian immigrants), while increasing the power of the white population

Spanish-American War

• Causes: Cuban War of Independence, Yellow Journalism, USS Maine explosion

• Key Players: United States, Spain, Theodore Roosevelt

• Major Battles: Battle of Manila Bay, Battle of Santiago de Cuba

• Outcome: Treaty of Paris, Spain cedes Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the US, Cuba gains independence

• Impact: US emerges as a world power, anti-imperialist sentiment grows, Philippines becomes a US colony.

Yellow Journalism

• Key concept: sensationalized news reporting to attract readership

• Originated in the late 19th century in the US

• Associated with publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer

• Used exaggerated headlines, misleading images, and fake news to sell papers

• Played a role in the Spanish-American War and US involvement in Cuba

• Criticized for promoting jingoism and misleading the public

• Led to the development of modern journalism ethics and standards.

Imperialism

• Definition: A policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means.

• Motivations: Economic gain, political power, national pride, religious or cultural beliefs.

• Examples: European colonization of Africa and Asia, American colonization of the Philippines, British colonization of India.

• Effects: Exploitation of resources and labor, cultural assimilation, resistance and rebellion, long-term political and economic instability.

Panama Canal

• Length: 50 miles

• Connects: Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

• Construction: Started by France in 1881, completed by US in 1914

• Importance: Shortens shipping routes, saves time and money

• Locks: 3 sets, each with 2 chambers

• Expansion: Completed in 2016, allows larger ships to pass through

• Traffic: Over 14,000 ships pass through annually

• Ownership: Managed by Panama since 1999

• Environmental impact: Disrupted ecosystems, efforts to mitigate damage ongoing

Cuban-American Treaty 1903

approved Platt amendment

Great White Fleet

• What: A group of 16 white-painted battleships of the US Navy

• When: Sent on a world tour from 1907 to 1909

• Why: To showcase the US Navy's growing military power and to promote goodwill

• Significance: Demonstrated the US's emergence as a global naval power and helped to establish diplomatic relations with other countries

• Impact: Led to an increase in naval spending and the construction of more battleships, contributing to the US's eventual involvement in World War I.

Dollar Diplomacy

• President William Howard Taft's foreign policy

• Aimed to promote US economic interests in Latin America and East Asia

• Used American financial power to extend influence abroad

• Focused on investing in infrastructure projects in foreign countries

• Led to increased US involvement in Latin America and Asia

• Criticized for prioritizing US economic interests over promoting democracy and human rights

• Contributed to tensions with other world powers, particularly Japan.

Jones-Shafroth Act 1917

• • Purpose: Granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans

  • Also known as: Puerto Rican Citizenship Act

  • Named after: Congressman William A. Jones and Resident Commissioner Federico Degetau Shafroth

  • Signed into law by: President Woodrow Wilson

  • Date signed: March 2, 1917

  • Effect: Allowed Puerto Ricans to be drafted into the U.S. military and granted them the right to travel freely between the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Jones Act 1916

• Also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1916

• Required all goods transported by water between US ports to be carried on US-flagged ships, owned by US citizens, and built in the US

• Aimed to promote the US shipping industry and increase national security during wartime

• Led to higher shipping costs and reduced competition, which hurt consumers and some industries

• Still in effect today, but with some amendments and exemptions.