U.S. Imperialism, WWI, and Key Vocabulary for History Quiz

Imperialism

The policy of extending a nation's authority over other countries by economic, political, or military means.

U.S.S. Maine

A United States warship that mysteriously exploded and sank in the harbor of Havana Cuba, on February 15, 1898.

Open Door Policy

A United States policy asking other imperialistic nations not to interfere with the United States trading rights in China.

Spheres of Influence

A region over which a country has significant cultural, economic, military, or political influence.

Yellow Journalism

The use of sensationalized and exaggerated reporting by newspapers and magazines to attract readers.

Platt Amendment

A series of provisions that, in 1901, the United States insisted that Cuba add to its new constitution, commanding Cuba to stay out of debt and giving the United States the right to intervene in the country and the right to buy or lease Cuban land for naval or refueling stations.

Treaty of Paris (1898)

The treaty ending the Spanish-American War, in which Spain freed Cuba, turned over the islands of Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and sold the Philippines to the United States for $20 Million.

Executive Privilege

The privilege, claimed by the president for the executive branch of the US government, of withholding information in the public interest.

Panama Canal

An artificial waterway cut through the Isthmus of Panama to provide a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, opened in 1914.

Isthmus

A narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land.

Roosevelt Corollary

An extension of the Monroe Doctrine, announced by Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, under which the United States claimed the right to protect its economic interests by means of military intervention in the affairs of Western Hemisphere nations.

Dollar Diplomacy

The United States policy of using the nation's economic power to exert influence over other countries.

Militarism

The policy of building up armed forces in aggressive preparedness for war and their use as a tool of diplomacy.

Central Powers

The group of nations-led by Germany, Austria-Hungry, and the Ottoman Empire - that opposed the Allies in World War I.

Triple Entente

The group of nations - led by Great Britain, France, and Russia - that opposed the Central Powers in World War I.

Nationalism

A devotion to the interests and culture of one's nation.

Lusitania

A British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915.

Zimmerman Note

A message sent in 1917 by the German Foreign Minister to the German Ambassador in Mexico, proposing a German-Mexican alliance and promising to help Mexico regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if the United States entered World War I.

Trench Warfare

Military operations in which opposing forces attack and counterattack from systems of fortified ditches rather than an open battlefield.

Selective Service Act

A law, enacted in 1917, that required men to register for military service.

Great Migration

The large-scale movement of African-Americans from the South to Northern cities in the early 20th Century.

Espionage and Seditions Acts

Two laws, enacted in 1917 and 1918, that imposed harsh penalties on anyone interfering with or speaking against the United States involvement in World War I.

Schenck v. United States

Was a United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 and concluded that a defendant did not have a First Amendment right to express freedom of speech against the draft during World War I.

War Bond

Debt securities issued by a government for the purpose of financing military operations during times of war.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 peace treaty at the end of World War I which established new nations, borders, and war reparations.

Fourteen Points

The principles making up President Woodrow Wilson's plan for world peace following World War I.

League of Nations

An association of nations established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace.

Reparations

The compensation paid by a defeated nation for the damage or injury it inflicted during a war.

War Guilt Clause

A provision in the Treaty of Versailles by which Germany acknowledged that it alone was responsible for World War I.

Armistice

A truce or agreement to end armed conflict.