American civi

Flashcard #1

: What was the core message of the Monroe Doctrine (1823)?

: It warned European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere and promised the U.S. would not interfere in European affairs.

Flashcard #2

: Why was the purchase of Alaska called "Seward's Folly"?

: Critics thought it was a waste of money ($7.2M) for a frozen, useless territory, though it later proved rich in gold and oil.

Flashcard #3

: According to Alfred Mahan, what was the key to national greatness?

: Sea Power. Specifically, a strong navy, overseas bases (coaling stations), and a canal connecting the oceans.

Flashcard #4

: How did the 1890 Census influence imperialism?

: It declared the American frontier "closed," leading many to believe the U.S. must expand overseas to continue its growth and vitality.

Flashcard #5

: What was George Washington’s "Non-entanglement Principle" (1796)?

: The advice to avoid "permanent alliances" with foreign nations. He believed the U.S. should have economic ties with Europe, but zero political ones.

Flashcard #6

: Define the Monroe Doctrine (1823).

: A policy declaring the Western Hemisphere closed to further European colonization. It established the U.S. as the dominant "moral protectorate" in the Americas.

Flashcard #7

: Why did the U.S. stay isolationist for most of the 19th century?

: It was focused on internal growth: the slavery crisis, Reconstruction, industrialization, and settling the West (contiguous expansion).

Flashcard #8

: What was "Seward’s Folly"?

: The 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7 million. Critics mocked it as an "icebox," though it eventually provided massive natural resources and a path to the Pacific.

Flashcard #9

: Why was the acquisition of the Midway Islands (1867) strategic?

: It provided a vital coaling station in the mid-Pacific, acting as a "way station" for American merchant ships heading to Asian markets.

Flashcard #10

: How did the 1890 Census trigger a desire for overseas expansion?

: It declared the American frontier was "closed." This created a "panic" that the U.S. needed to find new "frontiers" abroad to maintain its economic and national vitality.

Flashcard #11

: What was the economic motive for imperialism in the mid-1890s?

: American farms and factories were producing surpluses. The U.S. needed foreign markets to sell these goods to avoid domestic economic crashes.

Flashcard #12

: Who was Josiah Strong and what did he argue in Our Country (1885)?

: A Congregationalist who argued that the "Anglo-Saxon race" was divinely commissioned by God to spread its civilizing influence to "primitive" peoples.

Flashcard #13

: What was the main argument of Alfred Thayer Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power upon History?

: That national greatness is based on Sea Power. To be a world power, the U.S. needed a strong navy, overseas colonies for refueling, and a canal across Central America.

Flashcard #14

: According to Mahan, why did the U.S. specifically need colonies?

: To serve as strategic bases and coaling stations. Without them, a modern steam-powered navy could not protect American trade interests in the Pacific and Caribbean.

Flashcard #15

: Why did American sugar planters want to annex Hawaii?

: To avoid the high 1890 U.S. Tariffs on foreign sugar. By making Hawaii part of the U.S., their sugar became "domestic" and cheaper to sell.

Flashcard #16

: Who was Queen Lili’uokalani?

: The last monarch of Hawaii who tried to reduce American influence and restore power to native Hawaiians before being deposed in 1893.

Flashcard #17

: What was the purpose of the Teller Amendment?

: To guarantee that the U.S. would not annex Cuba after the Spanish-American War, framing the war as a fight for liberty rather than conquest.

Flashcard #18

: Why is the Spanish-American War called a "Splendid Little War"?

: It was short (10 weeks), had relatively few battle casualties, and resulted in the U.S. gaining an empire (Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico).

Flashcard #19

: What was the significance of the USS Maine?

: Its explosion in Havana Harbor (Feb 1898) was the "final straw" that pushed the U.S. into war with Spain, fueled by inflammatory newspaper reports.

Flashcard #20

: What did the Insular Cases decide about rights in U.S. territories?

: They ruled that the Constitution does not automatically apply to people in annexed territories; citizenship and rights are up to Congress to decide

: How did the Platt Amendment limit Cuban independence?
Back: It prevented Cuba from making treaties with other nations, gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs, and granted the U.S. the Guantanamo Bay naval base.

: Define the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
Back: It asserted the U.S. right to act as an "international police power" in Latin America to prevent European intervention due to debt or instability.

: What was the goal of Taft’s "Dollar Diplomacy"?
Back: To replace "bullets with dollars" by using American economic investment to secure influence in Latin America and Asia instead of constant military force.

: What was the "Open Door Policy" regarding China?
Back: A U.S. proposal that all nations should have equal access to trade in China, preventing any one power from monopolizing the Chinese ma

: What was the Zimmermann Telegram?

: A secret German message to Mexico proposing an alliance against the U.S. Its discovery was a major factor in the U.S. entering WWI.

: What was the purpose of Wilson's 14 Points?

: To provide a blueprint for a lasting peace based on self-determination, free trade, and an international League of Nations.

: Why did the U.S. Senate reject the Treaty of Versailles?

: Senators (the "Reservationists") feared the League of Nations would force the U.S. into foreign wars and strip Congress of its constitutional right to declare war.

: Define "Moral Diplomacy."

: Wilson's policy of only supporting Latin American governments that were democratic or shared American moral values (though he often used military force anyway).

: What did the Washington Conference (1921) achieve?

: It led to the first international agreement to limit naval armaments (battleship ratios) among the U.S., Britain, Japan, France, and I

: What was the contradiction in Wilson’s "Moral Diplomacy"?

: While he wanted to base policy on democratic principles, he used "Gunboat Diplomacy" (military force) in Latin America more than Roosevelt or Taft, occupying Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico.

: Why did Wilson send troops to Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1914?

: He refused to recognize the "undemocratic" government of General Huerta and wanted to stop a German arms shipment from reaching his regime.

: Who was Pancho Villa and how did he affect US-Mexico relations?

: A Mexican rebel who raided US border towns to provoke a conflict. This led to General Pershing’s failed "punitive expedition" into Mexico in 1916.

: What was the "Sussex Pledge"?

: A German promise in 1916 to stop sinking merchant ships without warning. Germany’s decision to break this pledge in 1917 was a direct cause of the US entering the war.

: What did the Espionage (1917) and Sedition (1918) Acts do?

: They criminalized dissent against the war effort, making it illegal to interfere with the draft or speak "disloyally" about the US government or military.

: Which agency was created to manage the US economy during WWI?

: The War Industries Board (WIB). It coordinated military purchasing and told factories what to produce for the war effort.

: What is the concept of "Self-Determination" in Wilson’s 14 Points?

: The idea that national groups (like Poles, Czechs, or Estonians) should have the right to choose their own government and set up their own independent nations.

: Who were the "Reservationists" in the US Senate?

: Republicans, led by Henry Cabot Lodge, who were willing to support the Treaty of Versailles only if it was amended to protect US sovereignty and Congressional power.

: Why did the US never join the League of Nations?

: Because Wilson refused to compromise with the Senate. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles twice, leaving the US technically at war with Germany until 1921.

Category: The 1920s Withdrawal

: What was the Washington Conference (1921)?

: A successful naval disarmament meeting where the US, Britain, and Japan agreed to limit the size of their navies (the 5:5:3 ratio) to avoid a Pacific arms race.

: Define the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928).

: An international agreement that "outlawed" war as an instrument of national policy. It was symbolic and lacked any actual enforcement mechanism.

: How did US Economic Policy change in the 1920s?

: The US became a "self-centered" superpower, raising high tariffs to protect domestic industry and passing strict anti-immigration laws to isolate itself from the w

: What was the Dawes Plan (1924)?

: A financial plan where U.S. banks loaned money to Germany so Germany could pay reparations to Britain/France, who could then pay their war debts back to the U.S.

: Define "Independent Internationalism."

: The 1920s U.S. policy of expanding global economic interests (trade and investment) while strictly avoiding international political commitments or alliances.

: What did the Clark Memorandum (1930) change?

: It cancelled the Roosevelt Corollary, stating the U.S. no longer had the right to intervene in Latin American affairs as a "police power."

: What are "Banana Republics"?

: Latin American nations (like Guatemala or Costa Rica) whose economies and governments were heavily controlled by American corporations (like United Fruit) rather than the U.S. military.

: Why did the U.S. shift to the "Good Neighbor Policy" in the 1930s?

: To reduce the cost of maintaining an empire and to focus domestic resources on fighting the Great Depres