Expansion

Audience

The specific group of people a text, speech, or media message is meant for.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story or information is told.

Purpose

The reason something is created, such as to inform, persuade, entertain, or influence opinions or actions.

Bias

A preference or prejudice that causes information to be presented in a one-sided or unfair way.

Misinformation

False or inaccurate information that is shared without the intent to deceive.

Disinformation

False information that is deliberately created and spread to mislead people.

Malinformation

True information that is shared with the intent to cause harm.

Historical Context

The political, social, economic, and cultural conditions that existed at the time an event occurred.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the United States was meant to expand westward across North America.

Homestead Act

A law that gave free land to settlers who agreed to live on and farm it.

Transcontinental Railroad

A railroad that connected the eastern and western United States.

Reservation

Land set aside by the U.S. government where Native Americans were forced to live.

Plains Indian War

A series of conflicts between Native American tribes and the U.S. government.

Native American Boarding Schools

Schools designed to assimilate Native American children.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one’s own culture or way of life is superior to others.

Imperialism

A policy in which a stronger nation extends its power by controlling weaker territories.

Annexation

The act of officially adding a territory to a country.

The Annexation of Hawaii (causes)

American economic interests, military desires, and the overthrow of Hawaii’s queen.

The Annexation of Hawaii (effects)

Hawaii lost its independence and the U.S. gained a strategic location.

The Anti-Imperialist League

A group that opposed U.S. imperialism, arguing it went against American values.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalized and exaggerated news reporting used to influence public opinion.

The Spanish-American War (causes)

U.S. support for Cuban independence and tensions with Spain.

The Spanish-American War (effects)

The U.S. gained territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Monroe Doctrine

A U.S. policy stating that European nations should not interfere in the Americas.

Roosevelt Corollary

An extension of the Monroe Doctrine asserting U.S. intervention rights in Latin America.

The Panama Canal

A man-made waterway built by the U.S. to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Social Darwinism

The belief that stronger nations dominate weaker ones, justifying imperialism.

The White Man’s Burden

The belief that Western nations had a duty to civilize non-Western societies.