Unit 4 Vocab (all) Flashcards
(48 cards)
● Policy by which strong nations
extend their political, military, and
economic control over weaker
territories
● Reasons for imperialism:
- 1)Need for Raw Materials and
markets for sale of U.S. goods
- 2) Strategic/Military – build naval
bases and refuel merchant ships
- 3)Nationalism – power, a belief in
Social Darwinism
- 4) Humanitarian (Missionaries)
Imperialism
● Advocated for increased Naval
power (both Merchant and military)
● Wrote the book, The Influence of
Sea Power Upon History
● As a result of his book, the U.S.
expanded and modernized its navy,
becoming the 3rd largest in the
world
Captain Alfred T. Mahan
● War between the United States and
Spain over Cuba’s independence
● Called “The Splendid Little War”
because it only lasted 4 months and
didn’t cost very much
Spanish-American War (1898)
● Journalism that exploits, distorts, or
exaggerates the news to create
sensations and attract readers
● Sensational news stories that
exaggerate the facts and influences
public opinion
● Used by newspapers to get public
support for Spanish-American War
Yellow Journalism
● To boost readership, [Person]’s New
York World, [Person]’s New York
Journal, and similar newspapers
used sensational headlines and
pictures on their front pages.
● Their stories exaggerated Spanish
atrocities and compared Cuban
rebels to the patriots of the
American Revolution
William Randolph Hearst and
Joseph Pulitzer
● U.S. newspaper published this letter
which was stolen from the Spanish
ambassador and written
to a friend in Cuba
● Described McKinley as “a cheap
politician” and weak
● Intensified the Anti-Spanish feelings
in the United States
De Lomé Letter
● An American battleship sent to
monitor Americans in Cuba,
specifically business interests
● Exploded in the Havana Harbor in
Cuba, killing 266 men with 84
survivors
● U.S. blamed Spain
U.S.S. Maine
● First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry of the
U.S. Army in the Spanish-American
War
● Consisted of rugged westerners and
upper-class easterners who relished
what Roosevelt called the
“strenuous life”
● Helped defeat Spanish on San Juan
Hill
Rough Riders
● While the U.S. was defeating the
Spanish navy, Filipino nationalists
led by him were
defeating the Spanish army
● The Filipinos were fighting for
freedom from Spain
● Will end up fighting the U.S. after
the Philippines becomes a territory
after the war
Emilio Aguinaldo
● Signed by the United States and
Spain in December 1898, ratified
1899
● Ended the Spanish-American War
● Spain recognized Cuba’s
independence and assumed the
Cuban debt
● Ceded Puerto Rico; Guam, and
Philippines to the United States as
the U.S.’s first overseas territories
Treaty of Paris (1898)
last Monarch of Hawaii
● the native ruler of Hawaii who was
deposed (overthrown) by American
landowners in 1893 after she
abolished the constitution that had
given political power to the white
minority on the islands
Queen Liliuokalani
● Led the provisional government
while working out plans for the U.S.
to annex the Hawaii islands
● He had worked to limit native
rights in 1887 and had helped to
overthrow the queen in 1893
Sanford Dole
● Required Cuba to protect American
interests after Spanish-American
War
● Although the Teller Amendment
prevented Cuba from becoming a
territory, this severely restricted
Cuba’s sovereignty (right to rule
itself) and gave the U.S. the right to
intervene in Cuba’s affairs at any
time
● Allowed U.S. to buy and lease naval
bases, including Guantanamo Bay
Platt Amendment (207)
● Where one country controlled
trading rights in another country
● Also possibly demand land for
military bases
● This happened in China where
country carved into pieces of
foreign-dominated territories
● All Western countries except the
U.S. possessed a sphere
Spheres of Influence
● After America lent troops to end the
Boxer Rebellion, the U.S. demanded
foreign countries respect Chinese
Independence and end the policy of
Spheres of Influence (and replace it
with this)
● U.S. stated China should be open to
all nations for trade
● This policy did not include the
consent of the Chinese, and was
another form of imperialism
Open Door Policy
● As he promoted a
new kind of diplomacy based on
America’s success in the Spanish-
American War
● He developed a broader
policy of U.S. action in Latin America
● While he used diplomacy to ease
tensions between Russia and Japan,
he also promoted military
preparedness to protect U.S.
interests in Asia
Theodore Roosevelt
● A canal that crosses the Isthmus of
Panama connecting the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans
● Needed for military and commercial
shipping
● U.S. helped encourage a revolt by
Panama against the Colombian
government to get land to build
canal
● Built by the United States between
1904 and 1914
Panama Canal
● Declaration by U.S. president James
Monroe in 1823
● U.S. would not tolerate any
European nation trying to establish
a colony in the Americas
● Any attempt by any European
nation to establish a colony would
be regarded as a threat to U.S.
peace and security
Monroe Doctrine
● Updated the Monroe Doctrine for an
age of expansionism and economic
influence
● In the case of “chronic wrongdoing”
by a Latin American nation the U.S.
would assume the role of police
power, restoring order and
depriving other creditors of the
excuse to intervene
● Reasserted America’s long-standing
policy of keeping the Western
Hemisphere free from European
intervention
Roosevelt Corollary
● The use of a strong American
military to achieve America’s goals
internationally
● “Speak softly and carry a big stick;
you will go far” –African saying
Roosevelt was fond of
● Work quietly and patiently to
achieve goals overseas, but use
force if necessary
Big Stick Diplomacy
● Encouraged investors/bankers to
invest in Central America and the
Caribbean –became known as Dollar
Diplomacy
● He commented in 1912, he looked
to substitute “dollars for bullets”
● He would ensure that Latin
American countries repaid their
loans on time—for if not he would
send troops in to occupy the
territory until the loan was repaid
(example: Nicaragua)
William Howard Taft
● President from 1913-1921
● Believed in Moral Diplomacy, that
the U.S. should only intervene to
spread peace and democracy in
Latin America
● President during WWI
● Represented the U.S. at the Treaty
of Versailles
● There he suggested his 14 Points
including the League of Nations
Woodrow Wilson
● The United States supported the
Mexican rebel leader’s insurrection
against the Mexican government
until his forces conducted an attack
in the United States (New Mexico)
that killed 18 Americans
● Wilson sent General John J.
Pershing after Villa—but he was
never captured
Francisco “Pancho” Villa
● Glorification of the military
● Fueled an arms race between the
countries in Europe (and other
areas)
● Guaranteed the next major war
would involve more troops and
more technologically advanced
weapons than ever before
Militarism
