Unit 7 Key Terms Flashcards
Hegemony
- An established nation’s authority and influence over other nations, usually as a result of an economic or military advantage.
Alfred Thayer Mahan
- An American naval officer and writer who wrote two novels called “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History”
- Stated that naval power was essential to a nation’s political and commercial success
- Believed we should expand to the Pacific, Hawaii, and The Caribbean
- Created the idea of a canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic, grew to become the Panama Canal
“The White Man’s Burden”
1899
* A poem written by Roger Kipling, saying that Americans should “help” weaker nations and exert influence on them
James Dole, Hawaiian Pineapples
1899
* 5/6 farmers went from the United States to Hawaii and found the soil was perfect for sugar cane and a new plant, that being pineapple.
* Farmer James Dole became the “pineapple king” by getting Hawaiians to work for him
* Dole convinced the US Gov to overthrow Hawaii’s monarchy and establish a military base for economic interests
William Henry Seward
1861-1869
* The secretary of state who argued for the US to have a presence in the Caribbean, arguing it would help the US economy
* Helped with the purchase of Alaska for oil and more territory
James Blaine
1881, 1889-1892
* The secretary of state who looked to refine the Monroe Doctrine to create the Pan-American Union in 1890
* Created an alliance with most of North, Central, and South America so the US could benefit economically and exert influence
José Martí
- A Cuban poet who advocated heavily for Cubans to rebel against the Spanish and become independent
Cuban War of Independence
1895-1898
* Cuba attempted to gain its independence against Spain, using guerilla warfare
* The Spanish put Cubans into re-concentration camps with limited resources to get them to give up
* American journalists jumped on the story, giving hyperbole reports to get a reaction
The Teller Amendment
1898
* When the US began assisting Cuba, they wrote this to say the war was to liberate Cuba, not to govern it
* The US violated this treaty multiple times later on
Spanish-American War
1898
* The US sent ships to Cuba to intimidate Spain, the USS Maine exploded due to a fault in the ship
* Spain refused to take the blame for the attack, so the US declared war against Spain in their territories
* Attacked Puerto Rico and the Philippines when Spain was busy in Cuba
* Theodore Roosevelt became a national hero after he led the Rough Riders, using the momentum to become president
Treaty of Paris (Spanish-American)
1898
* Granted Cuba independence from Spain, while Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines went under US control
* US treatment led to the Filipino War, where the US treated them like the Spanish treated Cuba
Platt Amendment
1903
* Made the US Cuba’s main ally by blocking them from signing treaties without permission
* Gave the US Guantanamo Bay
Panama Canal
1904-1914
* The French attempted to build the canal, but the project took too much money
* The US intimidated Columbia into giving Panama independence and letting them build the canal
* France + Panama were paid millions to let the US take on the project, and completed it in 10 years.
* In 1977, President Jimmy Carter gave the Panama government control of the Panama Canal, much to the dismay of US economists
Progressivism
- A reform movement in reaction to heavy immigration and industrialization
- Looked at improving living, working, education, corruption rates, and women’s suffrage
- Challenged traditional attitudes, mainly WASPs who led progressivism
Social Gospel Movement
- A movement to use Christian principles and ethics to resolve social issues
- Believed “cleaning” the streets and ridding society of evil meant Jesus would return
Muckrakers
- Journalists, photographers, authors, etc., who exposed corruption and social issues to the public
Magazines
- Magazines like McClure’s and Cosmopolitan began as platforms for muckrakers and grew in popularity during the Progressive Era
Upton Sinclair, “The Jungle”
- A muckraker known for exposing conditions for immigrants and factories
- Wrote The Jungle in 1905, exposing the disgusting conditions of meat-packing factories
- The Jungle was so popular President Roosevelt passed the Meat Inspection Act, which evolved into the FDA
Jane Addams
- A WASP who grew up rich and wanted to give back to the community, especially to the poor/immigrants
- Built the Hull House, which taught people important life skills and acted as a daycare for kids
- Had major effects on the employment for women and for educational institutes similar to rise up
Margaret Sanger
- A WASP and former nurse who taught young people how not to get pregnant to prevent deaths from bad abortions
- Her pamphlets drove her out of the country, but she established the National Birth Control League, which evolved into Planned Parenthood
- Was controversial for supporting eugenics, saying the “unfit” should not procreate
Mann Act
1910
* Made prostitution illegal to “clean the streets” for the social gospel movement
Banning of Alcohol
- The 18th Amendment was passed in 1919 which made all non-medical/religious production of alcohol illegal
- People began making illegal booze and created speakeasies to get alcohol
- Cops were often bribed to not report the alcohol, which was a time of lots of corruption
Creation of NASCAR
- Alcohol would often be smuggled in the middle of the night, with smugglers racing to deliver alcohol as if it were a game
- This competitive racing would soon evolve to become NASCAR
National Child Labor Committee
1904
* A committee founded to advocate for kids not to work in factories, arguing it was very harmful to their health.