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American Imperialism
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Alfred Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History"
Mahan's book "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History' is consdered by many to be the greatest influence on the increase of naval power and the naval arms race leading up to and impacting WWI. The U.S., among other nations, realized that a strong navy was key to being a force in the world. -
Spanish-American War
A war that would only last roughly 10 weeks, the Spanish- American War was a conflict in which the main goal of the U.S. was to give Cuba its independence. With the sinking of the USS Maine among other pressures, President McKinley sent an ultimatum to Spain demanding Cuban Independence, which was rejected. War was declared, and the U.S. won the war fairly quickly. Out-gunned and out-manned, the Spanish Army stood little chance to the U.S. and the Cuban and Filipino rebels. -
Annexation of Hawaii
On August 12th, 1898 Hawaii was officially annexed as a territory of the United States, something that many peopled had seen coming. Ever since a majority American settler led coup overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893, it had long since been a goal for the Republic of Hawaii to be annexed into the U.S. -
Treaty of Paris of 1898
The result of the Spanish-American War, Spain agreed to surrender control of Cuba and recognizing their Independence. It also gave the U.S. the Philippines, Guam and parts of the Spanish West Indies for $20 million. -
Open Door Policy
This was the U.S. suggestion that China should be open up for all nations to have free trade and to get ride of spheres of influence. This was rejected by many European countries who already had influence in China. -
Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment allowed for the U.S. to intervene with Cuban internal affairs and essentially dominate Cuba. The U.S. was also granted control of Guantanamo Bay. -
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
This Treaty gave the U.S. the right to resume the building of a canal across Panama, The French has attempted to build one earlier but fell into debt. The U.S. resumed what the French had failed. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary was the U.S. policy for the U.S. to proctect Latin American countries from European nations. This was a continuation from the Monroe Doctrine. -
U.S. enters WWI
The U.S., which had maintained neutrality for most of the war, finally declared war on Germany on April 6th, 1917. Germans resumption of unrestricted naval warfare coupled with the Zimmerman note thrusted the U.S. to take action. Although war was delcared in April, 1917, most U.S. troops did not see action until 1918. -
Wilson's 14 Points
Woodrow Wilson had an clear idea laid out in his 14 points on how the postwar should shake out. Some of his points included the formation of new independent nations in Europe, a call to end Imperialism and the formation of the League of Nations. Some of his points were accepted by many while some, such as his League of Nations, were not popular in the U.S.
