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Monroe Doctrine
On this date, President James Monroe drew a line down the entire Atlantic Ocean and declared, "You see this line right here, Europe? That side's yours and this one's mine. Don't you even think about crossing it ever again. Or else." -
Sewards Folly
América buys Alaska from the Russians -
McKinley Tariff
Enacted by Congress which created a crisis by ending Hawaii’s favored position in the sugar trade. The law permitted all countries to ship sugar duty-free to the United States. It also gave sugar producers in the United States a subsidy of two cents per pound. This caused sugar prices to drop, and the Hawaiian economy suffered. -
Sinking of the Maine
The maine was suddenly blown up at the anchor in Havana Harbor on the night of February 15th, 1898. No one knows exactly why, but the consequences was the Spanish-American War, -
Teller Amendment
Stated that once Cuba won its independence from Spain, the US would “leave the government and control of the Island to its people.” -
Spanish-American War
War between Spain and the US, after the sinking of the maine in the Havana Harbor. -
Battle for San Juan Hill
Another decisive victory for the U.S., this time in Cuba. After the U.S. took over San Juan Hill, Spain was on its way out and holding on to its empire by a very small thread. -
Annexation of Hawaii
John L Stevens, ordered marines ashore from the cruiser Boston, supposedly to protect American lives and property. With Gatling guns and cannons in place, the marines took up positions facing Iolani Palace and Liliuokalani. The revolutionaries established a new government with Sanford B Dole as president. Again acting without authority, Stevens recognized the new government and proclaimed Hawaii to be under US protection on February 1, 1893. -
Treaty of Paris
Philippines, Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico all fall into Uncle Sam's lap on this day. The war with Spain ended with this treaty, but this was also when the U.S.'s identity crisis started to set in. -
Annexation of the Philippines
Americans questioned whether it was proper to annex a foreign territory and rule its government and its people. Businesspeople wanted the islands to serve as a trading post for goods from Asia as well as a place for merchant ships to refuel. Some other supporter believed that the United States would bring democracy to the Philippines. Others held that US rule of the islands was necessary to keep out European powers. -
Open Door Note
US proposed to everyone about the foreign affairs of China, -
The Boxer Rebellion
In the spring of 1900 the Boxers attacked Western missionaries and traders in northern China, killing more than 200 people. This uprising was supported by some Chinese government officials. The Boxers laid siege to the large, walled-in foreign settlement in Beijing, China’s capital. Foreign countries responded by sending troops to China. In August, after an eight-week siege, the international force rescued the foreigners. -
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty
Agreement that gave the US sovereignty over a 10-mile-wide canal zone across the Isthmus of Panama. -
US and the Panama Canal
In 1901 Secretary of State John Hay began negotiations with the Republic of Columbia, which then included Panama. A treaty was drafted in 1903. In return for a 99-year lease on a six-mile strip of land across the isthmus, the US agreed to pay Colombia $10 million and a yearly rental of $250,000. Colombia’s senate held out for better terms and adjourned without ratifying the treaty. Bunau-Varilla traveled to Washington DC to get US support for the revolution. -
Roosevelt Corollary
Addition to the Monroe Doctrine and stated that the US would intervene in any social affairs as a last resort in the Western Hemisphere.