American Intervention in World Affairs

  • Period: 1513 to

    Spanish East Florida

    Spanish East Florida was the first major colony claim by the European's but was later sold to the United States after much battling.
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    The Barbary Wars

    The Barbary Wars was fought by the United States and and the North African states. The war was fought because the North African states supported the actions of pirates against American vessels.
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    War of 1812

    The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and the British Empire over the British restricting trade and taking American sailors hostage.
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    Monroe Doctrine

    This was a foreign policy statement where the United States promised to stay out of European business and told the European's to stay out of theirs.
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    Mexican-American War

    This was a war where the United States and Mexico fought over who Texas belonged to.
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    The Opening of Japan

    The U.S. had contact with Japan to create an American port on the Pacific, and to ensure traffic between North America and Asia.
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    Spanish-American War

    The Spanish-American war was a war between the United States and Spain over territories in the western Pacific and Latin America.
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    Annexation of Hawaii

    The United States annex Hawaii because Hawaii had recently had some political disruption, overthrowing its queen allowing the U.S. to easily get involved. The U.S. also feared of devastating tariff's on sugar also spurred them to annex Hawaii
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    Open Door Policy

    The United States initiated the Open Door policy that called for protection of equal trading privileges for all countries with China. The U.S. did this because they feared they were being left out of the plan for the spheres of influence.
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    Building the Panama Canal

    The U.S. built the Panama Canal in order to ship goods quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
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    Roosevelt Corollary

    The U.S. intervened in smaller countries in the Caribbean and Central America to steady the economic situation.
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    U.S. Intervention in Nicaragua

    The U.S. intervened in Nicaragua to preserve its stability and to provide support from corrupt government.
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    Dollar Diplomacy

    The Dollar Diplomacy was introduced to secure economic and financial security and to extend the U.S.'s commercial interests.
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    Invasion of Haiti

    The U.S. invaded Haiti to restore order and stabilize the situation after the assassination of the Haiti president.
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    American Entry into WWI

    Submarine warfare was escalating in the Atlantic, with a German submarine sinking a British liner that had U.S. citizens on board. Germany was also trying to form an alliance with Mexico against the United States.
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    Good Neighbor Policy

    The Good Neighbor Policy was created to enforce the idea of the United States being a "good neighbor" to its Latin American neighbors.
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    Formation of the United Nations

    The Americans did not want to repeat of post WWI, where the League of Nations failed. They felt something had to be done to prevent another world war.
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    Creation of NATO

    NATO was created in an attempt to keep the Soviet Union in check, with America, Canada, and Western Europe nations joining together.
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    Korean War

    The USA was trying to prevent the spread of communism. When the Soviet-backed North Koreans invaded South Korea, they felt it was necessary to fight against the communist forces.
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    Overthrow of Iranian Government

    America and Britain believed that the Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammed Mosaddegh was unreliable. They were worried about a possible communist takeover, so they decided to get rid of the presiding government.
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    Creation of SEATO

    SEATO was formed along with France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan to prevent the spread of communism in Southeastern Asia.
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    Vietnam War

    To address fears of communism spreading to South Vietnam and throughout Asia, America sent money, troops, supplies, and military advisors to help the South Vietnamese government.
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    Eisenhower Doctrine

    The Eisenhower doctrine stated that a Middle Eastern country could turn to the United States for economic or military aid if it was being threatened by armed forces, particularly the Soviet Union.
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    U.S. Invasion of Cuba

    The invasion of Cuba was meant to overthrow Castro and his communist regime. The Americans wanted a government to be put in place that was less hostile towards America.
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    Cuban Missile Crisis

    When the Soviets put nuclear missiles in Cuba, things got intense. Across a span of 13 intense days, leaders from both countries negotiated an agreement that missiles would be removed from both Cuba and Turkey.
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    U.S. Intervention in Chile

    There was fear that the president of Chile was becoming close to the Soviet Union and Cuba, so the Americans cut off most of their foreign aid to Chile, in hopes to prevent it from becoming "another Cuba."
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    U.S. Intervention in the Congo

    In times of political upheaval in the Congo, the Soviets got involved. The Americans worried that if they didn't address this, the Congo would be taken over by communists, similar to what had happened in Cuba.
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    Camp David Accords

    The United States served as a mediator between Egypt and Israel as the two countries worked to establish peace deals with each other.
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    Iran Contra Affair

    The Iran Contra Affair was the sale of weapons to Iran from the United States. This main justification for this sale was that hostages held by Iran would be released.
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    U.S. Invasion of Panama

    The Bush Administration justified the invasion, saying they were trying to protect Americans in Panama, defend human rights in Panama, combat drug trafficking, and protecting the Torrijos-Carter treaties.
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    First Gulf War

    Suddam Hussein said that Iraq was going to invade and occupy Kuwait. Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and Egypt called on the United States and other Western nations to help out.
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    Balkan Crisis

    The U.S. intervened in the Balkan Crisis to bring in cease-fire and to provide peace in the Bosnian conflict.
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    Invasion of Afghanistan

    The Invasion of Afghanistan was carried out in order to combat terrorism and terrorist groups following the 9/11 attacks.
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    Second Gulf War

    The Second Gulf War broke out due to fears that Saddam Hussein was preparing chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction to use against the world.
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    Syrian Airfield Bombing

    United States bombs Syrian airfields because Bashar Al-Assad launched a chemical weapons attack against his own people