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The Purchase of Alaska
Due to William H. Sewald’s encouragement and appreciation of Russian support during the Civil War, Congress purchases Alaska for $7.2 million. It takes years for Americans to see Alaska’s value and stop referring it as “Sewald’s Folly” and “Sewald’s Icebox.” -
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History By Alfred Thayer Mahan
Mahan wrote,The Influence of Sea Power Upon History , where he argued that a strong navy is crucial for a country’s ambitions in establishing foreign markets and becoming a world power. -
Yellow Journalism
Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal printed exaggerated and false accounts of Spanish atrocities in Cuba. -
Annexation of Hawaii
American settlers aided in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarch, Queen Liliuokalani. President Cleveland disagreed with Republican efforts to annex Hawaii. -
Cuban Revolt
Cuban nationalist adopted the strategy of sabotaging and laying waste to Cuban plantations to force Spanish removal or involve the US in their revolution. -
De Lôme Letter
A Spanish diplomat’s letter was leaked to the press and published to the New York Journal. The letter was from a Spanish minister to the US, Dupuy De Lôme, the letter was critical of President McKinley and was seen as the first Spanish insult to the US. -
Sinking of the Maine
U.S. battleship Maine was docked in Havana, Cuba and suddenly exploded, killing 260 Americans. Yellow journalists accused Spain of the explosion but eventually it was deemed an accident. -
Teller Amendment
A joint resolution by Congress that declared that the U.S. had no intention of taking control of Cuba and that once peace was restored on the island, Cubans can control their own government. -
Battle of Manila Bay
First Battle Between American and Spanish Forces.
U.S. Commodore Dewey and his Asiatic squadron defeat the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines. -
The Spanish Surrender at Santiago
The U.S. victory at the Battle of Santiago ended the war and caused the Spanish resistance to weaken and America's navy to have a better reputation. -
McKinley’s War Message
McKinley issues an ultimatum that Spain ceases fire with Cuba. Spain agreed to the demand but Congress still wanted war. McKinley eventually agreed that April and sent out a war message to Congress. -
Treaty of Paris is signed
Treaty of Paris is signed in Paris. In Article III, Spain cedes the Philippine Islands to the U.S. -
Spain ratifies the Treaty of Paris
Spain ratifies the treaty when Queen Regent Maria Cristina signed the agreement to break the impasse of the deadlock Cortes. -
Boxer Rebellion
The secret society of Chinese nationalists--The Society of the Harmonious Fists or Boxers, attacked foreign settlements and murdered dozens of Christian missionaries. -
Hay’s second round of notes
Hays wrote a note to the imperialistic powers stating U.S. commitment to preserve Chinese territorial integrity and safeguard “equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese Empire.” -
Hawaiian Islands becomes United States Territory
After the urging from President Cleveland for annexation because of the outbreak of war and fight for the Philippines, Hawaii becomes US territory. -
Theodore Roosevelt’s Big Stick Diplomacy
Roosevelt adapted the “speak softly, and carry a big stick” policy after McKinley was shot dead. Roosevelt started this diplomacy because he wanted the U.S. to become a world power. -
Building of the Panama Canal begins.
After the signing of the Hay-Herran Treaty between the U.S. and Columbia, Columbia never ratified the treaty. It caused the U.S. to support a Panamanian uprising that resulted in the independence and construction of the panama canal. -
Russo-Japanese War
A war between imperialist rivalries between Russia and Japan. To end the war, Roosevelt arranged a conference between Russia and Japan in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. -
Railroads in China
Taft tests his policy in China by wanting U.S. bankers to invest in railroads in China. Taft succeeds by signing an agreement. -
President Woodrow Wilson sends signal to congress to blow up Gamboa Dike.
President Woodrow Wilson sends signal to congress to blow up Gamboa Dike, causing water to overflow from the canal into the Atlantic and Pacific for the first time. -
The Tampico Incident
Several American seamen went ashore at Tampico where they were arrested by Mexican authorities and soon released. -
Pancho Villa and the U.S. expeditionary force
Huerta falls from power and was replaced by a more democratic government. Hoping to destabilize the new government, Pancho Villa led raids across the U.S.- Mexican border and murdered multiple people in the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John J. Pershing to pursue Villa in Mexico. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
A Serbian terrorist murders Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand- the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire- and his wife. -
Austria issues ultimatum
Austria issued an ultimatum of war against Serbia and invades the country four days later. -
Germany declares war against France
Germany declares war against France, an ally of Russia, and immediately invades neutral Belgium because they’re the fastest route to Paris. -
Germany declares war against Germany
As Austria’s ally, the German Government declares war against Serbia under Kaiser Wilhelm I. -
Great Britain declares war on Germany
Great Britain, as an ally of France, declares war against Germany. -
The Red Scare
A widespread hysteria unhappiness with the peace process and also growing fears of socialism fueled by the Communist takeover in Russia and labor unrest at home. This anti-German hysteria over the war years turned suddenly into anti-Communism hysteria known as the Red Scare. -
Hawaii becomes a U.S. state (1959)
The US government approved statehood for Hawaii, and in June of 1959 the Hawaiian people voted for admittance into the US.
