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The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire
Mahan stressed the interdependence of the military and commercial control of the sea and asserted that the control of seaborne commerce can determine the outcome of wars. -
The French in Mexico
Seward invoked the Monroe Doctrine and threatened U.S. military action unless the French with-drew. Napoleon III backed down, and the French troops left Mexico. -
The Purchase of Alaska
Russia had control of Alaska and established a small colony for seal hunting, but the territory became an economic burden because of the threat of a British takeover. Russia sold it to the US for 7.2 million -
Annexation of Hawaii
Expansionists coveted the islands and American settlers aided in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarch, Queen Liliuokalani. -
Cuban Revolt
Through sabotage and laying waste to Cuban plantations, they hoped to either force Spain's withdrawal or pull in the United States as an ally. -
The Philippine-American War
The outbreak of war in the Philippines gave Congress and President McKinley the pretext to complete annexation of Hawaii -
Cuba and the Platt Amendment
Previously, the Teller Amendment to the war resolution had guaranteed U.S. respect for Cuba's sovereignty as an independent nation. -
Yellow Press
Actively promoting war fever in the United States was yellow journalism, sensationalist reporting that featured bold and lurid head-lines of crime, disaster, and scandal. -
De Lome Letter
One story that caused a storm of outrage was a Spanish diplomat's letter that was leaked to the press and printed on the front page of Hearst's Journal. -
Sinking of the Maine
The U.S. battleship Maine was at anchor in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, when it suddenly exploded, killing 260 Americans on board. -
McKinley's War Message
President McKinley issued an ultimatum to Spain demanding that it agree to a ceasefire in Cuba. -
Teller Amendment
Responding to the president's message, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing war. Part of the resolution, the
Teller Amendment, declared that the United States had no intention of taking political control of Cuba and that, once peace was restored to the island, the Cuban people would control their own government. -
The Philippines
Theodore Roosevelt, McKinley's assistant secretary of the navy, was an expansionist who was eager to show off the power of his country's new, all-steel navy. -
Invasion of Cuba
More troublesome than the Philippines was the U.S.
effort in Cuba. An ill-prepared, largely volunteer force landed in Cuba by the end of June. Here the most lethal enemy proved to be not Spanish bullets but tropical diseases. -
Hawaiian Islands Becoming a Territory
Became a US Territory and the fiftieth state in the Union -
Boxer Rebellion
A secret society of Chinese nationalists, the Society of Harmonious Fists, or Boxers attacked foreign settlements and murdered dozens of Christian missionaries. -
Hay's Second Round of Notes
Hay feared that the expeditionary force in China might attempt to occupy the country and destroy its independence. -
Insular Cases
One question concerned the constitutional rights of the
Philippine people: Did the Constitution follow the flag? In other words, did the provisions of the U.S. Constitution apply to whatever territories fell under U.S. control, including the Philippines and Puerto Rico? The issue was resolved in favor of the imperialists in a series of Supreme Court cases -
The Panama Canal
As a result of the Spanish-American War, the new American empire stretched from Puerto Rico in the Caribbean to the Philippines in the Pacific. -
Big Stick Diplomacy
The new president had once said that it was his motto to "speak softly and carry a big stick." The press therefore applied the label "big stick" to Roosevelt's aggressive foreign policy. -
Roosevelt attempted to build the reputation of the U.S. as a world power.
Imperialists applauded his every move, but critics disliked breaking the tradition of non involvement in global politics. -
Revolution in Panama
Roosevelt was eager to begin the construction of a canal through the narrow but rugged terrain of the isthmus of Panama. -
Russo-Japanese War
Imperialist rivalry between Russia and Japan led to war, a war Japan was winning. -
Railroads in China
Taft first tested his policy in China. Wanting U.S. bankers to be included in a British, French, and German plan to invest in railroads in China, Taft succeeded in securing American participation in an
agreement. -
Lusitania Crisis
The first major crisis challenging US neutrality -
Battle of the Somme
fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. -
Zimmermann Telegram
US newspapers carried the shocking news of a secret offer made by Germany to Mexico -
Russian Revolution
Wilson wanted the war to be fought for a worthy purpose: the triumph of democracy -
Espionage and Sedition Acts
A number of socialists and pacifists bravely risked criticizing the government's war policy -
Selective Service Act
To meet this need, Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker devised a selective service system to conscript men into the military -
Case of Schenck v. US
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Espionage Act in a case involving a man who had been imprisoned for distributing pamphlets against the draft -
The Treaty of Versailles
The peace conference following the armistice took place in the Palace of Versailles outside Paris -
The Red Scare
Promotion of widespread fear by a society or state about a potential rise of communism, anarchism, or radical leftism
