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Purchase of Alaska
Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars. This was significant because for the first time the North American continent was absent of another foreign power. -
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States naval officer and historian, and was a highly influential exponent of sea power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He wrote The Influence of Sea Power upon History, which argued that control of the sea was the key to world dominance;it stimulated the naval race among the great powers. -
Jingoism in the Spanish-American War
This is extreme patriotism, especially in the form of aggressive or warlike foreign policy. Expansionists were demanding that the united states take its place witht he imperialist nations of Europe as a world power. -
The Lure of Hawaii and Samoa
The Hawaiian and Samoan Islands attracted Americans primarily as stepping stones to the valuable trade of the Far East and as strategic locations for South Pacific naval bases. American residents in Hawaii instigated a revolution and the creation of a republican government in 1893, but the United States resisted annexation of the islands until 1898. After first acquiring a naval station in Samoa in 1878, the United States divided the island chain with Germany in 1899. -
Cuban Nationalist Revolt Spanish Rule
Bands of Cuban nationalists fought for ten years to overthrow Spanish colonial rule. Through guerrilla warfare and destroying sugar plantations, they hoped to force Spain out or to gain support of the US. They eventually gained US support and President William Mckinnley pressured spain to stop. -
Hawaii
The United States wanted Hawaii for business and so Hawaiian sugar could be sold in the U.S. duty free, Queen Liliuokalani opposed so Sanford B. Dole overthrew her in 1893, William McKinley convinced Congress to annex Hawaii in 1898. -
Sinking of the Maine
the United States battleship Maine, riding quietly at anchor in Havana harbor, was suddenly blown up, apparently by a mine, in an explosion which tore her bottom out and sank her, killing 260 officers and men on board. This was blamed on Spain, hence the reason we went to war with them. -
USS Maine sent to Cuba
The USS Maine was sent to Cuba in order to put pressure on Spain to let go of Cuba. It ended up exploding due to a mine crash under its hull. -
William McKinley approves war with Spain
On February 17, 1898, the battleship USS Maine, moored in Havana’s harbor, sank after being rocked by two explosions; 252 men onboard were killed. Hawks in the media and within the government immediately blamed Spain, and President McKinley, abandoning his hopes for neutrality in the Cuban-Spanish conflict, bowed to Congressional calls for war. -
Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines
The Battle of Manila Bay took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Contraalmirante Patricio Montojo. -
Hawaii Annexed
U.S. wanted Hawaii for business and so Hawaiian sugar could be sold in the U.S. duty free, Queen Liliuokalani opposed so Sanford B. Dole overthrew her in 1893, William McKinley convinced Congress to annex Hawaii in 1898 -
Treaty of Paris signed
The cession of the Philippines involved a payment of $20 million from the United States to Spain. The treaty was signed on December 10, 1898, and ended the Spanish–American War. The Treaty of Paris came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the documents of ratification were exchanged. -
Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba
The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights, was a decisive battle of the Spanish–American War. The San Juan heights was a north-south running elevation about 2 kilometres east of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. -
Philippine-American War
At the end of the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. This angered the Philippines because they wanted to be free so they declared war on the U.S.. The U.S. won this war which resulted in the dissolution of the First Philippine Republic. -
Guerrilla Warfare in Philippines
Demanding independence, Filipino insurgents led by Emilio Aguinaldo fought a guerrilla war against American takeover of the islands because America did not recognize indpendence. Proving much more difficult and costly than the war against Spain, the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) convinced American leaders of the need to prepare the island archipelago for eventual self-government. -
Open Door Policy in China
Outside powers had carved China into spheres of influence, threatening to reduce or even eliminate American economic interests there. Through a series of diplomatic notes written in 1899-1900, Secretary of State John Hay urged an "Open Door" policy in China that preserved for China some semblance of national authority over its territory and trade. The "Open Door" policy would allow the United States access to commercial opportunities equal to the other foreign powers. -
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement was a violent anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, toward the end of the Qing dynasty. -
Big Stick Diplomacy
Foreign policy of Theodore Roosevelt that was based on the proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick and you will go far," which advocated that the US engage in diplomacy but also maintain a strong military readiness to back up US goals. -
Revolution in Panama
Roosevelt was eager to begin construction of a canal through the narrow terrain of the isthmus of Panama. Although Colombia controlled this territory and refused to give it up so Roosevelt sponsored a revolt in Panama which successfully created a new government of an independent Panama allowing the US to now build the canal -
Japan
The Gentlemen's agreement with Japan where Japan agreed to limit immigration, and Roosevelt agreed to discuss with the San Francisco School Board that segregation of Japanese children in school would be stopped. The agreement prevented a war that would have been caused by California, who was in Japan's eyes, oppressing their children. -
Dollar Diplomacy
Term used to describe the efforts of the US to further its foreign policy through use of economic power by gaurenteeing loans to foreign countries. -
Conflict in Mexico
Wilson's moral approach to foreign affaris was severely tested by a revolution and civil war in Mexicao. Wanting democracy to triumph there, he refused to recognize the military dictatorship of General Victoriano Huerta, who had seized power in Mexico in 1913 by arranging to assassinate the democractically elected president. -
Tampico Incident
An arrest of American sailors by the Mexican government that spurred Woodrow Wilson to dispatch the American navy to seize the port of Veracruz in April 1914. Although war was avoided, tensions grew between the US and Mexico. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, and his wife, had decided to inspect Austro-Hungarian troops in Bosnia. The date chosen for the inspection was a national day in Bosnia. The Black Hand supplied a group of students with weapons for an assassination attempt to mark the occasion. A Serbian nationalist student, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, when their open car stopped at a corner on its way out of the town.) -
Everyone declares war
Germany declared war on Russia
Germany declared war on France
British declaration of war
Japan declared war on Germany
Turkey entered the war
Russia declared war on Turkey
Britain and France declared war on Turkey
Etc.... -
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The sinking of the Cunard ocean liner RMS Lusitania occurred on Friday, 7 May 1915 during the First World War, as Germany waged submarine warfare against the United Kingdom which had implemented a naval blockade of Germany. The ship was identified and torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 and sank in 18 minutes. -
Panama Canal
A 48 mile long waterway, created by Theodore Roosevelt, that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to promote maritime trade. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Following the successful revolution by the Bolsheviks, the Russians signed an Armistice with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. The terms of the treaty were harsh: Russia had to surrender Poland, the Ukraine and other regions. They had to stop all Socialist propaganda directed at Germany and pay 300 million roubles for the repatriation of Russian prisoners. -
USA declares war on Germany
The United States of America declared war on Germany in response to the sinking, by German U boats, of US ships. -
Armistice with Turkey
The allies had successfully pushed the Turkish army back and the Turks were forced to ask for an armistice. The terms of the armistice treaty allowed the allies access to the Dardenelles. -
Treaty of Versailles
There were a total of 440 clauses in the final treaty. The first 26 clauses dealt with the establishment of the League of Nations. The remaining 414 clauses spelled out Germany's punishment. This punishment on Germany is also a main reason of why WW2 starts in a few years. -
Red Scare
The red scare erupted in the early 1920's. The American public was scared that communism would come into the US. Left-winged supporters were suspected. This fear of communism helped businessman who used it to stop labor strikes.
