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Hawaii - McKinley Tariff
The McKinley Tariff proved to a turning point in the relations between the United States and Hawaii. In 1890 the United States Congress approved the McKinley Tariff, which raised import rates on foreign sugar -
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, a lecturer in naval history and the president of the United States Naval War College, published The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783, a revolutionary analysis of the importance of naval power as a factor in the rise of the British Empire. -
Hawaii - The Uprising
American sugar planters in Hawaii staged an uprising to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani and asked for the protection of United States forces -
Alaska - Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1896 and 1899. ... To reach the gold fields, most took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway in Southeast Alaska -
Spanish American War - Battle of Santiago de Cuba
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba was a naval battle that occurred on July 3, 1898, in which the United States Navy decisively defeated Spanish forces, sealing American victory in the Spanish–American War and achieving nominal independence for Cuba from Spanish rule -
Hawaii - The Annexation
Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898 when Queen Liliuokalani tried to restore the power of monarchy after the death of King Kalakaua. ... One reason was because Hawaii played an important role in the interest of US's economy -
Spanish American War - the U.S.S Maine Explodes
the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 268 men and shocking the American populace -
Spanish American War - U.S. Congress Declares War on Spain
the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898 -
Spanish American War - The Battle of Manila Bay
The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Contraalmirante (Rear admiral) Patricio Montojo. The battle took place in Manila Bay in the Philippines, and was the first major engagement of the Spanish–American War -
Spanish American War - Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill (July 1, 1898), also known as the battle for the San Juan Heights, was a decisive battle of the Spanish–American War. -
Spanish American War - Spain Surrenders
By the Treaty of Paris (signed Dec. 10, 1898), Spain renounced all claim to Cuba, ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20 million -
Spanish American War - Protocol of Peace Signed
Peace protocols were signed in Washington, D.C. on August 12, 1898. Although this armistice ended the active conflict, the war could not be considered over until a treaty was signed. -
Spanish American War - Treaty of Paris Signed
The Treaty of Paris is signed by representatives from the U.S. and Spain. and the U.S. acquires control over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines -
Philippine- American War - First Phase
There were two phases to the Philippine-American War. The first phase, from February to November of 1899, was dominated by Aguinaldo's ill-fated attempts to fight a conventional war against the better-trained and equipped American troops. The second phase was marked by the Filipinos' shift to guerrilla-style warfare -
Philippine- American War - Second Phase
The second phase was marked by the Filipinos' shift to guerrilla-style warfare. It began in November of 1899, lasted through the capture of Aguinaldo in 1901 and into the spring of 1902, by which time most organized Filipino resistance had dissipated -
China - Open Door Policy
Open Door policy, statement of principles initiated by the United States in 1899 and 1900 for the protection of equal privileges among countries trading with China and in support of Chinese territorial and administrative integrity. -
China - Boxer Rebellion
This situation, combined with increased missionary activity by Christians, as well as a drought followed by floods and an outbreak of the bubonic plague, led to the Boxer Rebellion. The rebellion is important because: The European great powers (including Britain) finally ceased their ambitions of colonizing China -
Big Stick Diplomacy - Roosevelt Corollary
Teddy Roosevelt used the phrase "speak softly, and carry a big stick" to describe his foreign policy. Big Stick diplomacy defined his presidency -
Panama Canal - Roosevelt using his Big Stick Diplomacy
Building the Panama Canal, 1903–1914. President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of a long-term United States goal—a trans-isthmian canal. Throughout the 1800s, American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts -
Japan - Gentlemen's Agreement
an informal agreement between the United States of America and the Empire of Japan whereby the United States would not impose restrictions on Japanese immigration, and Japan would not allow further emigration to the United States -
Big Stick Diplomacy - Great White Fleet
In the twilight of his administration, United States President Theodore Roosevelt dispatched 16 U.S. Navy battleships of the Atlantic Fleet on a worldwide voyage of circumnavigation from 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909. ... These ships would later come to be known as the Great White Fleet -
Dollar Diplomacy
the use of diplomacy to promote the United States commercial interest and economic power abroad by guaranteeing loans made to strategically important foreign countries -
Panama Canal - The Opening
On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was opened to traffic. -
Mexico - Aggressive Moral Diplomacy
Moral diplomacy was a major tool for the United States to pursue its economic interests abroad. This meant that the United States would grow and at the same time, help other nations to grow and prosper in terms of economic conditions by helping them -
WWI - Germany invades Belgium
Germany declared war on France. To avoid the French fortifications along the French-German border, the troops had to cross Belgium and attack the French Army by the north. Of course, Belgians refused to let them through, so the Germans decided to enter by force and invaded Belgium -
WWI - Archduke Assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August -
WWI - Lusitania Sinks
On 4 February 1915 Germany declared the seas around Great Britain a war zone subject to submarine warfare and that allied ships in the area would be sunk without warning. The Germans believed that the Lusitania was carrying war supplies. British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans -
Mexico - Pancho Villa
After being abandoned by his former supporter Woodrow Wilson against Carranza, Pancho Villa led an army of about 1,500 guerillas across the border to stage a raid against the small American town of Columbus, New Mexico. Wilson ordered General John Pershing to lead 6,000 American troops into Mexico and capture Villa -
WWI - US Enters War
the U.S. joined its allies--Britain, France, and Russia--to fight in World War I. Under the command of Major General John J. Pershing, more than 2 million U.S. soldiers fought on battlefields in France. Many Americans were not in favor of the U.S. entering the war and wanted to remain neutral -
WWI - Zimmerman Telegram
a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico -
WWI - Russia Withdrawls Forces
Russia signalled her withdrawal from World War One soon after the October Revolution of 1917, and the country turned in on itself with a bloody civil war between the Bolsheviks and the conservative White Guard -
WWI - The End of the War
World War One ended at 11am on 11 November, 1918. This became known as Armistice Day - the day Germany signed an armistice (an agreement for peace) which caused the fighting to stop. People in Britain, France and the countries that supported them celebrated -
Red Scare
The fear of communism, known as the Red Scare, led to a national witch hunt for suspected communist supporters, which was known as McCarthyism. Learn about the rise of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, the impact of McCarthyism on American society and the legacy of the short-lived fear campaign.
