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Washington's Farewell Address
As the distinguished first president of the United States, Washington set numerous precedents for the executive office. During the end of his second four year term, (a precedent Washington himself set), Washington delivered his famed farewell address. The contents of this 1796 address warned of the dangers of foreign entanglements. Washington declared permanent alliances to be a threat to the independence of the infant nation, and urged the American people to pursue an isolationist policy -
Louisiana Purchase
This land mass was first owned by Spain. It was relinquished to France by a secret treaty. Americans didn't like this too much;feared a french invasion-the southerners in particular were worried that this french invasion could free their slaves. To avoid a war, James Monroe in 1802 was sent to France to negotiate a purchase. Napolean had agreed because he was preparing for war with Britian and thought it best to hand over everything. So america gained more land than they were going to ask. -
Manifest Destiny
Westward Expansion: The movement of vast populations to the West in the 1830s and 1840s. The term Manifest Destiny was coined by John L O'Sullivan. People believed that it was the country's "Manifest Destiny" to spread over the whole of the continent -
Monroe Doctrine
This policy was adopted by the United States and declared that any actions taken by European nations to colonize any land in North or South America would be considered an act of aggression and would be addressed with U.S. intervention. This began the U.S.’s separation from the old world and would allow it to grow into the nation it is today -
Spanish American War
The United States of America declared war on Spain on April 25th 1898 due to the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor in February. Effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence. ∑ The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10th 1898. Spain lost control over their overseas territory such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippians islands, Guam and other islands. -
Roosevelt Corrollary
Roosevelt Corollary: December 1904. During Teddy's State of the Union Adress, he made this addition to the Monroe Doctrine. This addition meant that the USA would now intervene between the affairs between Europe and independent states in Latin America. Teddy's polocy also made the USA an unofficial police power of the Western Hemisphere. "Speak softly and carry a big stick." -
League of Nations
Intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference the first World War. First permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. -
Neutralty Acts of 1935 and 1937
The Neutrality Acts were laws that were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930s, in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following its costly involvement in World War I, and sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts. The legacy of the Neutrality Acts in the 1930s was widely regarded as having been generally negat -
Cash and Carry
During World War II, FDR developed this system to replace the Neutrality Acts of 1936. This act allowed the sale of material to belligerents so long as the recipients used their own transportation to recieve the goods. -
Lend-Lease Act
This act set up a system that would allow the US to lend or lease war supplies to any nation considered vital to the defense of the US. The plan was proposed by FDR and later passed by Congress in time to aid Great Britain's need for suppllies while remaining officially neutral. -
Creation of the United Nations
United Nations - established October 24th, 1945 (once the United Nations Charter was ratified) Intending to prevent a third world war, the United Nations replaced the weaker League of Nations in 1945. From early on, this international organization focused on not only maintaining international peace, but also attempting to solve problems occuring worldwide. Such problems involve the following: -human rights
-economic development
-international security and law
-social progress -
Containment
Containment began in post WWII years around 1947-1989, during the Cold War as the U.S. strategy against it. The situation was that the American people no longer had any desire to enter another war - but in light of Soviet Union takeovers- they had to do something. Therefore this policy was proposed as an idea to "contain" or prevent the spread of communism - not necessarily eradicate its existence. This policy became known as the Truman Doctrine. This however lead to many costly interventions on -
Truman Doctrine
During the post-WWII -> pre-Cold War era, the Domino Theory was the idea that if one country fell under communist influence or control, its neighboring countries would soon follow. It was first proposed after the Greek Civil War (1944-1949), fought between the US and Britain backed government and Greek communists. American intervention prompted the March 12, 1947 signing of the Truman Doctrine (policy of aiding nations defending themselves against communist forces). Under Secretary of State Dean -
Marshall Plan
Large scale program set by U.S. that gave aid to Europe after WWII to combat the spread of communism. The goals of the U.S. were to rebuild a war-devastated region, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again. -
NATO
An intergovernmental military alliance that is based on the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949. This organization is a system of collective defense where its members agree that if one or more members are attacked by an external party then the response will be mutual between all of its members. -
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950) was a war between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The Korean War was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean peninsula was ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of the Empire of Japan in September 1945, American administrators divided the penin -
Domino Theory
The Domino Theory was a reason for war during the 1950's to 1980's. It was speculation that the continent of Asia was coming into communism. The theory came into words during a news conference by President Eisenhower on April 7,1954 -
Vietnam War
Vietnam War - The Viet Cong (Vietnamese: Việt cộng, or National Liberation Front (NLF), was a political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War (1959–1975). It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory it controlled. Many soldiers were recruited in South Vietnam, but others were attached to the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), t -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
This resolution was passed by congress upon request of Lyndon B. Johnson after American ships had alledgedly been attacked on three days before the resolution was passed. The resolution gave the president the power to repel enemy attacks and was later used by Nixon and Johnson to justify their actions taken during the Vietnam War -
War Powers Resolution
The War Powers Resolution of 1973 (50 U.S.C. 1541-1548)[1] is a federal law intended to check the power of the President in committing the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. The resolution was adopted in the form of a United States Congress joint resolution; this provides that the President can send U.S. armed forces into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or in case of "a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories o -
Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords
September 17, 1978 An historic 1979 peace agreement negotiated between Egypt and Israel at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. Under the pact, Israel agreed to return captured territory to Egypt and to negotiate Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. -
Strategic Defense Initiative
Announced by President Ronald Reagan in a speech in Mar, 1983, it is U.S. government program responsible for research and development of a space-based system to defend the nation from attack by strategic ballistic missiles. The program is now administered by the Missile Defense Agency. In 1993, under G.H.W.Bush, it was reorganized as the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO). The more limited system, called the National Missile Defense (NMD).In 2002, the BMDO was renamed the Missile Defe -
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Desert Storm began August 2, 1990 and ended February 28, 1991. This is also known as the Gulf War. It was waged by a UN authorized coalition force, led by the United States, against Iraq. It was in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. It was a decisive coalition victory, that resulted in the imposition of Sanctions against Iraq, the removal of Iraqi invasion forces from Kuwait, and heavy Iraqi casualties/destruction of Iraq and Kuwait infastructure. -
Dayton Accords
signed in Paris on December 14, 1995. the dayton accord strived for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was initialed by the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
under U.S President Bill Clinton
The Agreement was witnessed by representatives of the Contact Group nations -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Russia -- and the European Union Special Negotiator. the peace agreement was negotiated at Wright-Patterson Air F -
Kyoto Treaty
The "Kyoto Treaty" is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The goal of the treaty is to reduce the emission of four specific greenhouse gases; carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and sulphur. The treaty was first initiated in Kyoto, Japan on December 11, 1997. It became effective elsewhere on February 16, 2005. Since then, 191 states/countries have joined. Even though the United States has signed the treaty, the actions have not yet been ratified. -
War on Terror
The War on Terror (Sep.12, 2001-Present): The military campaign led by the U.S. and the UK against al Queda and other terrorist organizations with hope to eliminate them. As a responce to 9/11 the USA PATRIOT Act was passed in order to gather information on terrorist groups in the U.S. -
War in Afghanistan
The war in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001 and is still going on. As the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front (Northern Alliance) launched Operation Enduring Freedom. The primary driver of the invasion was the September 11 attacks on the United States, with the stated goal of dismantling the al-Qaeda terrorist organization and ending its use of Afghanistan as a base. The United States also said that it would remove the Tali -
War in Iraq
War in Iraq (March 20, 2003). President Bush cited the possibility of Saddam Hussein acquiring nuclear weapons and posing a direct threat to the United States. The former President and his officials also claimed that Hussein had direct ties to the Al Qaeda terrorist organization that caused the tragedy in New York City on September 11, 2001. Hussein was executed in 2006 and the leader of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, was killed five years later in the midst of the battle.
