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Yellow Journalism
- Yellow Journalism is a style of writing that exaggerates news to lure and enrage readers. Newspapers such as William Hearst's New York Journal and Jospeh Pulitzer's New York World printed these accounts and wrote about Valeriano Weyler's brutality with the concentration camps.
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George Dewey
He gave the command to open fire on the Spanish fleet at Manila (The Phillippine capital) during the first battle of the war. His victory allowed U.S. Troops to land in the Philippines. -
Treaty Of Paris
The U.S. And Spain met in Paris to agree on The Treaty of Paris. Spain freed Cuba and turned over the islands of Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the West Indies to the U.S at the peace talks. They also sold the Philippines to the U.S. For $20 million. -
Platt Amendment
The U.S. Stated that its army would not withdraw until Cuba adopted several provisons, known as the Platt Amendment. Cuba then became a U.S. Protectorate. It was important in order for the U.S. To protect American businesses that had invested in Cuba's sugar, tobacco, railroad, public utilities and mining industries. -
Roosevelt's Presidency (March 4, 1901)
Roosevelt (vice-president of McKinley) became president when President McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt sought to curb the actions of trusts that hurt public interest. He filed 44 antitrust suits, winning a number of them and breaking up others. -
Meat Inspection Act
Products were now regulated to be safe for consumption. Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle, revealed the disgusting conditions of the meatpacking industry. After reading it, Roosevelt pushed for the passage of The Meat Inspection Act, which ordered strict cleanliness requirements for meatpackers. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
It stopped the sale of contaminated foods and medicines and called for truth in labeling. It didn't completely ban harmful products, but it required accurate information in labeling. It made people more aware of what they were buying and let them think twice before buying products that were harmful. -
Acquiring Alaska As A State
William Seward, Secretary of State, was an early supporter of American expansionism and had some trouble convincing the House of Representatives to approve the treaty to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. When Alaska became a state in 1959, the U.S. gained a land rich in timber, minerals, and oil for about two cents an acre. -
17th Amendment
It established direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote to the U.S. constitution. It allowed the people of each state to choose who would represent their state in the U.S. Senate instead of state legislators choosing who would represent their state. It gave more of a voice to the people. -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Gavrilo Princip, who was part of the Black Hand, shot Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austrian throne) while we was visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia. Austria-Hungry declared war on Serbia, and Germany was pulled into the war, as they were obligated by treaty to support Austria-Hungary. This began WWI. -
Election of 1916
The U.S. presidential election of 1916 held Woodrow Wilson, for the Democratic candidate, and Charles Evans Hughes, for the Republican candidate. Wilson became the first Democratic candidate since Andrew Jackson to be elected for two terms after he won by a close 600,000 votes and narrow Electoral College margin. -
Zimmerman Note
The Zimmerman Note was part of a series of overt acts that led the U.S. into war. It was a secret telegram from the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico that was intercepted by British agents. The telegram proposed an alliance between Mexico and Germany, and that if war broke out, Germany would support Mexico. -
War Industries Board
The War Industries Board was the main regulatory body under the leadership of Bernard M. Baruch that encouraged compaines to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency. It also urged them to eliminate waste by standardizing products. Industrial production in the U.S. increased by about 20 percent under the War Industries Board. -
Armistice
The armistice was an agreement between Germany and the Allies. It ended WWI on November 11, 1918, and marked a victory for the Allies and a defeat for Germany. -
Nineteenth Amendment
Passing the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote. It gave women a voice that they rarely had before, and it was able to represent many more people after it was passed. The Nineteenth Amendment was a major step for the U.S. into a more democratic government.
