-
Seward's Folly
Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of some land in northern North America from Russia. He purchased the land for a around seven million dollars and proved to be a steal because of the amount of resources that were actually found. At the time however, there were many critics of the purchase as they believed it only consisted of ice and native inuit tribes. Nowadays, the purchase is considered among the best the U.S. has ever made. -
Alfred Mahan's, "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History"
He wrote this book to explain the significance of having a strong navy in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. It explains how having a strong navy can mean having more power and land across the globe. The strategies outlined in this book were considered revolutionary and many navies adopted these strategies. The influence of the navy could mean that a country across the world could control territories on the opposite side and gain many valuable resources and spheres of influence. -
Rough Riders Organized
The rough riders were the volunteer military force the United States used against Spain. They were made up of people who many believed represented the values of the hardworking American. They were led by Theodore Roosevelt and were the first volunteer regiment in the U.S. army that saw action. They fought the Spanish in Cuba in the Battle of Las guisámas. -
De Lome Letter
De Lome, a Spanish ambassador to the U.S. wrote a letter highly critical of President William McKinley and was meant to be kept within Spanish territory. However, it was intercepted by Cuba and they published this to the United States. This prompted McKinley to want war against Spain in order to take their territories. He eventually replied back to De Lome with a war message.
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=53 -
USS Maine Explosion
USS Maine sinks in Havana Harbor and kills 266 people. No one really knew what the real cause of the explosion was. However, Spain was blamed due to yellow journalism and many people began to want war. Even though it wasn't Spain's fault, this was used to instill nationalistic beliefs into Americans. -
Teller amendment
This was created to state that Cuba wouldn't join with the United States and would instead become their own separate nation. The United States however, would have a large say in many of the relations Cuba could have. They just sent troops in to get Spain out of Cuba but would never have territorial control over them. This stopped the Spanish from having control of territory close to the United States.
https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/teller.html -
Anti-Imperialists Leage
They were a group of people who were against the annexation of goods, land, and resources from the territories the U.S. took in the Spanish-American War. The protested the annexation of the Philippines based on the morals of taking their land and instead wanted the Philippines to become a free country. They believed it went against their consent and would be considered dictatorial. However, the U.S. still acquired the Philippines.
https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/league.html -
Battle of San Juan Hill
The bloodiest and final battle in the Spanish-American war, it took place in Cuba. The Rough Riders and Buffalo Soldiers won the battle for the U.S. Spain actually killed more people, however their smaller army meant the U.S. won. The battle secured the freedom for the Cubans from Spanish rule.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/roughriders.htm -
Annexation of Hawaii
The U.S. gained Hawaii, which gave them some control in the Pacific. They had to fend off influence from many European nations to make it happen. They got many luxury resources and exotic fruits from Hawaii which helped the economy. It also gave them land in the Pacific, spreading their spheres of influence.
https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/gp/17661.htm -
U.S. Defeats Spanish in the Philippines
The war ended when the United States took control of Manila and forced the Spanish to concede defeat. Many other countries wanted control of the Philippines as well, but with Dewey getting the victory for the U.S., no countries could claim the Philippines. Spain, having lost the Philippines as well ended the war shortly after. The Filipinos, became upset after the U.S. began to take the place of Spain in the Philippines, started the Spanish-American War shortly after. -
Treaty of Paris 1898
The Treaty of Paris (1898) ended the Spanish-American war, with the U.S. winning many Spanish territories such as: Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. The Spanish lost all of their overseas empire and the U.S. gained either land or significant control over former Spanish territory. The Treaty effectively ended Spain's spheres of influence and they became much less important among world powers. On the other hand, the U.S. expanded their spheres of influence and became the major world power. -
"The White Man's Burden"
A poem by Rudyard Kipling, the poem was viewed at the time as a highly racialized, imperialistic poem about the U.S's want for expansion in the Pacific. He wrote the poem shortly after the U.S. gained control of the Philippines, and tried to convince Americans to to civilize the Filipinos. Many his his remarks about the Filipinos being uncivilized, but Theodore Roosevelt believed the poem was sending the right message about imperialism. It was very controversial due to the subject and beliefs. -
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy enacted by the U.S. was made to try and stimulate free and open trade with the Chinese. They wanted free trade with the Chinese to make the U.S. the most influential nation in China. They wanted to make China the first eastern world power as well, to have a great trade partner. Many Chinese were reluctant to the policy and began to protest, sometimes violently. The other countries never agreed and the U.S. other purpose in making it was to try to have their own influence. -
Foraker Act
The Foraker Act created a government in Puerto Rico. The U.S. had just gotten Puerto Rico as part of the Treaty of Paris and decided to create a civilian government there to enforce U.S. laws in their territory. It also meant the U.S. could allow Puerto Rico representation in government, with governor's and other judicial systems created. Puerto Rico essentially became part of the U.S. system, but did not have enough people or power to be considered a state. -
Insular Cases
The insular cases that occurred throughout the early part of the twentieth century, determined the legal status of those who were part of the U.S.'s newly acquired territory. They decided to not initially define their rights until they were declared citizens by Congress. They put the people of those territories under U.S. regulations, but did not consider them full U.S. citizens. These cases took many years and they often went back and forth on what should be done with the new territory. -
Platt Amendment
The Amendment meant the U.S. would stop trying to control Cuba and would instead let the citizens run their country. But, they made a series of demands to the Cubans before they left. They didn't want another nation to ever occupy Cuba because of how close they would be to the U.S. They also wanted Cuba to create better conditions for their people. It lasted until the 1930s and was mainly created as a means for the U.S. to have some influence of Cuba, even though they didn't have control. -
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion was led by Chinese citizens who protested the Open Door Policy. They didn't want the U.S. to have influence over who they traded with and fought back over the increasing pressure to do so. They would destroy U.S. property and try to damage any of their machinery. Their goal was to try and scare the U.S. off of China in order to stop U.S. beliefs from spreading to China.
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1999/winter/boxer-rebellion-1.html -
McKinley Assassinated
McKinley was assassinated about a year into his second term as President. He was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt and killed by Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz believed that he had corrupted the U.S. government and he needed to do his duty and kill him. He was shot in Buffalo, NY, while talking to the public.
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/mckinley.htm -
Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty started construction of the Panama canal in order to have a way to transport goods through Central and South America. The Clayton-Bulwer treaty between the UK and U.S. was ended as well due to the treaty. The U.S. funded and constructed the canal, however the U.S. and British both protected it. The canal was created for all to use as trade and the U.S. also got closer to having a trade relationship with Colombia, who had control over Panama at the time. -
US Recognized Panama as a Nation
Panama had been previously been controlled by Colombia. Shortly after they became a free nation, the U.S. recognized them as their own independent nation. The U.S. played a big role as they wanted Panama free in order to have total control over the Panama canal. The revolution that game Panama their freedom was actually started by the company that was constructing the canal. -
Hay-Buneau-Varilla Treaty
The treaty outlined the land in Panama around the canal that the U.S. had control over to regulate use of the canal. This was agreed shortly after Panama's independence, as Colombia originally wouldn't let them have that much control. The zone that was created was guarded by the U.S. but could be used for transportation of goods by any country that wanted to. The treaty allowed much quicker trade as there wasn't an easy way through Central America prior. -
Russo-Japanese War
The Japanese started a war with Russia to try and prevent their expansion eastward. They launched a successful, surprise naval attack on the Russians and ended up defeating them. The U.S. also got involved to try and act as the good guys and wanted to protect the Japanese. The war was the first time a European power lost to an Asian power.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/portsmouth-treaty -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary was an expansion to the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that no country could colonize Latin America. The Corollary added onto the Doctrine by allowing the U.S. to use their military if any country entered Latin America. Roosevelt wanted to completely end the thought of European nation colonizing Latin America and believed the threat of war would be the only thing to protect Latin America. It was part of his Big Stick Policy, that the U.S. would influence much of the world. -
The Great White Fleet
The Fleet was created by Roosevelt and sent across the world to show everyone the power of the United States navy. The belief at the time was that having the strongest navy meant you were the most powerful nation, and Roosevelt tried to convince every to be wary of the U.S. He wanted to awe every nation of their power. The main goal was to scare every nation into keeping peace.
https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/greatfleet.html -
Dollar Diplomacy
Taft and Knox created this to keep financial interests with other countries high. They would use the power of the U.S. economy in order to gain influence with poorer nations. They had the power to put any leaders they wanted in power and could assimilate many cultures. However, many fought back in those nations and eventually the U.S. stopped trying to control the smaller nations using their wealth.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/dollar-diplo -
Panama Canal Completed
The completion of the Panama Canal offered easier access through the Americas. All countries were allowed to use the canal for trade and the U.S. was given land around the canal to guard. This allowed ships to go straight through the Americas rather than go around the bottom, making the world as a whole seem smaller due to the faster trade. It was very expensive and time consuming to maker, but is still in use today, and the most important canal ever constructed.
