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Purchase of Alaska
Alaska was purchased from Russia by the arrangement of William Seward, secretary of state. This deal was widely scorned by the public. In the end, the 7.2 million dollar purchase was a good deal. Many resources, including gold and oil, were found in Alaska.
Text book- page 258
www.americaslibrary.org -
Pearl Harbor purchase
As Hawaii is conveniently located halfway between the U.S. and Asia, it made a valuable military base. The U.S. realized this and convinced Hawaii to allow them to put a naval base there. It was then used as a refilling station for ships heading to Asia.
www.century-of-flight.net -
U.S.S. Maine explosion
www.history.navy.mil
The U.S.S. Maine was sent to Havana in response to violence in Cuba. They arrived on January 25 in an attempt to lessen violence towards American citizens in Cuba. Less than a month later, the ship blew up, killing the crew. Americans largely blamed it on the Spanish, which was a key part in the start of the Spanish-American war. -
Spanish-American war
The Spanish-American war had many causes. One of the first reasons tensions rose were the Cuban uprisings. Spain treated the Cuban very cruelly and the cruelty was exaggerated further by "yellow journalism." After that, the U.S.S. Maine exploded, and the blame was pinned on Spain. The last straw was when Spain refused to let Cuba be an independent country. With all the pressure from the American people, the U.S. had to go to war with Spain. http://spanishamericanwar.info/causes.htm -
Annexation of Hawaii
American planters overthrew the queen of Hawaii when their business was threatened. They asked to be annexed by the U.S. The native Hawaiians didn't want to be annexed and wrote a petition. The petition worked and they were not annexed until the Spanish-American war.
www.fordham.edu -
Signing of the peace treaty
After Spain was defeated in Cuba and Guam, they signed a peace treaty with the U.S. The treaty was signed in Paris. It stated that Spain would withdraw from Cuba and let the U.S. have Guam and Puerto Rico. The U.S. gave Spain 20 million dollars in return. It was approved in February 1999.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h828.html -
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Boxer rebellion
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/filmmore/reference/interview/lafeber_boxerrebellion.html
The Boxer rebellion was a rebellion by the chinese. They felt forigners were taking away their culture. They went after all the forigners. Many forigners were killed before the uprising was stopped. The uprising went from late 1899 to early 1900. The dates above are estimates. -
Open Door Policy
The open door policy was put into place because the U.S. was worried other countries would get all the trade from China. To prevent this from happening, Secretary of State John Hay wrote a policy stating that no country should have a monopoly of trade with China. http://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/HayandChina -
Boxer rebellion
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/filmmore/reference/interview/lafeber_boxerrebellion.html The Boxer rebellion was a rebellion by the Chinese. They felt foreigners were taking away their culture. They went after all the foreigners. Many foreigners were killed before the uprising was stopped. The uprising went from late 1899 to early 1900. -
Roosevelt Corollary
This was added to the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine prevented other nations from intervening with Latin America. The Roosevelt Corollary also allowed the U.S. to intervene as they saw fit. Textbook page 270 -
Panama canal finished
The Panama Canal is a path through Central America. It shortens the route around the Americas by connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The exact date it was done is unknown.
