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The Boxers
In 1898, peasants in China began to band together and they formed a secret society known as the Boxers. The peasants wanted to destroy the Ch'ing dynasty so they practiced boxing, believing that it would make them invinceable to bullets. They began by taking down Chinese Christian Missionaries. They moved their rebellion to Beijing, and by that time international soldiers were sent to China to stop them. On August 14th, 1900, the rebellion had ended. -
McKinley's Statement of Chinese trade
By the 1900 other Countries began Pressuring the Chinese government for "consesions" which gave them control over Chinese regions. This made the U.S. concerned about their future of trading with China. Eager to advance American interest in China McKinley issued the Statement "Asking only the open door for ourselves, we are ready to accord the open door to others." He made this statement was made saying the U.S. wanted access to China without special advantages. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish American War. It signaled the end of the Spanish Empire in America. The treaty would come into effect on the 11th of April, 1899. The significance of the Treaty of Paris for this part of U.S. history was the cession of the Philippines to the U.S. from Spain. Spain was not very involved in the Philippines, even though they "owned it". When the U.S. got posession of the Philippines, their efforts to exploit it ultimately led to the Philippine-American War. -
Battle of Manila
Conflict between the Philipines and Americans began with the Battle of Manila. Fighting began when Philipines encroached on the American camp. Amilio Aguinaldo, the Philipine president, tried to stop the fighting by talking to American general Elwell S. Otis. Otis ignored him. There were 12,000 Americans agaisnt 15,000 Philipinos. 300 Americans were killed or wounded, while 2,000 Philipinos were killed or wounded. The battle was an American victory. -
First Philipine Republic Declares War Against U.S.
Emilo Aguinaldo stated "that peace and friendly relations with the Americans be broken and that the latter be treated as enemies, within the limits prescribed by the laws of war." Americans did not recognize the Republic as a power, they only saw the Philippines as a territory that -
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Philippine-American War
After the U.S. aquired the Philippines, there was controversy of its annexation. Commercial opportunities, thoughts that Philippinos could not rule themselves, fear of another imperial powers taking philippines made the U.S. start to act. While Americans were trying to figure this out, Auginaldo got his forces together to take control of the Philippines. When the war started, Americans viewed it as an insurrection, Philippines viewed Americans as foreign invaders. -
Hay's "Open Door Notes"
Secretary of State John Hay translated McKinleys words into the Open Door Policy and presented it to the countries that were claiming China, this policy allowed the U.S. to trade openly with China without oposition. The Policy was accepted in Europe and Japan, though Russia openly regected them, and the policy was claimed to be accepted in other counties but were unable to act unless all the powers agreed on them. -
Philippines Adopt Guerilla Warfare
When fighting in the Philippines first began, Philippinos were trying to fight in the conventional style agaisnt the Americans. This was very unaffective, as American weapons and technology were far superior. Another reason conventional warfare did not work for the Philippines was their lack of outside support from other nations. They started gaining ground after switching to Guerilla tactics, but it was already too late. -
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Policy of Attraction
The "Policy of Attraction" was a pacification campaign in the Philippines headed by future president William Howard Taft. This helped Americans win the war by getting key elite Philippinos to reject Aguinaldo's ideas and side with the Americans. It also allowed the Philippinos some piece of self governance. -
Hawaii Becomes a U.S. Territory
At the end of the 19th century, Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown due to the need for constitutional reform. The United States worked to bring Liluokalani back to the throne, but Hawaii wanted a republic instead. President William McKinley wanted to Annex Hawaii, which he finally was able to accomplish in 1898. This led to Hawaii becoming a territory in 1900. -
Platt Amendment
After gaining independence from Spain, Cuba created its first constitution. After much pressure from the United States and much Cuban resistance, the Platt Amendment was added to the Cuban constitution in 1901.
The Platt Amendment declared that Cuba was not allowed to make treaties with other countries. It also required Cuba to allow the US to have naval bases in Cuba. Finally, the amendment gave the US the right to preserve independence, life, and property in Cuba. -
Emilio Aguinaldo Captured
Aguinaldo was captured the day after his 32nd birthday. These were Emilio's own words about what happened when soldier entered his plaza and began firing "I ran to the window and cried out several times, 'Cease firing.' But seeing that the ...bullets from the rifles of the attacking party were directed against me as well as against the soldiers of my guard, I for the first time realized that the newcomers were enemies" 9 days later swore allegiance to U.S. -
Cuba Creates Their First Constitution
For a very long time, Cuba was ruled by the Spanish government. Great Britain tried to take Cuba from Spain, but their attempt failed. There were also rebellions in the 19th century by the Cubans to rid themselves of Spanish rule, but they were all unsuccessful. Tension between the United States and Spain increased in the late 19th century. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Spain withdrew from Cuba and Cuba gained independence soon afterward. They then created their first constitution. -
Philippine Organic Act
The approval of the Philippine Organic Act happened at the same time as the end of the war. If an act is organic, it establishes a territory. This act made a Bill of Rights for the Philippinos. It also disestablished the Roman Catholic Church.
It provided for the appointment of two Filipino nonvoting Resident Commissioners to represent the Philippines in the United States Congress. The Philippine Organic Act would eventually lead to the first Philippine Assembly. -
Philippino-American War Ends
Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed amnesty and declared the conflict over. The U.S. technically had control of the Philippines. Minor uprising occured for years after amnesty was declared. The Philippinos did not accept American rule easily. Even thought the war had ended, conflict would go on for a while to come. -
General Staff Act
The War with Spain had shown that the United States military system wasn't as strong and modern as it needed to be. After the war, Secretary of War Elihu Root began to reform the army. Root quadrupled the size of the regular army and established federal army standards for the National Guard. His tireless work really showed in the General Staff Act, which created the Chief of Staff position and established a group of 54 officers called the General Staff Corps. -
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American occupation of Cuba
In 1902, Cuba elected its first president, Tomas Estrada Palma. Palma was a successful governor for 4 years, but in 1906 when he tried to run again, there was considerable Cuban revolt. The United States stepped in and American troops occupied the island. William Howard Taft negotiated an end to the revolt. Charles Magoon, a US governor, gained temporary control of Cuba until 1909. -
Philippine Assembly
The Philippines convened their first elected assembly. This was significant because it was an important step in gaining their Independence. The U.S. allowed them to have their first assembly as promised from the census being published in 1905. The Assembly came after 2 years of peace. There had also been 2 years where a census was conducted in the Philippines. -
Black Plantation Rebellion in Cuba
Cuban president José Miguel Gómez was opposed by leaders of the Partido Independiente de Color, the leaders were Evaristo Estenoz and Pedro Ivonnet, the rebellion was designed to force Cuban president, José Miguel Gómez, to repeal the Morúa law which had been passed in 1910 and outlawed the formation of political parties on racial lines, therefore banning the Partido Independiente de Color. A rebellion was their last resort but the measures had to be taken, which then started the rebellion. -
Alaska Becomes a U.S. Territory
The United States became interested in Alaska when, in 1896, gold was discovered there. This prompted a huge gold rush. Canada wanted to claim Alaska after this discovery, but an international commission decided that the United States should obtain it. People from the United States began to inhabit Alaska. In 1912, when Congress passed the Organic Act of Alaska, it officially became a US territory. -
Jones Act
The Jones Act played the role as a constitution for the Philippines from 1916 to 1934. It was significant because it contained the first official declaration of the U.S. to grant the Philippines independence. It did not grant immediate independence, but provided that independence would be granted as soon as the Philippines had a stable government. -
Puerto Rico Becomes a U.S. Territory
In Late april of 1898 the Spanish-American war broke out over territories under control of Spain, such as Puerto Rico, Cuba the Philippines and Guam. On October 1, an initial meeting was held in Paris to draft the Peace Treaty. On December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed, handing the territories oer to the U.S. Later in the Jones Act of 1917 Puerto Rico would become a "organized but unincorporated." U.S. Territory. -
Commonwealth of the Philippines created
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was created in the Tydings-McDuffie Act. This was one of the final steps of the Philippine's road to independence. The Act replaced the constituiton made in the Jones Act. The most significant aspect of the Tydings-McDuffie Act was that it stated the Philippines had become a commonwealth, and that after a ten year transition period, the Philippines would have independence from the U.S. The act also classified Philipinos as aliens for immigration purposes. -
Philippines become Independent of U.S.
The Philippines were finally granted Independence from the U.S. in 1946, about ten years after the Tydings-McDuffie Act. They had full independence, but there were still strings attached. The U.S. still had many military bases in the Philippines. The Philippines were not allowed to be in trade competition with the U.S., and "U.S. citizens and corporations equal access to Philippine minerals, forests, and other natural resources". The Philippines was bullied into accepting these conditions.
