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Monroe Doctrine
President Monroe declared to Congress in his yearly speech four main points. He stated that the Western Hemisphere would no longer be a place open for new colonization, that the political system between the Americas and Europe are different and need to be treated as so, that the US would view any interference with the Western Hemisphere as a safety threat, and that the US needed to keep from participating in the wars of European powers nor disturb existing colonies in the Western Hemisphere. -
Treaty of Wanghia
The treaty of Wanghia was signed on July 3, 1844 and ratified on January 16, 1845 after a unanimous vote in congress. Britain had opened up five treaty ports in China through the Treaty of Nanking, now the US wanted to open up a world of trade as well. It allowed Americans to merchandize equally through those five ports. They would be able to still be governed by the US while in China where they could buy land, build churches, hospitals, etc. and they would only have to pay a fixed tax. -
Opening Trade with Japan
US Naval Officer, Commodore Perry, and three other ships docked at Tokyo Bay on July 8th, 1853 in attempt to open trade between the countries. After many days of negotiation Japan realized that the only way to prevent from a war would be to sign the treaty with the United States. The treaty gave peace and friendship between the two countries, opening for two ports to American ships, help for shipwrecked Americans on Japanese coasts, and permission for American ships to buy supplies from Japan. -
Ostend Manifesto
Under southern desire to have territory for slaves, they wanted to gain control of Cuba which was under the control of Spain. The secretary of state, William Marcy, gathered three ambassadors to Ostend Belgium where they created the Ostend Manifesto. This document said that Cuba was crucial in US domestic interests and if Spain refused to sell, they would have to take Cuba by force. This was one of the events that led to the Civil War because of the uproar it caused. -
US Purchase of Alaska
Secretary of state (William H Seward) agreed to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. The purchase increased Americas land by 20%. Other good things also came from this, in the 1880s and 1890 major discoveries of gold were found there and today there is a major petroleum pipeline running across the state. Alaska officially became a state in 1946 and was adopted into the Constitution on January 3rd 1959. Alaska was the 49th state. -
Spanish American War
This war lasted for four months and was nicknamed “A Splendid Little War”. This was resulted from the United States’ concern of how Spain was cruelly treating Cuba and the conspiracy that the Spaniards had torpedoed the USS Maine. The US gained the Philippines as well as Guam and eventually partial control of Cuba. -
Annexation of Hawaii
In January of 1893, Hawaiian planters coordinated and uprising against their queen and at the same time the US army went to the island without government approval to raise the American Flag in the Hawaiian capitol of Honolulu. Cleveland was president at the time and he withdrew the annexation. After he left office and McKinley was president, he signed a resolution annexing the island. Hawaii became a state in 1959. -
Annexation of The Philippines
When the Spanish American War ended, Spain gave the US the Philippine Islands in the Treaty of Paris. Two days before the treaty was approved, fighting broke out between US troops and he Filipinos. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo, the Filipinos fought for their freedom rather than just a trade in who controlled them. The Philippine American war lasted three years. Eventually the Jones Act Promised the nations independence and they were ranted freedom in 1935. -
Open Door Policy
This policy was a concept of foreign affairs that was used to give all trading countries equal access to Chinese trading without giving away any of China’s power. It came with almost universal approval and these terms were set; each great power should maintain free access to a treaty port within their sphere, only the Chinese government can collect taxes on trade, and no great power having a sphere can be exempt from paying harbor dues or railroad charges. -
The Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion was started by a group of peasants in northern China. The formed a secret society that practiced boxing and callisthenic rituals that they believed would make them invincible to bullets. They started with the idea to destroy their current dynasty but when the Empress took their side they began attempting to destroy all things foreign to China. An international band of Americans, Brits, Russians, French, Italians, and Japanese soldiers were sent over to end the rebellion. -
Crisis in Venezuela
Due to Venezuelan Civil war (1898-1900), European countries such as Britain, Germany, and Italy sustained large masses of property damage. In an attempt to get Venezuela to meet their demands in fixing that, they bonded together and threatened to take forceful measures. When their demands were not met they surrounded Venezuela and took over for small ships. Venezuelan government negotiated terms in which to settle the dispute and they were finally agreed to. -
Bulding of the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a manmade system that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean at the Isthmus of Panama. It was built between the years of 1904 and 1914. The US was granted the right to build and operate the anal in 1903. The first few years were preparation and they did not begin actual construction until 1909. The final cost of the project was $400 million. It was opened on August 15, 1914 for public use. The US held control of the canal until they relinquished all power in 1999. -
The Platt Amendment
The US feared that Europe would try to take over many parts of Latin America including Cuba. To prevent this they passed the Platt Amendment that said that Cuba was forbidden to enter any treaty that possessed the possibility of endangering their independence as a country. They also were prohibited from getting into large debt. If these actions were violated, American troops would land on Cuban shores to restore order. -
Roosevelt Corollary
Under the impression that all of Latin America was in danger of being taken over by European countries, President Roosevelt reopened the Monroe Doctrine but added something to it. He added that if any Latin American country took place in large debt, civil unrest or other wrongdoing the US military had the right to step in. it said that Europe was to stay across the Atlantic while America took care of the Western hemisphere. -
The Gentlemens Agreement
The Gentlemen’s agreement was an effort you calm the tension between the US and Japan over Japanese immigrants. The two countries had signed a treaty in which Japan assured free immigration. However the number of Japanese immigrants continued to increase and they Americans were greeting them with hostility. This agreement was created to keep from giving Japanese immigrants passports.
