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Scramble For Africa
The Scramble for Africa was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New Imperialism period, between the 1880s and the start of World War I. The invasion, occupation, division, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers was a big issue during this time. -
Sinking of the USS Maine
The sinking of the Maine was a climax in pre-war tension between the United States and Spain. In the American press, headlines proclaimed "Spanish Treachery!" and "Destruction of the War Ship Maine Was the Work of an Enemy!" Many Americans assumed the Spanish were responsible for the Maine's destruction.On March 28, 1898, the United States Naval Court of Inquiry found that the Maine was destroyed by a submerged mine. Although blame was never formally placed on the Spanish, implication was clear. -
Alfred T Mahan "The Importance of Sea Power"
Mahan, a naval strategist and the author of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, argued that national prosperity and power depended on control of the world's sea-lanes. "Whoever rules the waves rules the world," Mahan wrote. -
Overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani
A group of American sugar planters under Sanford Ballard Dole overthrow Queen Liliuokalani, the Hawaiian monarch, and establish a new provincial government with Dole as president.The coup occurred with the foreknowledge of John L. Stevens, the U.S. minister to Hawaii, and 300 U.S. Marines from the U.S. cruiser Boston were called to Hawaii, allegedly to protect American lives. -
Annexation of Hawaii
Dole declared Hawaii an independent republic. Spurred by the nationalism aroused by the Spanish-American War, the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898 at the urging of President William McKinley. -
Venezula Border Dispute
The Venezuelan Government protested alleged British encroachment on Venezuelan territory. Great Britain had acquired British Guiana (now Guyana) by treaty with the Netherlands.The controversy did not gain importance until Great Britain in 1841 had a provisional line run. Discovery of gold in the region intensified the dispute. -
De Lome Letter
This letter, written by the Spanish Ambassador to the United States, Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, criticized American President William McKinley by calling him weak and concerned only with gaining the favor of the crowd.Publication of the letter helped generate public support for a war with Spain over the issue of independence for the Spanish colony of Cuba. -
Spanish-American War
A war between Spain and the United States, fought in 1898. The war began as an intervention by the United States on behalf of Cuba. It was a conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. -
Teller Amendment
The Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on April 20, 1898, in reply to President William McKinley's War Message. It placed a condition on the United States military's presence in Cuba.Asserted that the United States "hereby disclaims any disposition of intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said island except for pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the governm -
Rough Riders Charge up San Juan Hill
The charge up an obscure Cuban hill on July, 1 1898 was a pivotal point in Theodore Roosevelt's political career. When war broke with Spain in April of that year, Roosevelt was serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. The "Rough Riders" enlisted cowboys and college men led by Roosevelt under the command of Leonard Wood. They arrived in Cuba in time to take part in the Battle of San Juan Hill. -
Treaty of Paris (1898)
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was an agreement made in 1898 that involved Spain relinquishing nearly all of the remaining Spanish Empire, especially Cuba, and ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States -
Annexation of Samoan Islands
US signed treaty to have a US naval station at Pago Pago, soon US wanted to have a voice in affairs. Brit & Germany wanted islands too &also had treaty rights. For next 10yrs, 3nations came close to war but all agreed to share power over islands. Created a protectorate, under which the native chiefs survived but exercised only nominal authority. 1899-Germany &US divided islands b/w them, compensating Brit w/ territories elsewhere in Pacific -
Boxer Rebellion
In what became known as the Boxer Rebellion (or the Boxer Uprising), a Chinese secret organization called the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists led an uprising in northern China against the spread of Western and Japanese influence there. -
Foraker Act
On April 2, 1900, U.S. President McKinley signed a civil law that established a civilian government in Puerto Rico. This law was known as the Foraker Act for its sponsor, Joseph Benson Foraker (an Ohio statesman), and also as the Organic Act of 1900. In addition, all federal laws of the United States were to be in effect on the island. -
Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment was passed as part of the 1901 Army Appropriations Bill. It stipulated seven conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the Spanish–American War, and an eighth condition that Cuba sign a treaty accepting these seven conditions. -
Insular Cases
The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1901, about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War. The Supreme Court held that full constitutional rights do not automatically extend to all places under American control. -
Roosevlet Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine articulated by President Theodore Roosevelt in his State of the Union address in 1904 after the Venezuela Crisis of 1902–03.The Venezuela Crisis was a naval blockade imposed against Venezuela by Britain, Germany and Italy due to Venezuela's inability to pay its debts. The Roosevelt Corollary asserted the right of the United States to intervene to "stabilize" the economic affairs of small states in Central America. -
Great White Fleet
The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the United States Navy battle fleet that completed a circumnavigation of the globe from December 16, 1907, to February 22, 1909, by order of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. It consisted of 16 battleships divided into two squadrons, along with various escorts. -
Building of the Panama Canal
The United States and Great Britain negotiated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty to reign in rivalry over a proposed canal through the Central American Republic of Nicaragua. The Anglo-American canal, however, never went beyond the planning stages. The United States also agreed to guarantee the independence of Panama. Completed in 1914, the Panama Canal symbolized U.S. technological prowess and economic power.
