Chapter 20: Foreign Policy 1865-1914

Question 1

William Seward

Answer 1

Served under both Lincoln and Johnson as Secretary of State

~Aided Lincoln in keeping France and Britain out of the Civil War

Question 2

Napoleon III

Answer 2

Nephew of the first Napoleon
~Took advantage of the U.S. involvement in the Civil War by sending French troops to occupy Mexico
~Led to the passage of the Monroe Doctrine

Question 3

Alaska

Answer 3

A vast territory that had been the subject of dispute between two European powers who claimed it. Great Britain and Russia
~Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million
~Called the purchase “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox”

Question 4

Imperialism

Answer 4

The expansionist means to strengthen a country
~Needed a worldwide market for the growing industrial and agricultural surpluses
~Needed new sources of raw materials for manufacturing

Question 5

International Darwinism

Answer 5

Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory, applied to nations
~According to this theory only the strongest survived
~This meant that the U.S. had to be strong religiously, militantly, and politically
~Had to gain strength by gaining territories overseas

Question 6

Reverend Josiah Strong

Answer 6

Wrote: “Our Country: Its Possible Future and Present Crisis”
~Wrote that people of Anglo-Saxon stock were “the fittest to survive” and that Protestant Americans had a Christian duty to colonize other lands to spread Christianity and Westernization

Question 7

Alfred Thayer Mahan

Answer 7

A U.S. Navy Captain, wrote “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History”
~Argued that a strong navy was crucial to a country’s ambitions of securing foreign markets and becoming a world power
~Allowed for the persuasion of Congress to finance the construction of modern steel ships
~Encouraged the acquisition of overseas, such as Samoa

Question 8

Pan American Conference (1889)

Answer 8

Representatives from various nations of the Western Hemisphere decided to create a permanent organization for international cooperation on trade and other issues
~Hoped to bring about reductions in tariff rates

Question 9

Jingoism

Answer 9

An intense form of American nationalism calling for an aggressive foreign policy
~Called for the United States to take its place with the imperialist nations
~Presidents Cleveland and McKinley disagreed

Question 10

Valeriano Weyler

Answer 10

General “Butcher” Valeriano Weyler of Spain
~Sent from Spain to put down Cuban Revolt, 100,000 troops
~Formed a version of a concentration camp where Cubans were sent to starve

Question 11

“Yellow Journalism”

Answer 11

Newspapers who actively promoted war fever in the United States by using bold, lurid headlines of crime, disaster, and scandal
~Two major newspapers in New York: Pulitzer’s New York World, and Hearst’s New York Journal
~Both printed false accounts of Spanish atrocities in Cuba
~Increased the war cry

Question 12

DeLôme Letter

Answer 12

The leaked letter from a Spanish diplomat, caused a storm of outrage
~Leaked and printed by the press
~Was highly critical of President McKinley
~Was considered a Spanish insult against American honor

Question 13

U.S.S. Maine

Answer 13

A U.S. warship that exploded at Havana harbor
~Killed 260 Americans onboard
~Yellow press accused Spain of deliberately blowing up the ship
~Experts concluded that the explosion was probably an accident

Question 14

Teller Amendment

Answer 14

Congress’ response to President McKinley’s war message
~Declared that the U.S. had no intention of taking political control of Cuba and that, once peace was restored on the island, the Cubans would control their own government

Question 15

Commodore George Dewey

Answer 15

Led a fleet to the Philippines under Theodore Roosevelt’s order (was Secretary of Navigations)
~Opened fire on Spanish ships in Manila Bay
~Soon took control of Manila

Question 16

Rough Riders

Answer 16

A regiment of volunteers led by Theodore Roosevelt

~Aided in victory at San Juan by African American veterans

Question 17

Queen Liliuokalani

Answer 17

The Hawaiian monarch prior to the overthrow of power in 1893

~After her overthrow Hawaii was annexed in 1898, and became the 50th state

Question 18

Paris Peace Treaty (1898)

Answer 18

Treaty that ended the Spanish-American War
~Provided for:
1. Recognition of Cuban independence
2. U.S. acquisition of two Spanish Islands-Puerto Rico and Guam
3. U.S. acquisition of the Philippines in return for $20 million paid to Spain

Question 19

Emilio Aguinaldo

Answer 19

A Filipino nationalist leader who had fought alongside U.S. troops during the Spanish American War
~After, he led bands of guerrilla fighters in a war against U.S. control
~”war” lasted 3 years

Question 20

Anti-Imperialist League

Answer 20

A group led by William Jennings Bryan who rallied opposition to further acts of expansion in the Pacific

Question 21

Platt Amendment (1901)

Answer 21

An army appropriations bill, bitterly resented by Cuban nationalists
~Required Cuba to agree:
1. Never to sign a treaty with a foreign power that impaired its independence
2. Never to build up an excessive public debt
3. To permit the United States to intervene in Cuba’s affairs to preserve its independence and maintain law and order
4. To allow the U.S. to maintain naval bases in Cuba including one at Guantánamo Bay
~Made Cuba one of the U.S.’s protectorates

Question 22

Election of 1900

Answer 22

The election where Republicans nominated President McKinley and Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan
~Bryan still tried to attack the gold standard
~McKinley won by an even larger margin than the previous election

Question 23

Open Door Policy

Answer 23

John Hay’s idea help the spheres of influence in China problem
~The idea that all nations would have equal trading privileges in China
~All countries gave Hay an evasive answer, he viewed it as the countries had accepted the Open Door Policy

Question 24

Boxer Rebellion (1900)

Answer 24

Due to the rise of nationalism and Xenophobia (hatred and fear of foreigners) in China
~A secret society of Chinese nationalists-The Society of Harmonious Fists, or Boxers-attacked foreign settlements and murdered dozens of Christian missionaries
~U.S. forces participated in an international and quickly suppressed the rebellion
~China was forced to pay a huge sum in indemnities which further weakened the imperial regime

Question 25

Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty (1903)

Answer 25

The first act the new government of independent Panama

~Granted the United States long-term control of a canal zone

Question 26

Hay-Pauncefote Treaty (1901)

Answer 26

The treaty with Great Britain which allowed for the canal to be built
~The British agreed to abrogate an earlier treaty which made any canal in Central America under the joint U.S.-British control
~All the treaty allowed for was that the U.S. could begin to dig the canal without British involvement

Question 27

Roosevelt Corollary (to the Monroe Doctrine)

Answer 27

It meant that the United States would send gunboats to a Latin American country that was delinquent in paying its debts
~U.S. sailors would go to occupy that country’s ports to manage the collection of custom taxes until the European debts were satisfied
~Led to poor U.S. relations in Latin America

Question 28

Gentlemen’s Agreement (1908)

Answer 28

An informal agreement regarding California’s Japanese segregation laws
~Japanese government was insulted, so President Roosevelt arranged for a compromise by means of an informal understanding
~The Japanese government agreed to restrict the emigration of Japanese workers
~In return, Roosevelt persuaded California to repeal its discriminatory laws

Question 29

Great White Fleet

Answer 29

To demonstrate U.S. naval power to Japan and other nations, Roosevelt sent a fleet of battleships on an around-the-world tour
~The Great White Ships made for an impressive sight
~Japanese government warmly welcomed their arrival in Tokyo Bay

Question 30

Root-Takahira Agreement (1908)

Answer 30

An important executive agreement concluded between the U.S. and Japan
~Made by U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root and Japanese Ambassador Takahira
~Pledged that:
1. Mutual respect for each nation’s Pacific possessions
2. Support for the Open Door Policy in China

Question 31

Dollar Diplomacy

Answer 31

President Taft’s foreign policy that was mildly expansionist, but relied on investor’s money rather than a military
~Trying to promote U.S. trade by supporting American enterprises abroad

Question 32

Lodge Corollary (to the Monroe Doctrine)

Answer 32

Resolution that stated that Non-European powers would be excluded from owning territories in the Western Hemisphere
~Offended Japan and angered Latin America

Question 33

Jones Act (1916)

Answer 33

President Wilson’s Moral Diplomacy in the Philippines
~It:
1. Granted full territorial status to the Philippines
2. Guaranteed a Bill of Rights and universal male suffrage to Filipino citizens
3. Promised Philippine independence as soon as a stable government was established

Question 34

Victoriano Huerta

Answer 34

Man who ran the Mexican dictatorship

~Assassinated the democratically elected president

Question 35

Tampico Incident

Answer 35

The attempt by Wilson to aid the revolutionaries in Mexico against Huerta
~An arms embargo against the Mexican government and a fleet blockade at the port Vera Cruz
~Ended in mediation by Latin America’s ABC Powers (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile)

Question 36

Pancho Villa

Answer 36

Led a group of revolutionaries who challenged the new Mexican government after Huerta’s regime fell
~Led raids along U.S.-Mexican border
~Murdered a number of people in Texas and New Mexico

Question 37

General John J. Pershing

Answer 37

Sent by President Wilson to stop Villa in his raids

~Was in Mexico for months without being able to capture Villa