Chapter 6 Flashcards
International Expansion and Conflict
Belief that a nation needs to acquire overseas colonies and territories
Imperialism
Degree to which a country is safe from outside threats
National Security
Pride in one’s country
Nationalism
Famous poem written by British author, Rudyard Kipling, which many took to be endorsement of white imperialism and US expansion
The White Mans Burden
The ideology that it is not in the best interest of the United States to acquire and exercise control over foreign territories
Isolationism
Term used by critics to describe Secretary of State Seward’s negotiation of the US purchase of Alaska. The purchase was made both to protect access to the Pacific by getting Russians away from the North American coast to obtain a territory he saw as rich in natural resources
“Seward’s Folly”
During the 1850s, business leaders in the United States began investing in sugar plantations located here. As time passed, these owners gained economic control over the islands and struggled for power with the local monarchy. In 1893, the wealthy white plantation owners rebelled and deposed the queen. After attempts to annex the islands were initially blocked in Washington, the United States finally annexed this places and made it a US territory in 1898
Hawaii Annexation
Island which was still under Spanish rule in the late 1800s until reported atrocities and the explosion of USS Maine led to the Spanish-American War and eventual independence for this island
Cuba
Assistant secretary of the navy who favored expansion and war with Spain. He resigned to become leader of the Rough Riders, was elected vice president after the war, and eventually became president. He advocated “big stick” diplomacy, initiated the building of the Panama Canal, and built a powerful navy
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt
Brief war between the US and Spain that was won by the US and resulted in the US annexation of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, as well as the independence of Cuba
Spanish-American War
Southeast Asian island territory won by the US from Spain. It was a subject of much debate and division after the Spanish- American war as many wanted to annex it, and others wanted it declared an independent nation
The Philippines
Amendment attached to Congress’ 1898 war resolution with Spain which promised that the United States would allow for Cuban independence by not annexing the territory
Teller Amendment
Amendment attached to the first Cuban constitution which put limits on what the Cuban government could do, gave the US two naval bases in Cuba, and allowed for US intervention in the region whenever the United States believed it was necessary
Platt Amendment
Isolationist organization financed by Andrew Carnegie and joined by many who opposed annexation of foreign territories
Anti-Imperialist League
Foreign policy that China was to be kept open to foreign trade and commerce
Open Door Policy
Man-made waterway which allows ships to travel back and forth between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans without having to go around South America. It was built by the US and completed in 1914
Panama Canal
Statement which expanded upon the Monroe Doctrine and said that the US had the right to intervene in other nations’affairs within the Western Hemisphere if a nation had trouble paying its debts. Roosevelt wanted to make sure that imperialist nations did not use debt collection as an excuse to occupy territories in the Caribbean or Latin America. This doctrine came to be known as Roosevelt’s “big stick diplomacy” and it was intended to communicate that the US did not intend to be a threatening presence in the Western Hemisphere, but neither would it hesitate to forcefully protect its own interests
Roosevelt Corollary or Big Stick Diplomacy
Following Roosevelt, President William Taft sought to “substitute money for bullets” and promoted a foreign policy known as “dollar diplomacy.” He believed that the US could best maintain order in nations abroad by increasing US foreign investments
Dollar Diplomacy
Wilson’s foreign policy based on the idealistic view that it was the role of the US to promote democracy and moral progress in the world
Missionary/ Moral Diplomacy
Worldwide conflict that began in Europe and eventually plunged much of the world into war, including the United States. It resulted in the loss of millions of European lives until an armistice was eventually signed. It ended with the Treaty of Versailles
Word War I
Pride in one’s country of ethnic group; major factor contributing to WWI
Nationalism
The process of building up military strength in order to exert influence or deter potential enemies; major factor contributing to WWI
Militarism
Agreements between countries to come to one another’s aid if one is attacked. In 1914, major factor contributing to WWI
Alliances
Nickname of German submarines that reeked havoc in the Atlantic during WWI
U-Boats
Commercial liner that was sunk by German U-boats and which also secretly carried arms from the US
The Lusitania
Intercepted telegram in which the German Foreign Minister told the German ambassador to Mexico to ask Mexico to attack the US if it declared war on Germany in return for Germany’s promise to help Mexico win back land the US had acquired as a result of the Mexican-American War
Zimmerman Telegram
Warfare where armies entrench themselves in long ditches where soldiers take cover while they fire on the enemy
Trench Warfare
Congress passed this law authorizing a draft of young men for military service
Selective Service Act
Nickname given an all African American unit that served so admirably in combat that it was given France’s highest medal of bravery and distinguished service during the war
Harlem Hell Fighters
Revolution that resulted in the fall of the Czar and the brief establishment of a republic before the Bolsheviks eventually came to power and established communism
Russian/Bolshevik Revolution
Cease-fire agreement to stop fighting
Armistice
President Wilson’s peace plan after WWI which included the League of Nations, the right of self-determination for ethnic groups within certain countries, and a reduction in armaments
Fourteen Points
International body proposed by Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference. Its aim was to give nations a means of settling their disputes through diplomacy rather than war
League of Nations
Phrase used by President Wilson in a speech to the US Senate in which he argued that a peace imposed by a victory upon a loser would only give birth to resentment that leads to conflict. The only lasting peace, Wilson believed, would be a peace agreed upon by “equals”
“Peace without Victory”
Peace treaty ending WWI which imposed harsh conditions on Germany, established League of Nations, and which the US Senate refused to ratify
Treaty of Versailles
Established to regulate the nation’s economy as it sought to obtain supplies for the US military and its allies
War Industries Board
Committee formed for the purpose of encouraging public support for the US war effort through various forms of propaganda
Committee on Public Information
Headed by Herbert Hoover, it was established to encourage citizens to conserve food so that there would be enough to supply the armed forces
Food Administration
These acts made it illegal to interfere with the draft, obstruct the sale of Liberty Bonds, or make statements considered disloyal to, or critical of, the government, the Constitution, or the US military
Espionage and Sedition Acts
President elected in 1920 who advocated a “return to normalcy”
Warren G. Harding
Phrase describing the popular sentiment in the United States following WWI that people wanted to return to the sense of security they’d felt and the way life was before the war
“Return to Normalcy”