WW1 IDs 1-25 Flashcards
(1838-1917) was the last sovereign of the Kamehameha dynasty, which had ruled a unified
Hawaiian kingdom since 1810. Born Lydia Kamakaeha, she became crown princess in 1877, after the death of her
youngest brother made her the heir apparent to her elder brother, King Kalakaua. By the time she took the throne
herself in 1891, a new Hawaiian constitution had removed much of the monarchy’s powers in favor of an elite class of
businessmen and wealthy landowners (many of them American). When Liliuokalani acted to restore these powers, a
U.S. military-backed coup deposed her in 1893 and formed a provisional government; Hawaii was declared a republic
in 1894. Liliuokalani signed a formal abdication in 1895 but continued to appeal to U.S. President Grover Cleveland
for reinstatement, without success. The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898.
Queen Liliuokalani
“A policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonization, use of military force, economic control,
or other means”. Imperialism has greatly shaped the contemporary world. The term imperialism has been applied to
Western (and Japanese) political and economic dominance especially in Asia and Africa in the 19th and 20th
centuries.
Imperialism
A shared group feeling in the significance of a geographical and sometimes demographic region seeking independence
for its culture and/or ethnicity that holds that group together. This can be expressed as a belief or political ideology
that involves an individual identifying with or becoming attached to one’s nation. Nationalism involves national
identity.
Nationalism
The belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be
prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. It may also imply the glorification of the ideals
of a professional military class and the “predominance of the armed forces in the administration or policy of the state.
Militarism has been a significant element of the imperialist or expansionist ideologies of several nations throughout
history. Prominent examples include the Ancient Assyrian Empire, the Greek city state of Sparta, the Roman Empire,
the Aztec nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Empire of Japan, the Russian
Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (which would later become part of the Soviet Union), the Italian Empire during
the reign of Benito Mussolini, Nazi Germany, Israel and the United States of America. After World War II, militarism
appeared in many of the post-colonial nations of Asia (i.e. North Korea, Pakistan, Burma and Thailand) and Africa
(i.e. Liberia, Nigeria and Uganda).
Militarism
Modern name given to various theories of society that emerged in the United Kingdom, North America, and Western
Europe in the 1870s, which claim to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to
sociology and politics. Economically, social Darwinists argue that the strong should see their wealth and power
increase while the weak should see their wealth and power decrease. Different social Darwinist groups have differing
views about which groups of people are considered to be the strong and which groups of people are considered to be
the weak, and they also hold different opinions about the precise mechanism that should be used to reward strength
and punish weakness. Many such views stress competition between individuals in laissez-faire capitalism, while others
are claimed to have motivated ideas of eugenics, racism, imperialism, fascism, Nazism, and struggle between national
or racial groups.
Social Darwinism
is a poem by the English poet Rudyard Kipling. Although Kipling’s poem mixed
celebration of empire with somber warnings of the costs involved, imperialist within the United States understood the
phrase “white man’s burden” as justifying imperialism as a noble enterprise. Because of its theme and title, it has
become emblematic both of Eurocentric racism and of Western aspirations to improve and industrialize the
developing world
White Man’s Burden
The political transition of land from the control of one entity to another. In international law it is the forcible
transition of one state’s territory by another state or the legal process by which a city acquires land.
Annexation
United States Navy admiral, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called “the most important American
strategist of the nineteenth century.” His concept of “sea power” was based on the idea that countries with greater
naval power will have greater worldwide impact; it was most famously presented in The Influence of Sea Power Upon
History, 1660–1783 (1890). The concept had an enormous influence in shaping the strategic thought of navies across
the world, especially those of the United States, Germany, Japan and Britain, ultimately causing a European naval
arms race in the 1890s which culminated in the First World War. His ideas still permeate the US Navy doctrine.
Alfred Thayer Mahan
Secretary of State from 1861 – 1869, he envisioned an American Empire including Central America, Cuba, Canada,
Greenland & Iceland. He sought to promote American nationalism. He negotiated the Alaska Purchase (also known
as Seward’s Folly) with the Russians in 1867 for $7.2 million.
William Seward
A lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a
United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. The U.S.
government first obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships
here in 1887. The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941 was the immediate cause of
the United States’ entry into World War II.
Pearl Harbor
A lawyer in the Hawaiian Islands as a kingdom, protectorate, republic and territory. An enemy of the Hawaiian
royalty and friend of the elite immigrant community, Dole advocated the westernization of Hawaiian government and
culture. After the overthrow of the monarchy, he served as President of Hawaii until his government secured Hawaii’s
annexation by the United States.
Sanford B. Dole
Sometimes called the Apostle of the Cuban Revolution, José Martí was born on January 28, 1853. He showed a talent
for writing and revolutionary politics at an early age. First exiled from Cuba in 1871, Martí spent much of his life
abroad. To free Cuba, Martí joined forces with two nationalist generals from the Ten Years’ War, Máximo Gómez
and Antonio Maceo. He raised funds from Cuban exiles and political organizations to support their efforts. On
January 31, 1895, Martí left New York City to make his way to Cuba. He and his fellow nationalist supporters arrived
in Cuba on April 11 and began the fight for independence. Unfortunately for him, Martí did not last long on the
battlefield. He died on May 19 during some fighting in Dos Rios. After his death, his compatriots continued their war
against the Spanish, but the country did not achieve its independence until years later. Through his life and writings,
Martí served as an inspiration for revolutionaries around the world. Cuban leader Fidel Castro has called him an important influence on his own revolution in Cuba decades later. Although Martí once was sent into exile for his
political activities, he is now considered a national hero in Cuba.
Jose’ Marti’
The “Free Cuba” movement involved three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain including the Ten Years’
War (1868–1878), the Little War (1879–1880) and finally the Cuban War of Independence (1895–1898). The final
three months of the last conflict escalated to become the Spanish–American War, with United States forces being
deployed in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands against Spain.
Cuba Libre!
Spanish general and colonial administrator. He served as Governor General of the Philippines and Cuba. Weyler was
faced with fighting the Cuban rebels. He was greatly frustrated by the same factors that had made victory difficult for
all generals of traditional standing armies fighting against an insurgency. While the Spanish troops marched in
regulation and required substantial supplies, their opponents practiced hit-and-run tactics and lived off the land,
blending in with the non-combatant population. He came to the same conclusions as his predecessors as well – that to
win Cuba back for Spain, he would have to separate the rebels from the civilians by putting the latter in safe havens,
protected by loyal Spanish troops. By the end of 1897, General Weyler had relocated more than 300,000 into such
“reconcentration camps,” not to be confused with the use of a similar phrase by twentieth century regimes. Although
he was successful moving vast numbers of people, he failed to provide for them adequately. Consequently, these areas
became cesspools of hunger, disease, and starvation where thousands died. He thus became known as “The Butcher”.
Valeriano Weyler
Publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) built his media empire after inheriting the San Francisco
Examiner from his father. He challenged New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer by buying the rival New York
Journal, earning attention for his “yellow journalism.” In 1898, Hearst championed the Cuban rebels and welcomed
the U.S. declaration of war against Spain. At the height of the crisis more than a million copies of the Journal were
sold each day. Hearst ordered a reporter to scuttle a ship in the Suez Canal to stop the Spanish fleet and waded ashore
in Cuba to accept the surrender of a group of Spaniards. In Hearst’s mind, a publisher and a president had equal
right to act for the nation.
William Randolph Hearst
