Key Concepts
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfsfoFqsFk4
 Why did the U.S. invade Cuba?
 http://historicalthinkingmatters.org/spanishameric
anwar/
Key Concepts
 Imperialism- a policy in which a strong nation seeks to
dominate other countries politically, socially, and
economically.
 Jingoism- “extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive
foreign policy”; extreme nationalism; Joseph Pulitzer
and William Randolph Hearst
 Yellow journalism- journalism that has catchy headlines
but lacks legitimate research; exaggeration;
sensationalize; Pulitzer and Hearst
 Great White Fleet- a group of 16 gleaming white ships on
a cruise around the world to display the nation’s naval
power.
Key Concepts
 Spanish-American War (1898)- American
intervention of Cuban independence from Spain
because Spanish misrule in Cuba; American attacks
on Pacific Islands (Philippines) mysterious sinking of
the U.S.S. Maine in Havana; De Lome letter
criticizing McKinley; De Lome was Spanish
ambassador to U.S.; Teddy Roosevelt fights in Cuba
after resigning as assistant secretary of the Navy;
“That splendid little war”
Key Concepts
 Roosevelt, Corollary, Big Stick Policy- international
police power; U.S. had right to intervene to
“stabilize” economic affairs of South and Central
America if they could not pay international debts.
Use military force when necessary to back up threats
 Cuba- Spanish colony that was 90 miles off the U.S.
coast. The people were treated poorly. The U.S.
helped them gain their independence in 1902.
 Guam- An island territory that was claimed by the
U.S. after the Spanish-American War was completed.
Key Concepts
 Reasons for shifting from Isolation to Imperialism:
 Changes in the economy opened doors for trade to other
countries.
 Demonstrated that our military was strong & could maintain
territories farther away
 Demonstrate that we could be a world power
Key Concepts
 Annexation of Hawaii- U.S. wanted Hawaii for
business and so Hawaiian sugar could be sold in the
U.S. duty free, Queen Liliuokalani opposed so
Sanford B. Dole overthrew her in 1893, William
McKinley convinced Congress to annex Hawaii in
1898. It also served as a strategic military location.
 Social Darwinism- This was a belief held by many
that stated that the rich were rich and the poor were
poor due to natural selection in society.
Key Concepts
 Military Expansion- Teddy Roosevelt maintained
that a chief executive must be willing to use force
when necessary while practicing the art of
persuasion. He therefore sought to assemble a
powerful and reliable defense for the United States to
avoid conflicts with enemies who might prey on
weakness. One of his goals was to assemble a large
military to use if necessary.
Key Concepts
 Puerto Rico- Given to the U.S. by Spain as a payment
for the cost of the Spanish American War. Still a U.S.
territory.
 Philippines- Spanish colony in the Pacific whom the
U.S. helped free from the Spanish, but soon after
took as their own colony.
 Panama Canal- Cut travel time from Atlantic to
Pacific Ocean dramatically. The U.S. supported
Panama and the canal was built when independence
was won from Colombia.
Key Concepts
 Banana Republic- a small country (especially in
Central America) that is politically unstable and
whose economy is dominated by foreign companies
and depends on exporting a limited-resource
product, (ex: bananas).
 Anti-Imperialistic League- group that battled against
American colonization of the Philippines, which
included influential citizens as Mark Twain and
Andrew Carnegie.
Key Concepts
 Open Door Policy- Statement of U.S. foreign policy
toward China. Issued by U.S. secretary of state John Hay
(1899), the statement reaffirmed the principle that all
countries should have equal access to any Chinese port
open to trade.
 Dollar Diplomacy- Term used to describe the efforts of
the U.S. to further its foreign policy through use of
economic power by guaranteeing loans to foreign
countries.
 Moral Diplomacy- foreign policy proposed by President
Wilson to condemn imperialism, spread democracy, and
promote peace.
Key Concepts
 Nationalism- Political ideology that stresses people’s
membership in a nation- a community defined by a
common culture and history as well as by territory.
Nationalism was a force for unity in western Europe.
 Militarism- the political orientation of a people or a
government to maintain a strong military force and
to be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or
promote national interests.
 Imperialism- a policy in which a strong nation seeks
to dominate other countries politically, socially, and
economically.
Key Concepts
 Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand- was
assassinated on June 28, 1914 while paying a visit to
Sarajevo. He was heir to the throne of the AustroHungarian Empire and was assassinated by a
Serbian nationalist. His assassination helped spark
WWI.
 Alliances

Central Powers- alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and
the Ottoman empire (later joined by Bulgaria)
Triple Entente- Britain, France and Russia all had economic
and territorial ambitions and they all disliked Germany, so
they formed an alliance for protection.
Key Concepts
 Boxer Rebellion- super patriotic Chinese group broke
loose in rebellion in 1900. Over 200 white
missionaries and other people were murdered.
 Philippines Insurrection- After the US helped the
Philippines gain independence from Spain, tension
erupted into another war. The US took control of the
Philippines and treated them eerily similar to the
way Spain was treating Cuba. The Philippines did
not gain independence until 1946.
Key Concepts
 Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa- A time of
political unrest in Mexico. Revolution started in
1910. Was important to the US because they are our
closest neighbors to the south. Pancho Villa was a
Mexican revolutionary who killed many Americans
in Mexico.
 General John Pershing- Woodrow Wilson ordered
him and an expeditionary force of about 15,000
soldiers into Mexico to capture Francisco “Pancho”
Villa dead or alive. He never did capture Villa
Key Concepts
 Unrestricted Submarine Warfare- a type of naval
warfare in which submarines sink merchant ships
without warning. Some would argue this is the major
cause of the U.S. entry in WWI.
 The sinking of the Lusitania- the Lusitania was a
British passenger ship that was sunk by a German Uboat on May 7, 1915. 128 Americans died.
Key Concepts
 Trench Warfare- a form of warfare in which
opposing armies fight each other from trenches dug
in the battlefield. Fighting with trenches, mines, and
barbed wire. Horrible living conditions, great
slaughter, little to no gains, stalemate, used in WWI.
 New weapons (airplanes, automatic weapons, poison
gas, tanks)- humans proved to be remarkably
ingenuous and adaptable when it came to finding
new ways to maim and kill during WWI.
Key Concepts
 Sussex Pledge-Germany’s promise to the U.S. they
would stop attacking passenger ships. They broke
their promise and continued the practice of
unrestricted submarine warfare.
 Zimmerman Telegraph- sent from Germany’s foreign
secretary, Arthur Zimmerman, to the German
minister in Mexico. Zimmerman urged Mexico to
join the Central Powers and in return they would
help Mexico get back the territory that the U.S. had
acquired. (Texas, New Mexico & Arizona)
Key Concepts
 League of Nations- an international organization formed
in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among
nations, and although suggested by Woodrow Wilson, the
U.S. never joined and it remained powerless; it was
dissolved in 1946 after the United Nations was formed.
 Treaty of Versailles- Created by the leaders victorious
allies Nations: France, Britain, US, and signed by
Germany to stop WWI. The treaty 1) stripped Germany of
all Army, Navy, Airforce. 2) Germany had to repair war
damages (33 billion) 3) Germany had to acknowledge
guilt for causing WWI 4) Germany could not
manufacture any weapons.
Key Concepts
 War guilt clause- In treaty of Versailles; declared
Germany and Austria-Hungary responsible for WWI;
ordered Germany to pay reparation to Allied powers
for war damages.
 Reparations- Compensation or repayment;
compensation payable by a defeated nation for
damages sustained as a result of hostilities. One of
the clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, that Germany
had to pay of the war damages of WWI
Key Concepts
 Fourteen points- the was aims outlined by President
Wilson in 1918, which he believes would promote
lasting peace; called for self-determination, freedom
of seas, free trade, end to secret agreements,
reduction of arms and a league of nations.
 Propaganda- ideas spread to influence public
opinion for or against a cause.
 Great Migration- movement of over 300,000 African
Americans from the rural south into Northern cities
between 1914 and 1920.
Key Concepts
 Sedition Act of 1918- brought forth under the Wilson
administration, they stated that any treacherous act
or draft dodging was forbidden, outlawed disgracing
the government, the Constitution, or military
uniforms, and forbade aiding the enemy.
 Espionage Act of 1917- federal law passed shortly
after entrance into WWI, made it a crime for a
person to mail or print information that inspired
dissent against the American war effort or promoted
its enemies.
Key Concepts
 Selective Service Act- this 1917 law provided for the
registration of all American men between the ages of 21
and 30 for a military draft. Less than 350,000 men
dodged being drafted. Age limit was later changed to 18
through 45.
 War Industries Board- agency established during WWI
to increase efficiency & discourage waste in war-related
industries. This government agency oversaw the
production of all American factories. It determined
priorities, allocated raw materials, and fixed prices; it
told manufacturers what they could and could not
produce. Headed by Bernard Baruch.
Key Concepts
 Schenck v. United States- Justice Holmes’ claim that
Congress could restrict speech if the words “are used in
such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create
a clear and present danger” when Schenck was convicted
for mailing pamphlets urging potential army inductees to
resist conscription.
 American Expeditionary Force- commanded by General
John J Pershing; by the summer of 1918 it assumed
independent responsibility for one segment of the
Western front. (The first US troops to see action were
used to plug weaknesses in the French and British lines)
Key Concepts
 Big Four- Four heads of state at Versailles….David
Lloyd George of Great Britain, Georges Clemenceau
of France, Vittorio Orlando of Italy and Woodrow
Wilson of the USA.
 Victory gardens- private gardens which American
citizens were encouraged to create as a source of food
during the war period
 Liberty bonds- government bonds sold to gain
money for WWI.
Key Concepts
 Bolshevik Revolution (1917)- the second stage of the
Russian Revolution in 1917 when Vladimir Lenin and
his Bolshevik Party seized power and established a
communist state. The first stage had occurred the
previous February when more moderate revolutionaries
overthrew the Russian Czar.
 Committee on Public Information- was a propaganda
committee that built support for the war effort in
Europe among Americans. It depicted Germans and
other enemies on bad terms, and served to censor the
press. The committee helped spur up the anti-German
feeling in America as well as motivate Americans to
support war against Germany once declared.
Key Concepts
 Food Administration (voluntary policies)- it was a
government organization created to stir up a patriotic
spirit which encouraged people to voluntarily sacrifice
some of their own goods for the war. It helped the war
effort by creating a food surplus to feed America and its
allies.
 Self-determination- the ability of a government to
determine their own course of their own free will.
 Return to isolationism- after the war the American
government returned to the concept of isolationism. Part
of the reason that the US did not join the League of
Nations hence causing it to fail.