Emerging World Power, 1890 - 1919

Flashcard deck · History

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Covers Alfred Mahan, Yellow Journalism, the Spanish-American War, Teller and Platt Amendments, Philippine-American War, and U.S. expansion from Hawaii to Guam.

Terms in this deck

Alfred Thayer Mahan: Naval officer and historian who argued in The Influence of Sea Power Upon History that a strong navy and overseas bases were essential to national greatness.
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: Mahan's 1890 book arguing that naval power determined national dominance, inspiring American and European imperial expansion.
Imperialism: Policy by which a stronger nation extends political, economic, or military control over weaker nations or territories.
Expansionism: The belief that the United States should extend its territory, influence, and markets beyond its continental borders.
Manifest Destiny: 19th-century belief that American expansion across the continent was divinely ordained, later used to justify overseas imperialism.
Social Darwinism: Misapplication of Darwin's ideas to societies, used to justify imperialism by claiming stronger nations naturally dominated weaker ones.
Anglo-Saxonism: Racial ideology claiming Anglo-Saxon peoples were superior and had a duty to spread their civilization and governance globally.
Josiah Strong: Protestant minister who argued in Our Country that Anglo-Saxon Americans had a Christian duty to spread civilization and religion worldwide.
Frederick Jackson Turner: Historian who argued in the 1893 Frontier Thesis that the American frontier shaped democracy, and its closing pushed the U.S. to seek new frontiers abroad.
Frontier Thesis: Turner's 1893 argument that the American frontier was the source of democratic character, implying the nation needed new frontiers after westward expansion ended.
New Imperialism: Late 19th-century wave of imperial expansion driven by industrial competition, nationalism, and desire for overseas markets and raw materials.
Sphere of Influence: A region where a foreign power claims exclusive or dominant economic and political control without formal colonization.
Coaling Stations: Overseas naval bases where steam-powered warships could refuel, essential to projecting American naval power across the Pacific and Atlantic.
Hawaii Annexation: The 1898 U.S. annexation of Hawaii, driven by sugar interests, naval strategy, and expansionism after American planters helped overthrow Queen Liliuokalani.
Queen Liliuokalani: Last Hawaiian monarch, overthrown in 1893 by American sugar planters with U.S. military support, leading to Hawaii's eventual annexation in 1898.
Sanford Dole: American planter who led the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and became president of the Republic of Hawaii before annexation.
Spanish-American War: 1898 war between the U.S. and Spain that resulted in American acquisition of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, marking U.S. emergence as a world power.
USS Maine: American battleship that exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898; blamed on Spain by yellow journalists, it became a rallying cry for war.
Yellow Journalism: Sensationalist newspaper reporting by Hearst and Pulitzer that exaggerated Spanish atrocities in Cuba to inflame American public opinion toward war.
William Randolph Hearst: Newspaper publisher whose New York Journal used sensational stories about Cuba to boost circulation and push the U.S. toward war with Spain.
Joseph Pulitzer: Newspaper publisher whose New York World competed with Hearst in yellow journalism, sensationalizing Cuban events to drive war fever.
Cuba: Caribbean island colony of Spain where a Cuban independence movement and reported Spanish atrocities drew U.S. intervention in 1898.
Valeriano Weyler: Spanish general who used brutal reconcentration camps in Cuba, drawing international outrage and American calls for intervention.
Reconcentration Camps: Camps set up by Spanish general Weyler in Cuba to isolate civilians from rebels, resulting in mass deaths from disease and starvation.
Teller Amendment: 1898 congressional resolution promising the U.S. would not annex Cuba after the Spanish-American War, asserting Cuban independence.
Platt Amendment: 1901 amendment effectively making Cuba a U.S. protectorate by giving the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and maintain naval bases there.
Guantanamo Bay: Cuban naval base leased to the U.S. under the Platt Amendment, providing a strategic Caribbean military installation still used today.
Battle of San Juan Hill: Key 1898 land battle of the Spanish-American War in Cuba where Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders gained fame charging up nearby Kettle Hill.
Rough Riders: Volunteer cavalry regiment led by Theodore Roosevelt that fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, boosting Roosevelt's national fame.
Theodore Roosevelt: Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Rough Rider, and later president who aggressively promoted American expansionism and the Big Stick policy.
Commodore George Dewey: U.S. naval commander who destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in 1898, securing American control over the Philippines.
Battle of Manila Bay: Opening naval battle of the Spanish-American War in which Dewey's fleet destroyed Spain's Pacific squadron, giving the U.S. control of the Philippines.
Treaty of Paris (1898): Treaty ending the Spanish-American War in which Spain ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the U.S. for $20 million.
Philippines: Pacific island nation acquired by the U.S. after the 1898 Spanish-American War, sparking debate over imperialism and a brutal Filipino-American War.
Guam: Pacific island acquired from Spain in 1898 that served as a vital American naval coaling station and military base.
Puerto Rico: Caribbean island acquired from Spain in 1898, which became an unincorporated U.S. territory whose residents gained citizenship in 1917.
Philippine-American War: Brutal 1899–1902 conflict in which the U.S. suppressed Filipino independence fighters led by Emilio Aguinaldo after refusing to grant independence.
Emilio Aguinaldo: Filipino nationalist leader who fought first against Spain then against the United States when the U.S. refused to grant the Philippines independence.
Anti-Imperialist League: Organization formed in 1898 opposing U.S. annexation of the Philippines, arguing imperialism violated American democratic principles.
Insular Cases: Series of Supreme Court rulings (1901) holding that residents of U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the Philippines did not automatically have full constitutional rights.
Protectorate: A weaker country controlled or protected by a stronger nation, which manages its foreign affairs while nominally preserving its sovereignty.
Open Door Policy: U.S. policy announced in 1899–1900 calling for equal trading rights for all nations in China and preservation of Chinese territorial integrity.
John Hay: U.S. Secretary of State who issued the Open Door Notes to European powers and China, attempting to protect American commercial interests in Asia.
Boxer Rebellion: 1900 Chinese nationalist uprising against foreign influence; the U.S. joined an international force to suppress it and reinforce the Open Door Policy.
Big Stick Diplomacy: Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy approach of negotiating peacefully while threatening military force, summarized as speak softly and carry a big stick.
Roosevelt Corollary: 1904 addition to the Monroe Doctrine asserting the U.S. right to intervene in Latin American nations unable to maintain order or pay debts to Europeans.
Monroe Doctrine: 1823 U.S. policy declaring the Western Hemisphere closed to further European colonization, extended by the Roosevelt Corollary to justify U.S. intervention.
Dollar Diplomacy: President Taft's policy of using American business investments abroad to extend U.S. influence, particularly in Latin America and Asia.
William Howard Taft: 27th U.S. president who pursued Dollar Diplomacy, promoting American economic investment in Latin America and Asia to expand U.S. influence.
Moral Diplomacy: Woodrow Wilson's foreign policy promising to promote democracy and human rights rather than economic or military interests abroad.
Woodrow Wilson: 28th U.S. president who promoted Moral Diplomacy, led the U.S. into World War I, and proposed the Fourteen Points for lasting peace.
Panama Canal: Waterway built by the U.S. across Panama (completed 1914), connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and vital to American naval and trade strategy.
Panama Canal Zone: Strip of land across Panama controlled by the U.S. after a 1903 treaty, used to build and operate the Panama Canal.
Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty: 1903 treaty granting the U.S. control of the Panama Canal Zone in exchange for U.S. recognition and protection of Panamanian independence.
Colombian Rejection of Canal Treaty: Colombia's Senate rejected the canal treaty in 1903, leading Roosevelt to support a Panamanian revolt and quickly recognize the new nation.
Great White Fleet: Roosevelt's fleet of 16 battleships sent on a world tour 1907–1909 to demonstrate U.S. naval power to other nations, especially Japan.
Russo-Japanese War: 1904–1905 war won by Japan over Russia; Roosevelt mediated the peace in the Treaty of Portsmouth, boosting U.S. prestige and earning him a Nobel Prize.
Treaty of Portsmouth: 1905 peace agreement ending the Russo-Japanese War, negotiated by Theodore Roosevelt, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Gentlemen's Agreement: 1907 informal agreement between the U.S. and Japan in which Japan agreed to limit emigration of workers to the U.S. in exchange for better treatment of Japanese Americans.
Seward's Folly (Alaska Purchase): The U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, mocked at the time but later recognized as strategically and economically valuable.
William Seward: Secretary of State who negotiated the 1867 purchase of Alaska and advocated aggressively for U.S. territorial expansion in the Pacific.
Midway Island: Pacific island annexed by the U.S. in 1867, becoming a key coaling and cable station and later a critical World War II naval site.
Unincorporated Territory: A U.S. territory whose residents do not automatically receive full constitutional rights, as established in the Insular Cases for places like Puerto Rico and Guam.
Jingoism: Extreme nationalistic enthusiasm for aggressive foreign policy and military action, common in the U.S. during the lead-up to the Spanish-American War.
Imperialism Debate: National argument in the U.S. after 1898 over whether acquiring overseas colonies was consistent with American democratic ideals and the Constitution.
Pan-Americanism: A political and cultural ideology emphasizing solidarity, cooperation, and shared interests among the nations of the Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas. Emerging prominently in the late 19th and 20th centuries, it sought to promote economic integration, collective security, and diplomatic coordination while often reflecting the geopolitical dominance of the United States. 
Spanish-American War: A conflict fought in 1898 between the United States and Spain, primarily over Spain's colonial possessions in Cuba and the Philippines. The war lasted only ten weeks but resulted in Spain's loss of its remaining major colonies and established the United States as a significant imperial power with overseas territories in the Caribbean and Pacific. The conflict was partly catalyzed by American expansionism, Cuban independence movements, and the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor.
Revolt in Panama (1903): A separatist uprising in Panama, then a Colombian province, that successfully achieved independence with support from the United States, which sought to build the Panama Canal. The U.S. recognized Panama's independence within days and secured canal rights through the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, establishing American control over the strategic waterway for nearly a century. 
World War I: A global conflict (1914–1918) fought primarily between the Allied Powers (Britain, France, Russia, and later the United States) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire), triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and underlying tensions over imperial competition, militarism, and entangling alliances. The war introduced unprecedented industrial-scale warfare, trench combat, and new technologies like poison gas and tanks, resulting in approximately 20 million deaths and reshaping the political map of Europe and the Middle East. Its outcome—German defeat, the Treaty of Versailles, and the League of Nations—established conditions that would contribute to World War II and define twentieth-century geopolitics.
Doughboys: American infantrymen who served in World War I, particularly those deployed to Europe between 1917 and 1918. The origin of the term remains uncertain, though theories suggest it may derive from the dough-like appearance of their uniforms or a fried dough cake eaten by Mexican-American soldiers. These soldiers became iconic figures in American military history and popular culture, symbolizing the nation's mobilization for the Great War.
War Industries Board: A federal agency established in 1917 to coordinate American industrial production and resource allocation during World War I, headed by Bernard Baruch. The board regulated raw material distribution, standardized production practices, and set prices to ensure efficient military supply while managing the civilian economy, establishing a model for wartime economic mobilization that influenced later government-industry partnerships.
The Great Migration: The movement of approximately six million African Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the North, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970, driven by the search for economic opportunity, escape from Jim Crow segregation, and recruitment by northern industries. This demographic shift fundamentally reshaped American cities, culture, and politics while simultaneously depleting the South's Black population and contributing to the rise of urban Black communities and cultural institutions like the Harlem Renaissance.
Treaty of Versailles (1919): The peace treaty signed in 1919 that formally ended World War I, imposing strict reparations, territorial losses, and military restrictions on Germany. The treaty's harsh terms—including a "war guilt" clause forcing Germany to accept sole responsibility for the war—generated deep resentment that destabilized the Weimar Republic and contributed to the rise of Nazi ideology. It also redrew European borders, created the League of Nations, and reflected the Allied powers' desire to prevent future German aggression, though its punitive framework ultimately proved counterproductive to lasting peace.
Matthew C. Perry: Matthew Calbraith Perry was a United States Navy Commodore who led the 1853-1854 expedition to Japan that forcibly opened Japanese ports to American trade and diplomatic relations. His arrival with a steam-powered naval squadron and subsequent negotiations, formalized in the Treaty of Kanagawa, marked a pivotal moment in Japanese history and ended over two centuries of Japanese isolationist policy. Perry's mission is often viewed as both a significant achievement in American naval expansion and a controversial example of 19th-century Western imperialism in East Asia.
Jose Marti: Cuban poet, journalist, and revolutionary leader (1853–1895) who became the principal architect of Cuban independence from Spain and a central figure in Latin American anticolonial thought. Martí founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in exile and was killed in combat during the initial stages of the Cuban War of Independence in 1895. His writings on democracy, social justice, and cultural identity established him as one of the most influential intellectual voices of 19th-century Latin America.
William McKinley: The 25th President of the United States (1897–1901) whose administration marked America's emergence as an imperial power, evidenced by the Spanish-American War and subsequent acquisition of territories including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. McKinley championed protective tariffs and the gold standard, policies that reflected his Republican Party's pro-business platform. He was assassinated in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist.
John J. Pershing: General of the Armies of the United States who commanded the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I, leading over two million troops in France. Known for his insistence on maintaining an independent American force rather than integrating troops under British or French command, Pershing shaped American military strategy and doctrine during the war. He later served as Army Chief of Staff and remained an influential military figure through the 1920s.
Bernard Baruch: A prominent American financier and political advisor (1870–1965) who amassed considerable wealth through stock market investments and served as an influential economic strategist during World War I and the Cold War era. He advised multiple U.S. presidents on economic policy and arms control, most notably proposing the Baruch Plan in 1946, which called for international control of nuclear weapons under United Nations oversight. His career exemplified the influential role private-sector figures played in shaping twentieth-century American foreign and domestic policy.
Triple Alliance: A military and political alliance formed in 1882 between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, designed primarily to counterbalance French power and Russian expansion in Europe. Each member agreed to support the others in the event of attack by France or Russia, though Italy's commitment remained ambiguous and the alliance ultimately proved fragile when Italy entered World War I on the opposing side in 1915.
The Big Four: The four major Allied powers that bore primary responsibility for the prosecution and victory of World War I: Britain, France, Russia (until 1917), and the United States (from 1917 onward). These nations dominated the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, with their leaders—Lloyd George, Clemenceau, Wilson, and briefly the Italian premier Orlando—shaping the Treaty of Versailles and the postwar international order.

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