Why the US Went Global: Expansion, 1898, and the Big Stick
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Flip to reveal answersWhat theory by Alfred Thayer Mahan influenced US expansion?
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All 12 Flashcards — Why the US Went Global: Expansion, 1898, and the Big Stick
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Question
What theory by Alfred Thayer Mahan influenced US expansion?
Answer
That great nations need a strong navy, overseas coaling stations, and colonies to project sea power — argued in *The Influence of Sea Power upon History* (1890).
Question
What were the four categories of reasons for US expansionist foreign policy?
Answer
Political, economic, social, and ideological reasons.
Question
What event in February 1898 triggered US entry into the Spanish-American War?
Answer
The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbour, blamed on Spain by the American 'yellow press'.
Question
Define 'yellow journalism'.
Answer
Sensationalist, exaggerated news reporting (used by Pulitzer and Hearst) designed to provoke strong public reaction, e.g. over Cuba.
Question
What did the US gain from the Treaty of Paris (1898)?
Answer
Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines (bought for $20 million); Cuba became nominally independent.
Question
What was the Platt Amendment (1901)?
Answer
A condition forced on Cuba's constitution allowing the US to intervene militarily in Cuba and lease Guantánamo Bay — limiting Cuba's real independence.
Question
What is the Roosevelt Corollary (1904)?
Answer
An addition to the Monroe Doctrine claiming the US had the right to intervene in Latin American nations' affairs to keep European powers out and maintain stability.
Question
Compare Big Stick, Dollar Diplomacy, and Moral Diplomacy.
Answer
Big Stick (Roosevelt) = force first; Dollar Diplomacy (Taft) = investment/money first; Moral Diplomacy (Wilson) = claimed principle first — but all three still intervened militarily and secured US dominance.
Question
How did the US gain rights to build the Panama Canal (1903)?
Answer
Roosevelt supported a Panamanian revolt against Colombia (which had refused a canal treaty), then quickly recognised the new Panama and secured canal rights; completed 1914.
Question
What did Wilson's Moral Diplomacy claim, and how did it play out in practice?
Answer
It claimed the US would only support just, democratic governments and reject force — but Wilson still occupied Haiti (1915) and sent troops into Mexico (1916 Pershing Expedition against Pancho Villa).
Question
Who were the Anti-Imperialist League and what did they argue?
Answer
A group (including Mark Twain) who argued that US overseas rule without consent betrayed America's own founding ideals of liberty and self-government.
Question
Why is the Spanish-American War (1898) considered a turning point for the US?
Answer
It marked the US's transition from a continental power to an overseas imperial power, gaining its first colonies (Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines) and control over Cuba.
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Topic 19.10 hub
Emergence of the Americas in global affairs (1880–1929)
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