American Foreign Policy: 1890 -1920
U.S. History -- Kemp
American Foreign Policy: 1890 -1920
During this unit, the primary focus will be the growth of United States influence across the world that took place roughly a century ago. The events under study were happening approximately at the same time as events discussed in our last unit on the Progressive Era, but the focus is now on foreign policy.
As the United States grew into an economic giant during the “Gilded Age” of the late 19th Century, many Americans increasingly looked abroad for raw materials and markets to sell manufactured products. Economics was a primary motivator for theU.S. involvement in Latin America and Asia during this period. Social and political factors were also influential as various U.S. leaders sought to increase American prestige and power across the world. Eventually, as American businesses pursued trade and profits abroad, the US military became involved in several international conflicts. Foremost among the military interventionsof the era were wars with European nations (the Spanish-American War & World War I). These U.S. foreign involvements of the early 20th Century signaled a new era of American intervention overseas that have had repercussions into our modern times.
Essential Questions
- How and why did the U.S. become a world power?
- What were the impacts of the growth of the United States as a world power abroad and domestically during the early 20th Century?
- What was the relationship between US acts of imperialism between 1898 and 1916 and the
US involvement in WWI?
Reading #1: Read Ch. 10, Sect. 1—Due Tues. 10/20
1) Look back at pg. 130 and the description of Manifest Destiny. How does the expansion of the U.S. into places like Alaska and Hawaii correlate with our tradition of Manifest Destiny?
2) Describe why the United States annexed Hawaii in the late 1800’s.
Motivations forImperialism, Alfred T. Mahan, Queen Liliuokalani, Sanford B. Dole
Reading #2: Read Ch. 10; Sections 2, 3 & 4 (pp. 346-365) -- Due Friday 10/24
1) How didyellow journalism and the USS Maine lead to US involvement inthe Spanish-American War?
2) What happened to the Puerto Rico & Cuba following the Spanish-American War?
3) Why did Filipino & Chinese people go to war against American soldiers in the early 1900’s?
4) Describe how TR’s “Roosevelt Corollary” and Wilson’s “Missionary Diplomacy” treated Latin American nations.
Jose Marti, Yellow Journalism, U.S.S. Maine, George Dewey, Rough Riders, Luis Munoz Rivera, Platt Amendment, Emilio Aguinaldo, Open Door Notes, Boxer Rebellion, Panama Canal, Roosevelt Corollary, Dollar Diplomacy, Missionary Diplomacy, Pancho Villa
Reading #3: Read Chapter 11, Sect. 1 & 2 (pp. 372-387) --Due Mon. 11/3
1) Describe a few factors that caused the U.S. to end its neutrality and enter World War I.
2) Briefly describe the conditions American soldiers encountered during the year the U.S. was at war.
Neutrality, British Blockade, Lusitania, Election of 1916, Zimmerman Note
Reading #4: Read Ch. 11, Sect. 3 & 4 (pp.388-403)--Due Friday 11/7
1) Briefly describe how government power increased and civil liberties decreased in the U.S. during WWI.
2) What factors lead to the US not joining theLeague of Nations created by the Treaty of Versailles following WWI?
Selective Service Act, WWI Technology, War Industries Board, Food Administration, Liberty Loans, George Creel, Espionage & Sedition Acts, Liberty Cabbage, Great Migration, 14 Points, Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations
Imperialism Debate: Block 10/29-30
In-class Essay: Mon. Nov. 10