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The McKinley Tariff
The Mckinley Tariff, passed through congress on may 21, 1890, put a tax on certain goods being imported to the United States. Some of the goods that were taxed were wool, woolen manufactures, tin plating, barley, and other agricultural products. This tariff or tax caused a 48.4 percent tax rate on the imports. In return for this bill going through, the republicans supported the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. -
Annexation of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Islands lie in the Pacific Ocean some 2000 miles west of California. The islands were a good place to build naval bases and coaling stations for ships traveling to and from Asia. By the 1870s Americans controlled most of Hawaii’s land and trade, exercising great influence over Hawaiian leaders. In June of 1897, Secretary of State John Sherman agreed to a annexation treaty with the Republic of Hawaii and was created into a territory of the US known as the Territory of Hawaii, but the -
The boxer rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the Boxers in China between 1898 and 1901, opposing Western imperialism and Christianity. The uprising took place in response to European "spheres of influence" in China, with problems ranging from opium traders, political invasion, economic manipulation, and missionary evangelism. In China, anger rose over the unequal treaties and there were growing concerns that missionaries and Chinese Christians could use this decline -
Annexation of the phillipines
Following the Spanish-American war, propagandists like Teddy Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge said it was the white race’s duty to govern inferior people and bring them the joy of civilization. The annex was also pressured so that Japan or Germany couldn’t get the Philippines for their own military or economical advancement. Many Americans believed the annex was the right thing to do, to unite the country after the war. President McKinley believed this was right b -
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States. Revolts against the Spanish had been going on for decades in Cuba. By 1897–98 American public opinion grew angrier at reports of the Spanish magnified by "yellow journalism". After the mysterious sinking of the American battleship Maine in Havana harbor, political pressures from the Democratic Party pushed President William McKinley, a Republican, into war which McKinley wished to avoid. Compromise proved imposs -
Teller Amendment
As growing disputes between the US and Cuba grew the US wanted to take steps that would dissolve the situation. A bill was proposed in congress to decide the necessary actions to take, but wasn’t passed. A Colorado Senator Henry Teller proposed an amendment that wouldn’t allow the US to completely annex the territory with military forces used by the president. Instead, there was a joint resolution and Congress placed a condition of the US military in Cuba, but left control of the island to its p -
Hay Bunau Varilla Treaty
Bunau-Varilla was an original builder of the Panama Canal under Ferdinand de Lesseps. After the collapse of Lesseps efforts Bunau-Varilla needed financial assistance to keep his investment prosperous and successful. After negotiating with US officials in Washington D.C. and New York City, the United States was to receive rights to a canal zone that extended 6 miles on each side of the canal route and that Panama was to receive $10 million and $250,000 rent each year. Eventually, US Secretary of -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt corollary was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine, it was passed in 1904. It gave the United States the right to intervene and stabilize the economic affairs of small Caribbean and Central American states. An alternative would have been European countries taking control of the countries when they were unable to pay international debts. -
Dollar Diplomacy
The idea of the dollar diplomacy was originally inspired by Roosevelt through the Roosevelt Corollary and the Monroe Doctrine. This movement allowed the US to circulate American currency in foreign countries through loans and donations, which in turn, gave the US full ability to intervene in international affairs. The use of this method was especially evident in the Panama Canal because in order to get the land required to build the canal they needed to overthrow the government and create a new -
U.S. and the panama canal
The United States tried to build the Panama Canal the second time. The United States, under President Theodore Roosevelt, bought out the French equipment and excavations for 40 million dollars and began work on May 4, 1904. The United States paid Colombia 25,000,000 dollars in 1921, seven years after completion of the canal, for redress of President Roosevelt's role in the creation of Panama. Making the canal caused 5,600 additional deaths, but succeeding in opening -
Great White Fleet
In the peak of Roosevelt’s Administration he dispatched 16 US Navy Battleships of the Atlantic Fleet on a worldwide circumnavigation. The ships had their hulls painted white to represent peacetime. Roosevelt’s goal of the journey was to demonstrate the US growing military power and blue water navy capability.
