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Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War. -
U.S. Purchase of Alaska
The looming U.S. Civil War delayed the sale, but after the war, Secretary of State William Seward quickly took up a renewed Russian offer and on March 30, 1867, agreed to a proposal from Russian Minister in Washington, Edouard de Stoeckl, to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million. -
U.S. settles Midway Islands
Midway continues to be the only island in the Hawaiian archipelago that is not part of the state of Hawaii. Unlike the other Hawaiian islands, Midway observes Samoa Time (UTC-11:00, i.e., eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time), which is one hour behind the time in the state of Hawaii. For statistical purposes, Midway is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. -
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Construction of first U.S. steel-hulled cruisers
Admiral Alfred T. Mahan lobbied Congress on the “need” to build
up the military to defend against other advanced nations,
especially the navy (his own department). Between 1883-1890, the United States built nine steel-hulled cruisers (including the Maine and Oregon), and had additional battleships and support vessels lined up. -
Overthrow of Hawaiian Monarchy
The overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii began with a coup d'état against Queen Liliuokalani on January 17, 1893 on the island of Oahu, by foreign residents residing in Honolulu, mostly United States citizens, and subjects of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The revolutionaries established the Republic of Hawaii, but their ultimate goal was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which finally occurred in 1898. -
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First Cuban Rebellion
The final three months of the conflict escalated to become the Spanish–American War, with United States forces being deployed in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands against Spain. Historians disagree as to the extent that United States officials were motivated to intervene for humanitarian reasons but agree that yellow journalism exaggerated atrocities attributed to Spanish forces against Cuban civilians. -
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Cuba Libre Movement Launched
The Cuban Revolution (Spanish: Revolución cubana) was an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement and its allies against the right-wing[1][2] authoritarian government of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953,[3] and continued sporadically until the rebels finally ousted Batista on 1 January 1959, replacing his government with a revolutionary socialist state. -
U.S.S. Maine explodes
U.S.S. Maine Explodes. At 9:40pm on February 15, 1898, the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing 268 men and shocking the American populace. -
Philippines become officially independent
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American Occupation of Puerto Rico officially ends
On July 25, 1898, the United States invaded and seized Puerto Rico as part of the Spanish-American War. The United States attempted to legitimize this colonial act by signing the Treaty of Paris with Spain, Puerto Rico's former colonial owner, in 1898. However, Spain could not give what it never legally owned. -
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Philippines revolt against U.S. control
Philippine-American War, a war between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries from 1899 to 1902, an insurrection that may be seen as a continuation of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. -
“Open Door” Policy Introduced
The Open Door Policy is a term in foreign affairs initially used to refer to the United States policy established in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, as enunciated in Secretary of State John Hay's Open Door Note, dated September 6, 1899 and dispatched to the major European powers. -
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The Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement was a violent anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, toward the end of the Qing dynasty. -
Cuba is a Protectorate of the U.S.
Cubans reluctantly included the amendment, which virtually made Cuba a U.S. protectorate, in their constitution. The Platt Amendment was also incorporated in a permanent treaty between the United States and Cuba. ... The United States, however, retained its lease on Guantánamo Bay, where a naval base was established. -
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Panama Canal construction
Building the Panama Canal, 1903–1914. President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the realization of a long-term United States goal—a trans-isthmian canal. Throughout the 1800s, American and British leaders and businessmen wanted to ship goods quickly and cheaply between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. -
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U.S. negotiates end to Russo-Japanese War
The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the 1904–05 Russo-Japanese War. It was signed on September 5, 1905[1] after negotiations lasting from August 6 to August 30, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, United States. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in the negotiations, and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. -
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General Pershing hunts Pancho Villa
The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition,[4] but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"[1]—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa from March 14, 1916, to February 7, 1917, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920. -
Porfirio Diaz overthrown
Mexican Revolution. Porfirio Díaz ousted from power and exiled in France, May 1911. Francisco I. Madero elected president of Mexico, 1911, assassinated February 1913. Victoriano Huerta overthrows Madero and assumes the presidency 1913–1914. -
U.S. fights with General Huerta’s Mexico
General Victoriano Huerta took control of the government following the assassinations of President Francisco Madero and Vice President José Pino Suárez. Once they heard the news, many Mexicans called Huerta “the Usurper,” refused to recognize his administration, and declared themselves in revolt. Although they would need time to prepare their troops for battle, ultimately they would overthrow Huerta on July 15, 1914. -
Guillaume Sam’s Massacres
Sam fled to the French embassy, where he received asylum. The rebels' mulatto leaders broke into the embassy and found Sam. They dragged him out and beat him senseless then threw his limp body over the embassy's iron fence to the waiting populace, who then ripped his body to pieces and paraded the parts through the capital's neighborhoods. For the next two weeks, the country was in chaos. -
U.S. Marines take over Haiti
U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Haiti, 1915–34. Following the assassination of the Haitian President in July of 1915, President Woodrow Wilson sent the United States Marines into Haiti to restore order and maintain political and economic stability in the Caribbean. This occupation continued until 1934. -
Full citizenship rights for Puerto Ricans
On March 2, 1917, the Jones–Shafroth Act was signed, collectively making Puerto Ricans United States citizens without rescinding their Puerto Rican citizenship. ... He declared that "if the earth were to swallow the island, Puerto Ricans would prefer American citizenship to any citizenship in the world.