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Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 swept the country. During the depression that followed, banks and businesses failed by the thousands, railroads went bankrupt, credit essentially froze, unemployment soared, and tens of thousands of ordinary people lost their homes and savings. -
End of Panic, USA Financial Depression
The panic had deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the presidency of William McKinley. -
Teller Amendment Creation
On the night of declaring war on Spain, Congress adopted a measure pledging that the United States had no desire on remaining in Cuba following conclusion of the conflict. It states that the United States "hereby disclaims any disposition of intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said island except for pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people.” -
Spanish American War
The Spanish American War was an armed conflict between Spain and the United States in 1898. The conflict began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, leading to United States' intervention in the Cuban War for Independence. -
Battle of Manilla Bay
Defeat of the Spanish Pacific fleet by the U.S. Navy, resulted in the fall of the Philippines and contributing to the final U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War. The resounding American victory made Commodore George Dewey a national hero and helped establish the reputation of the United States as a major naval power. -
Beginnings of the Open Door Policy
In the fall of 1898, President McKinley stated his desire for the creation of an "open door" that would allow all trading nations access to the Chinese market. -
Spanish American War Ended
The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. As a result Spain lost its control over the remains of its overseas empire -- Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands. -
United States Gains control of Philippines
Due the signing of the Paris treaty with Spain the United states now controls the Filipino's territory -
Philippine American War
Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. On February 4, 1899, just two days before the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo who sought independence rather than a change in colonial rulers. -
Formal Beginning of Open Door Policy
Secretary of State John Hay sought a formal endorsement of the concept by circulating diplomatic notes among the major powers, enabling the secretary to be credited with authoring the Open Door policy. Hay’s proposal for an Open Door Policy called for the establishment of equal trading rights to all nations in all parts of China and for recognition of Chinese territorial integrity (meaning that the country should not be carved up) -
Boxer Rebellion
“Boxers” was a name that foreigners gave to a Chinese secret society. In 1898 conservative, antiforeign forces won control of the Chinese government and persuaded the Boxers to drop their opposition to the Qing dynasty and unite with it in destroying the foreigners. The governor of the province of Shandong began to enroll Boxer bands as local militia groups, changing their name from Yihequan to Yihetuan (“Righteous and Harmonious Militia”). -
Boxer Rebellion Ended
On August 14, 1900, the international force finally captured Beijing, relieving the foreigners and Christians besieged there since June 20. While foreign troops looted the capital, the empress dowager and her court fled westward to Xi’an in Shaanxi province, leaving behind a few imperial princes to conduct the negotiations. After extensive discussions, a protocol was finally signed in September 1901, ending the hostilities and providing for reparations to be made to the foreign powers. -
Philippine Bill of 1902
It provided a Bill of Rights for the Filipinos that protected their rights to live, to acquire property, to practice religion, to be subjected to due process, to exercise their obligations, to enjoy compensations due to them, and freedom of expression. However most important element contained in the bill was that called for the creation of a lower legislative branch with elected Filipino representatives as legislators as well as Mandate to order the Philippine Commission to perform a census. -
End of Philippine-American War
The United States Secretary of War telegraphed that since the insurrection against the United States had ended and provincial civil governments had been established throughout most of the Philippine archipelago, the office of military governor was terminated. Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed an amnesty to those who had participated in the conflict. The causality's of 4,200 Americans and over 20,000 Filipino combatants. As many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, and disease. -
Japans Twenty-one Demands
Japan Violating the Open Door Policy. The demands called for confirmation of Japan’s railway and mining claims in Shandong province; granting of special concessions in Manchuria; Sino-Japanese control of the Han-Ye-Ping mining base in central China; access to harbours, bays, and islands along China’s coast; and Japanese control, through advisers, of Chinese financial, political, and police affairs. -
Washington Conference
International conference called by the United States to limit the naval arms race and to work out security agreements in the Pacific area. Held in Washington, D.C., the conference resulted in the drafting and signing of several major and minor treaty agreements. -
The Great Depression
On just one day, frantic traders sold off 16,400,000 shares of stock. At year`s end, the government determined that investors in the market had lost some $40 billion. The United States continued to decline steadily into the most profound depression of its history. Banks failed, millions of citizens suddenly had no savings. Factories locked their gates, shops were shuttered forever, and most remaining businesses struggled to survive. -
Manchurian Incident
The seizure of the Manchurian city of Mukden (now Shenyang, Liaoning province, China) by Japanese troops in 1931, which was followed by the Japanese invasion of all of Manchuria (now Northeast China) and the establishment of the Japanese-dominated state of Manchukuo (Manzhouguo) in the area. -
World War II Began
The Second World War, Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany. The conflict that involved virtually every part of the world. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. -
China Civil War
In 1945, the leaders of the Nationalist and Communist parties, Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, met for a series of talks on the formation of a post-war government. Both agreed on the importance of democracy, a unified military, and equality for all Chinese political parties. The truce was tenuous and by 1946 the two sides were fighting an all-out civil war. Years of mistrust between the two sides thwarted efforts to form a coalition government. -
World War II Ended
The German front has surrender after the storming of Berlin and subsequent capture ending the European theater. After the atomic bombs dropped onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki the conflict in the pacific theater has ended. Thus ending the war in finality on both fronts. The 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history. -
China Civil War Ending
eventual Communist victory seemed more and more likely. Although the Communists did not hold any major cities after World War II, they had strong grassroots support, superior military organization and morale, and large stocks of weapons seized from Japanese supplies in Manchuria. With communist control it has now ended all special privileges to foreigners, made the Open Door policy meaningless.
