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U.S.S. Maine Explodes
-Happened only days after publication of the de Lome letter
-Ship ordered to Cuba to bring home American citizens in danger from the fighting and protect American property
-Blew up in the harbor of Havana; 260+ casualties
-Cause still unknown
Important because:
-Fueled the cause to go to war with Spain
-Became rallying cry- "Remember the Maine!"
-Yellow journalism milked it for all its worth -
Treaty of Paris
-Spain free Cuba and turn over islands of Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the West Indies to the US. Also, sell Philippines to the US for $20 million
Important because:
-Gave us many Latin American countries that we could develp relationships with (even though they were not all good relationships) and was a solid source of income from American plantation owners on the islands
-Ended the Spanish-American war -
Open Door Notes
-US feared China would be carved into colonies and American traders would be shut out
-US Secretary of State John Hay issued in a series of policy statements
-Letters addressed to leaders of imperialist nations proposing nations share their trading rights with US, thus creating an "Open Door"
Important because
-Used to protect American interests
-Prevented single nation monopoly on trade with any part of China
-Allowed US to have its foot in the door of trade in China and regulate it -
Platt Amendment Passed
-Newly formed Cuban government wrote constitution for an independent Cuba; US forced itself in
Important because
-Cuba could not make treaties that might limit its independence or permit a foreign power to control any part of its territory
-The United States reserved the right to intervene in Cuba
-Cuba was not to go into debt
-The United States could buy or lease land on the island for naval stations and refueling stations
-Army would not withdraw until adopted
-Cuba was ours now -
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is released
-1906 novel written by American journalist/novelist Upton Sinclair (1878-1968)
-Wrote the novel to portray lives of immigrants in the US
-Many readers were most concerned with his exposure of practices in the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century, based on an investigation he did for a socialist newspaper.
Important because:
-Showed readers the terrible conditions and wages of workers and the contamination
-Led to Meat Inspection Act and Food and Pure Food and Drug Act -
Wilson sworn as president
-Former governor of NJ; won the presidential election of 1912
-Democratic Party
-Wilson's New Freedom, Taft's conservatism, Roosevelt's progressivism, or the Socialist Party policies of Eugene V. Debs
Important because:
-Played major role in FRS, Clayton Antitrust Act, FTC, WWI, 14 Points Speech, Big Four, Treaty of Versailles
-Attack on triple wall of privilege: the trusts, tariffs, and high finance -
Federal Reserve Act of 1913 (FRS established)
-Established the Federal Reserve System
-Central banking system of the United States
-Signed by Wilson
Important because:
-Economy and Treasury depend on it
-Granted legal authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes and Federal Reserve Banks as legal tender
-Continues to be one of the principal banking laws of the United States -
Panama Canal Completed
-By Roosevelt's presidency many Americans felt the US needed a canal cutting across Central America
-1850 US and Britain aggreed to share rights to canal
-Hay-Pauncefote Treaty of 1901, Britain gave US exclusive rights to build and control it
-French company agent Philippe Bunau-Varilla to DC; buy claim for $40 million
Important because:
-Reduced travel time for commercial and military ships
-Seven wonders of the world; major water shortcut for all ships; still working today and is expanding -
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
-Heir to Austrian throne
-Sarajevo, Bosnia
-Gavrilo Princip
-Austria-Hungary against Serbia
-Germany against Russia
-Germany against France
-Britain against Germany & Austria-Hungary
Important because:
-Nation after nation after nation tumbled into the ordeal
-Lit the fuse of WWI -
Period: to
World War 1
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Sinking of the Lusitania
-German U-Boat sinks British liner Lusitania off southern coast of Ireland
-1,198 persons lost- 128 Americans
-Germany stated the ship was carrying ammunition
Important because:
-Public opinion turned to outrage aginst Germany and the Central -Powers which led us to go into WWI -
US declares War
-Wilson first wanted neutrality
-"A war to end all wars"
-"Make the world safe for democracy"
Important because:
-America finally enters the war
-America turns the tide for the Allies -
Period: to
US involved in war
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Selective Service Act
-Government needed more fighting power
-Required men to register with the government to be randomly selected for military service
-By 1918, 24 million had registered
-3 million called up
Important because:
-Gave us a great military force which was a deciding factor in the war
-Gave us the fighting power (umph!) to win the war
-Still in effect today -
Treaty of Versailles
-Nations gathered to negotiate a treaty on the aftermath of WWI
Important because:
-Established 9 new nations
-Shifted boundaries
-Broke down Ottoman Empire
-Limited German army and forced them to pay reparations- $33 billion
-Ended WWI
-Lit the fuse for WWII -
Prohibition (18th Amendment & Volstead Act)
-National ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol
-1920 to 1933
-Mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution
-Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited
Important because
-Major event in our history which changed lives for good or bad
-Shows that we shouldn't do it again
-Ended with ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment December 5, 1933. -
19th Amendment passed
-Prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex
-Women's suffrage movements helped the passing of this amendment tremendously
-US involvement in WWI made suffrage inevitable
-Headed committees, knitted socks, and sold liberty bonds
-72 years after women first convened and demanded the vote at Seneca Falls convention (1848)
Important because:
-Women can vote! Equals now!
Major milestone in women's suffrage and motivated suffrage for African Americans
