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American Revolution
The 13 American colonies broke off from their mother country, Great Britain, because of how unfairly the british government was treating and taxing the American people. After fighting the revolutionary war, the 13 colonies emerged as victors, creating the new country, The United States of America. By breaking off from such a strong country, the USA was able to establish itself as a strong country, which eventually led to it being a world power. -
Washington's Farewell Address
When Washington left office after his 2nd term in office, he wrote a farewell address telling the country that he wasn't going to run for another term. By only doing 2 terms, a total of 8 years, in office, Washington was able to establish the United States president as a figure of democracy, rather than dictatorship, because he limited his time he spent in office. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the American idea of conquest and imperialism. Although it was not an official policy during that time, it justified many American military conquests to gain more land. This established American's sense of imperialism, and their want for expansion. This has carried through American politics throughout the years, as we have used military force to gain land if needed. -
Barbary Wars
When Thomas Jefferson entered office, he was faced with the issue of American ships having to pay tribute to the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea, otherwise their ships would be taken over, crew members enslaved, and belongings stolen. Jefferson decided that the U.S. wouldn't put up with it any longer, and sent a naval fleet to the Mediterranean sea to bombard the Barbary pirate cities, and get rulers to lift the tributes they forced the ships to pay. By doing this, Jefferson was able to -
Embargo Act
The British Navy was impressing American merchant soldiers, which conflicted with the neutrality that the U.S. had established in the Napoleonic Wars. The U.S. placed an embargo on British goods, which ended up hurting them. This made the U.S. angry towards England, which led to the war of 1812 -
War of 1812
Because England was fighting in a war with France, they placed trade restrictions on the U.S. and were forcing American merchants to join their navy and fight against France in the Napoleonic Wars. Eventually, England won the war against France, so American merchants were no longer forced to be in the navy, and the trade restrictions were lifted. The major reasons why they were fighting had been taken away, so they both signed a treaty to end the war. Because the treaty was well received by both -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was written by James Monroe, and stated that any act by European nations to try and colonize land in either North or South America would be viewed as an act of aggression, and the United States would use force to solve the conflict. This doctrine established the U.S. as a country that was not afraid to assist, and even but in on the affairs of other countries. -
U.S./Mexican War
This war was an armed conflict between the U.S. and Mexico as a result to the annexation of Texas. It resulted in the U.S. paying 15 million for New Mexico, and Baja California, and got to keep Texas. This furthered America's use of military intervention in conflicts with foreign nations. -
Annexation of Hawaii
While William McKinley was president, the U.S. acquired the Hawaiian Islands as a territory through annexation. The Secretary of State led this process, and the senate didn't even vote on it. Although the Secretary of State did have to agree to this, this showed the U.S.'s willingness to expand. -
Spanish-American-Cuban War
Cuba wanted its independence from Spain, and since the U.S. had it's own interests there, the U.S. went down to Cuba to protect them from Spain so they could earn their independence. After only a couple of months of fighting, Spain and the U.S. signed a treaty that gave the U.S. the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Guam. This event showed the willingness of the U.S. to get involved in other countries conflicts to help them gain their independence. -
Roosevelt Corollory
This was intended to be an extension to the Monroe doctrine, but instead acted as more of an extension, stating that the U.S. would use military force to carry out what they had promised South American countries in the Monroe doctrine. This extended America's military reach in foreign countries. -
WWI
World War 1 began when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. His assassination led to the Austro-Hungarians invading Serbia. This had a domino effect on political relations, and eventually erupted into a huge war. The allied and central powers were involved. Eventually the U.S. entered to support the allied powers. The conflict ended with the European map being redrawn, with empires dismantled, and the League of Nations created to prevent a conflict like this from happening again. -
WWII
Weakened by WWI, Germany, led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, invaded Poland in 1939, and that is when WWII started. The U.S. did not get involved until the Japan, who had become an ally of Germany, bombed the U.S. at Pearl Harbor. The U.S. was involved in all fronts of the war. The war in Germany ended in 1945 when the allied forces invaded Germany and captured Berlin. The war in the pacific ended when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After this war the U.S. was by far th -
Truman Doctrine
In a speech, President Truman announced that he would take any military and economic measures to keep Greece and Turkey from falling into the Soviet Sphere. This was a turning point in how the U.S. viewed communism, and how they would do anything to prevent the spread. Truman's policy eventually led the U.S. into far larger conflicts. -
The Cold War
The Cold War was when there was lots of political and military tension over the concept of communism. The largest conflicts were between the U.S. and Russia. No countries ever engaged in an actual fighting war, but these two countries readied their nuclear stockpiles. Eventually Russia got a new leader, and the two countries were able to ease their tension. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was intended to give economic support to Europe to help get up on it's feet after WWII. This plan again demonstrates the United State's butting into foreign affairs, and providing financial assistance to everyone to help them out. -
Vietnam War
The U.S. got involved in Vietnam in an attempt to contain communism. They ended up killing thousands of innocent citizens, as well as putting hundreds of thousands of Americans lives on the line. This war showed how far reaching the American government is. If it seems "bad" to them, they will use force to change it. -
Detente
A period of thawing out, or loosing tensions between countries. Occurred between the U.S. and Russia in the middle of the Cold War. Resulted in Nuclear Arms treaties being signed, and a direct hotline (The red telephone) being installed between countries. -
Carter's Emphasis on Foreign Policy
When Carter came to office, he expressed to the whole nation how wrong it was to fight fire with fire. He ended our military aid to Nicaraguan president Somoza, one of the most abusive rulers in South America, and focused more on resolving abuses of human rights, which had been previously overlooked, in foreign countries. -
September 11
First time since Pearl Harbor that the U.S. had been a victim of war/terrorism on their home turf. Immediately the military took action and brought the U.S. into where it is in the current day. The U.S. government has expanded its world power greatly through the use of military force to disarm the terrorists that caused September 11. -
Irag/Afghanistan/Global War on Terror
Following the September 11 event, the U.S. launched many mass military operations to try and stop the terrorists that had caused September 11. It has resulted in U.S. military operations in many countries, and has killed both civilians in those countries, and American soldiers. It is an ongoing war that although presidents have claimed will be stopped, has not stopped. -
Isolationism
Isolationism is when a country does not get involved in foreign affairs. They believe that it is in their countries best interests to keep from themselves. The United States has always done everything BUT this. -
Engagement
Rules of engagement are the rules that armed personnel must follow in any armed conflict. It basically says what they can't do. This can cause conflicts because it reflects on our countries ethics about what is okay to do, and what is not.