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Earth Control
It all began with the first step towards conservation came with the Desert Land Act of 1887, in which the federal government sold dry land cheaply on the condition that the purchaser would irrigate the soil within 3 years. A more successful step was the Forest Reserve Act of 1891. It authorized the president to set aside public forests as national parks and other reserves. -
Cuban Revolution
Cubans revolted against Spain in 1895. Cuban insurrectos burned sugar canefields believing that if they destroyed enough of Cuba, then Spain might abandon Cuba or the United States might move in and help the Cubans with their independence. The Spanish put Cubans in reconstruction camps so they could not support the insurrectos. Congress passed a resolution in 1896 that recognized the revolt -
Explosion of the Maine
On February 15, 1898, the American ship, Maine blew up in the Havana port. The Spanish claimed it was an accident (spontaneous combustion in one of the coal bunkers), while the Americans claimed that Spain had sunk it. The American people did not believe the Spanish, and war with Spain became imminent. -
Filipinos Revolt
The Filipinos thought that the treaty would give them their independence, like the Cubans. This was not the case and on February 4, 1899, the Filipinos started a rebellion against the occupying American forces. The revolution was led by Emilio Aguinaldo. -
Mexican Revolution
A Mexican revolution occurred and the Mexican president was murdered and replaced by General Victoriano Huerta.He was a brutal dictator. Millions of Spanish-speaking immigrants came to America. President Wilson refused to directly intervene with the war in Mexico; he wanted the Mexican citizens to overthrow their government themselves.After a small party of American sailors was accidentally captured by the Mexicans(Tampico Incident)Wilson ordered the navy to seize the Mexican port of Vera Cruz -
WW1
World War I broke out when the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was murdered by a Serb patriot. An outraged Vienna government (backed by Germany) presented a series of demands to Serbia. Serbia (backed by Russia) didn't comply. Russia mobilized its army, causing Germany to also mobilize its army. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. The Allies consisted of France, Britain, Russia, Japan, and Italy.