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Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan's book argued that control of the sea was key to world dominance which stimualted a naval race among the great powers and caused some Americans to demand we build a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.
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The McKinley Tariff passed in 1890 raised barriers against Hawaiian products which caused Hawaiian sugar markets to go sour and for white American planters to call for annexation.
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White sugar planters overthrew the Hawaiian Queen with hopes of annexation, but their plans are put on hold when President Cleveland comes to power and withdraws their treaty of annexation.
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A hot argument over seal hunting rights near the Pribilof Islands off the coast of Alaska emerged between Canada and the United Statesand was finally resolved by arbitration which reflected the aggressive national mood.
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"Yellow journalism" attempted to senationalize the news in Cuba in order to sell more newspapers back home, creating outlandish stories that struck home with Americans and made them more eager to go to war with the "evil" Spanish.
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The USS Maine was sent to Havanna Harbor to protect and evacuate Americans if something should happen, however it mysteriously blew up leading Americans to believe Spain was behind the attack and to want war.
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The Teller Amendment stated that the United States would not annex Cuba after fighting Spain for the island's independence,
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Commodore George Dewey led his fleet to a quick victory over the Spanish in the Philippines with no loss of American life after President McKinely confirmed this plan as a way to weaken Spain and free Cuba faster.
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With the Spanish "armada" successfully blockaded into Santiago harbor, the American army, led by the so called "Rough Riders", invaded and defeated the Spanish, foreshadowing the quick end to the splendid little war.
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Out of concern that Japan might grab Hawaii, McKinely and COngress approved a joint resolution of annexation which granted Hawaiians full US citizenship and increased America's global empire.
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The Spanish-American ended quickly after the destruction of the Spanish fleet, and the loss of Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico to the United States, the superior military force in this fight.
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After the Spanish-American War, Filipinos believed they would be granted freedom, but the United States excluded them from negotiations with Spain and continued to occupy their territory, leading to an armed conflict.
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The U.S. annexed the Philippines following Spain's surrender, which ignited large debate and new questions in the nation related to America's national identity and whether we should have an imperalistic empire.
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After a war with Japan, a weak China was encroached upon by European powers which concerned Americans, so the US released the Open Door policy which called for Europeans to respect certain Chinese rights.
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A Chinese patriotic group, known as the Boxers, attacked the foreign diplomatic community by murdering 200 foreigners and thousands of Chinese Christians in Beijing as a failed last ditch attempt to expel Westerners.
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Following concerns from the United States that another power like Germany could come and take advantage of Cuba, Cubans were forced to adopt the Platt amendment that restricted their independence and kept them under the watchful eye of Washington.
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In this treaty, Great Britain conceeded the right to build a canal between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the right to fortify it to the Americans which paved the way for the Panama Canal to become reality.
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The United States wins the Philippine-American War and Congress begins to pour millions in investments to improve FIlipino infrastructure, but was ill-recieved by Filipinos who resented Americanization.
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President Theodore Roosevelt supports Panamanian independence by forcibly keeping Colombia at bay while an insurrection is occring, in keeping with his "big stick" foerign policy.
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President Roosevelt declared a "big stick" policy of "preventive intervention" known as the Roosevelt Corollary, in which the U.S. would intervene in Latin American finances to keep them from becoming too dependent on Europe, and more dependent on America.
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This agreement between President Roosevelt and the Japanese government limited the number of Japanese immigrants coming into the United States, while the U.S. agreed to not discriminate against immigrants already here.
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Taft's dollar diplomacy encouraged investors to invest and loan money to areas of interest to the US like the Far East and Latin America in order to tie them closer to America rather than other foreign powers.
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Mexicans revolt against their government leading to a wave of new Mexican immigrants to the United States and a growing threat to American life and property in Mexico.
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Tensions rose between the U.S. and Mexico after Wilson allowed American ammunition to go to Huerta's rivals, and tensions once again flared up when Mexico arrested a small party of American sailors, bringing war closer to reality.
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President Wilson released his proclamation of neutrality at the outbreak of the war, advising Americans to be neutral in thought and action, reflecting Americans' desire to stay out of the horrors of total war.
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At a cost of about $400 Million, the Panama Canal was completed by American engineer Colonel Goethals, connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific in Central America and shortening travel of goods and raw materials.
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The Lusitania was a British passenger ship that was carrying 128 Americans when it was torpedoed by German U-boats, resulting in a wave of anger and shock from Americans at home and a growing anti-Germany sentiment that would fuel America's involvement into the world war.
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Following the sinking of the Lusitania and other passenger liners, Germany promised the United States that it would not sink unarmed passenger ships without warning and would save survivors, marking a big diplomatic victory for Wilson.
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The Zimmerman Telegram was a note sent to Mexico from Germany promising to return land it lost to the United States if it would join them in the war effort and keep the U.S. at bay, resulting in pushing the U.S. to join the Allies.
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Following anti-German hysteria that hit the U.S. once it declared war, Congress passed two acts that censored criticism of the government and of the President, a violation of free speech rights given in the 1st Amendment
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WIlson's Fourteen point address to Congress inspired the tired Allies to make bigger efforts to win the war and provided hope to minority groups as well as hope for a better world, and as a result, Wilson was seen as the moral leader of the Allies.
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The Treaty of Versailles was completed in Paris with the main goal of punishing Germany for the war, rather than reconciliation which Wilson's Fourteen Points championed, resulting in an outcry in anger from Germans.
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Hysteria grew over fear that a Bolshevik Revolution could happen in the United States, which led to a "red scare" where liberals and radicals were persecuted and in some cases deported.
