1. Cram Sheet:
American Imperialism
PEOPLE and reelected in 1900
• Asked U.S. Congress for declaration of
Emilio Aguinaldo war against Spain amidst public
• Filipino general during Philippine pressure, April 1898
Revolution against Spain • Historians still debate whether he had
• Appointed himself leader of the imperialism in mind when he chose to
Philippines when his forces expelled intervene in Cuban Revolution
Spain • Assassinated in September 1901 by
• Declared war on U.S. after Americans anarchist Leon Czolgosz
refused to recognize his authority and
sent troops to occupy the country Orville H. Platt
• Republican senator from Connecticut in
th th
Leon Czolgosz the late 19 and early 20 centuries
• Became anarchist sympathizer after • Authored amendment that set up
losing factory job, 1898 conditions for U.S. withdrawal from
• Assassinated President William Cuba, 1901
McKinley, 6 September 1901 • His policy ultimately solidified Cuban
• Arrested, convicted, and sentenced to dependence on the U.S.
death by electrocution
Theodore Roosevelt
John Hay • Leader of the Republican Party and the
th
• U.S. Secretary of State under President Progressive Party in the early 20
William McKinley century
• After McKinley’s assassination, • Vice President under William McKinley
continued to serve under Theodore • Became President after McKinley
Roosevelt assassination and then elected in 1904
• Helped author the Treaty of Paris, which • Founded the Rough Riders military
ended Spanish-American War regiment to fight in the Spanish-
• Announced Open Door policy, 1899, American War
which called for equal American access • Considered himself “natural leader” and
to China a hero in the war
Enrique Dupuy de Lôme Josiah Strong
• Spanish diplomat during late 19
th • Protestant clergyman and writer
century • In his book Our Country, 1885, called for
• Wrote a letter to an official in Cuba in whites to “civilize and Christianize” the
1898, criticizing U.S. President McKinley American West
as “weak” • Said civilizing “savages” was key to a
• Letter leaked to the U.S. press, fueling thriving American economy
public support for war against Spain • Those in favor of U.S. expansion took
inspiration from his work
José Martí
• Cuban revolutionary leader Frederick Jackson Turner
th
• Founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party • American historian in the late 19 and
th
while in exile in New York, 1892 early 20 centuries
• Warned, “Once the United States is in • Best known for his “Frontier Thesis,”
Cuba, who will drive it out?” presented at 1893 World’s Columbian
• Killed during a Spanish ambush while Exposition in Chicago
fighting in Dos Rios, Cuba • Said that great era of American
expansion was over
William McKinley • Also said that expansion could continue
• Republican president elected in 1896 if U.S. looked to the rest of the world
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2. Mark Twain 1899 Philippine-American War Begins
• Perhaps the greatest writer in American • Began after U.S. troops occupying
history Philippines killed 3 Filipino soldiers
• One of the founders of the American • War declared by Emilio Aguinaldo, self-
Anti-Imperialist League declared leader of Philippine Republic
• One of the most vocal critics of U.S. • Brutal fighting would last for 4 years
plans to annex Philippine Islands
1901 Platt Amendment
EVENTS • Amendment to Cuban constitution
proposed by Republican Senator Orville
1895 Cuban Revolution Against Spain H. Platt, established conditions for U.S.
• Led by José Martí and the Cuban withdrawal from Cuba after the Spanish-
Revolutionary Party American War
• Coverage of bloody conflict in U.S. • Granted U.S. government the right to
fueled popular cries for American intervene in Cuban affairs whenever
intervention to help Cubans fight Spain necessary; forced Cuban government to
• Officially ended by Treaty of Paris, lease military bases to U.S.; limited
which left Cuba free of Spain but Cuban authority in negotiating treaties
dependent upon U.S. with other nations
• Policy ultimately left Cuba dependent
1898 De Lôme Letter upon U.S.
• Letter written by Spanish diplomat
criticizing President McKinley as “weak” 1902 Philippine-American War Officially
• leaked to American press and New York Ends
Journal published it in full, 9 February • President Theodore Roosevelt declared
• fueled popular cries in U.S. for war the end of war in the Philippines
against Spain • By this time, 4,200 U.S. were dead, over
200,000 Filipino dead
1898 Explosion of USS Maine • Despite President Roosevelt’s
• U.S. battleship Maine exploded in announcement, Filipino nationalists and
harbor in Havana, Cuba, killing 266 U.S. troops continued to fight for next 13
crewmen, 15 February years
• without evidence, U.S. Navy announced • U.S. troops remained in Philippines until
that Spanish mine caused the explosion 1946, when U.S. finally granted
• press coverage of the incident fueled Philippine independence
popular cries in U.S. for war against
Spain
GROUPS
1898 Spanish-American War Declared
• under pressure from U.S. public, American Anti-Imperialist League
Congress voted to declare war on Spain • Formed in 1898 as a reaction to
• with declaration, Congress issued Teller American involvement abroad
Amendment, which said that U.S. had • Main goal was to oppose U.S.
no intention to annex Cuba and would annexation of the Philippine Islands
leave island after the war • Included political figures, scholars,
businessmen
1899 Treaty of Paris • Author Mark Twain was one of its most
• authored in part by U.S. Secretary of vocal members
State John Hay
• officially ended the Spanish-American Cuban Revolutionary Party
War, 11 April • Founded by Cuban leader José Martí
• Spain agreed to acknowledge Cuban while he was in exile in New York, 1892
independence; ceded Puerto Rico and • Inspired in part by American
Guam to U.S; sold Philippines to U.S. revolutionary history
for $20 million • Led Cuban forces against Spanish
colonizers, beginning in 1895
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3. Rough Riders
• Founded in 1898 by Republican political
leader Theodore Roosevelt
• Included Ivy Leaguers, miners,
cowboys, Native Americans, sons of
Confederate veterans, African
Americans
• Fought for just a few months in Cuba
during the tail end of the war
• Revered as heroes upon return to U.S.
CONCEPTS
Imperialism
• A government policy or action meant to
exert power over another nation or
territory
• Usually involves military force; usually
aimed at acquiring land
• Can also be result of extensions of
economic, political, or religious power
Annexation
• Formal government acquisition of
territory
• Usually achieved by military conquest or
occupation
Yellow Journalism
• Term for type of sensationalistic
reporting in American newspapers
during 1890s
• Characterized by inflammatory accounts
of horrific events in Cuba during Cuban
Revolution, mainly torture of insurgents
• Contributed to public outcry in U.S. for
declaration of war against Spain
PLACES
The Philippines
• Island nation in the Pacific was Spanish
colony prior to "liberation" by Americans
• Following Spanish defeat, Filipino
insurgents fought against American
occupying army for more than 4 years,
1899-1903
San Juan Hill, Santiago, Cuba
• Site of famous Battle of San Juan Hill,
1898, where Teddy Roosevelt's Rough
Riders captured a Spanish position
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