U.S. Foreign Policy through the great War

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY THROUGH THE GREAT WAR

Unit 4

IMPERIALISM

The policy in which stronger nations extend their economic,

political, or military control over weaker territories.

IMPERIALISM

Europe had been establishing colonies all over the globe for centuries, building up the British Empire. Imperialism surfaced in parts of Asia during the late-19th Century

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM

Three factors fueled American Imperialism:

1.Economic competition among industrial nations

2.Political and military competition, including the creation of a strong navy

3.A belief in the racial and cultural superiority of people of Anglo-Saxon (English) descent.

God,Glory, &

Gold

ANTI-IMPERIALISM

Some Americans saw imperialism as a threat to their heritage. Many Americans believed that nothing justified dominating other countries.

HAWAII Hawaii had been economically important to the U.S. since the 1790s

• Christian schools & churches had been established

• Sugar merchants eventually changed Hawaii’s economy

By 1900, foreigners and immigrant laborers (working on American-owned sugar plantations) outnumbered native Hawaiians

HAWAII

1893: American business owners overthrew Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani, and the provisional government immediately applied to become a part of the United States.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

America’s Interest in Cuba:• American capitalists invested

millions in large sugarcane plantations

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

Yellow Journalism• Reporting that exaggerates the news to lure

readers

American newspapers used this technique to sell more papers than their competitors The popularity of the stories caused American sympathy for Cuban rebels

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

April 20, 1898: US declares war on Spain• “A splendid little war”• 16 weeks of fighting

August 12, 1898: armistice December 10, 1898: The U.S. & Spain agree:

1. Cuba would become independent2. Spain would give Puerto Rico & Guam to the U.S.3. The U.S. would pay Spain $20 million for the

annexation of the Philippine Islands

UNITED STATES

IMPERIALISM

AMERICA AS A WORLD POWER

“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”

Theodore Roosevelt:

AMERICA AS A WORLD POWER

TR won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending the Russo-Japanese War 1907: “The Great White Fleet” (16 new, white US battleships) tours the world, showing off U.S. naval power Panama Canal

• U.S. helped Panama gain their independence from Colombia and built a 10 mile wide canal through the country.

AMERICA AS A WORLD POWER

Roosevelt’s achievements in foreign policy allowed the U.S. to exercise international police power in the Western Hemisphere. Wilson encouraged democratic governments in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. is considered a World Power

• Why is that a big deal?

WORLD WAR I BEGINS

(Leave space to define each term)

MAIN causes of WWI:• Militarism• Alliances• Assassination

• Imperialism• Nationalism

WORLD WAR I BEGINS

August 4, 1914: Fighting starts in Europe

• Why did the U.S. stay out of it?• • •

Remember:we’re a world power

ALLIANCES

Over the course of the war: Allied Powers

• 19 countries

Central Powers• 4 countries

MILITARISM German U-boats (submarines) sank merchant ships as well as passenger vessels that they believed might be carrying supplies to the Allies.Lusitania

• A British passenger ship• Attacked and sunk by a German U-boat in 1915• More than 100 Americans died as a result of

this attack

MILITARISM 1916: a German U-boat torpedoed the Sussex (a French passenger ship)

• 2 Americans were killed• The German government promised that U-boats

would warn ships before attacking after the United States threatened to cut off diplomatic ties

By 1917, German announced an end to the Sussex Pledge and the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare

• Less than a month later, the United States declared war

ZIMMERMANN NOTE Telegram sent by the German foreign minister to the German ambassador in Mexico promising to help Mexico regain the land they lost to the U.S. if Mexico allied with Germany. Read the provided document and answer the questions on the guided reading page for more information on this topic.

U.S. DECLARES WAR

April 1917: • The House of Representatives and

Senate pass the war resolution

May 1917: • Selective Service Act provides more

soldiers to fight

WORLD WAR I ON THE HOME FRONT

Write a reasonable prediction of what you think life was like on the Home Front during WWI using ALL of the following terms:

• War bonds• Victory gardens• “meatless Mondays”• Daylight savings time

WORLD WAR I ON THE HOME FRONT

Use the text to identify each of these terms that are essential to understanding the Home Front during WWI:

• War Industries Board• Selective Service• Committee on Public Information• United States Food Administration• Home Front

WORLD WAR I ON THE HOME FRONT

Using the text as your document, answer the following questions on your own:

• How did the United States finance World War I?• How did the United States manage

the economy during World War I?• How did the United States

government direct public support for the war effort?

• War bonds• Victory gardens• “meatless

Mondays”• Daylight savings

time• War Industries

Board

WORLD WAR I ON THE HOME FRONT

• Selective Service• Committee on Public

Information• United States Food

Administration• Home Front

Write an accurate summary of what life was like on the Home Front during WWI using ALL of the following terms:

POST-WWI CONCEPTS

Using the text as your document, briefly describe each of the following terms:• The Big Four• Wilson’s

Fourteen Points• Treaty of

Versailles• League of

Nations

• Reparations• Washington Naval

Conference Treaties• U.S. Return to

Isolationism

UNIT FOUR

Notebook Check and Group Presentation due Monday, November 4.Unit 4 Test: Friday, November 8