Us History Terms

American Imperialism
Imperialism- A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, socially, and economically.
Spanish American War- War fought between the USA and Spain in Cuba and the Philippines. It lasted less than 3 months and resulted in Cuba’s independence as well as the USA annexing Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.
Platt Amendment- Allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba and gave the United States control of the naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
Big Stick Policy- Theodore Roosevelt’s method for achieving American goals in the Caribbean; it featured the threat and use of military force to promote America’s commercial supremacy, to limit European intervention in the region, and to protect the Panama Canal.
Open Door Policy- A policy, proposed by the United States in 1899, under which all nations would have equal opportunities to trade in China.

World War I and the 1920’s
Lusitania- A British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915. 128 Americans died. The sinking greatly turned American opinion against the Germans, helping the move towards entering the war.
Zimmerman Note- Written by Arthur Zimmerman, a German foreign secretary. In this note he had secretly proposed a German- Mexican alliance. He tempted Mexico with the ideas of recovering Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The note was intercepted on March 1, 1917 by the U.S. government. This was a major factor that led us into WWI.
Espionage and Sedition Acts- A law enacted on May 16, 1918, during World War I, to restrict public opinion of the U.S. war effort. An amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917, it prohibited spoken and written attacks on the U.S. government or the Constitution and led to numerous arrests. It was repealed in 1921.
War Industries Board- This government agency oversaw the production of all American factories. It determined priorities, allocated raw materials, and fixed prices; it told manufacturers what they...