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Spanish-American War - Broke out in 1898 over U.S. concerns for the Cuban independence movement. The U.S. decisively won the war, gaining the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and securing independence for Cuba. The victory also marked the entrance of the United States as a powerful force onto the world stage.
Maine - U.S. battleship sunk by an explosion in Havana harbor in February 1898. Though later investigations suggested that an onboard fire had caused the blast, popular rumor was that the Spanish were responsible. The sinking of the Maine, combined with sensationalist news reports of Spanish atrocities, led the American public to push for war against Spain.
Yellow Journalism - The exaggerated and sensationalized stories about Spanish military atrocities against Cuban rebels that the New York World and New York Journal, among other newspapers, published in the period leading up to the Spanish-American War (1898). Yellow journalism swayed American public opinion in favor of war against Spain.
Theodore Roosevelt - President from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt rose to fame as the leader of the Rough Riders, a volunteer unit during the Spanish-American War. He went on to become governor of New York and was vice president to William McKinley during McKinley’s second term in office. After McKinley’s assassination in 1901, Roosevelt assumed the presidency, and served until 1909 (he won the 1904 election). A Progressive reformer, he worked to regulate the activities of corporations and protect consumers and workers. Roosevelt pursued an aggressive style of foreign relations known as “big stick” diplomacy.
Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine - Declared (during Roosevelt’s 1904 State of the Union address) that the United States, not Europe, should dominate the affairs of Latin America, and that although the U.S. had no expansionist intentions, any “chronic wrongdoing” by a Latin American nation would justify U.S. intervention as a global police power.
Big Stick Diplomacy - Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy summed up his aggressive stance toward international affairs with the phrase, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Under this doctrine, the U.S. declared its domination over Latin America and built the Panama Canal.
Panama Canal - An artificial waterway built by the U.S. between 1904 and 1914 as part of Roosevelt’s “big stick” diplomacy. The canal stretches across the isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Panama gained full control of the canal in 1999.
Dollar Diplomacy - William Howard Taft’s foreign policy. Taft sought to address international problems by extending American investment overseas, believing that such activity would both benefit the U.S. economy and promote stability abroad.
“Good Neighbor” Policy - FDR’s policy toward Latin America, initialized in 1933. He pledged that no nation, not even the U.S., had the right to interfere in the affairs of any other nation.