Vocabulary for

American
Imperialism

4.2

Manifest Destiny

the 19th-century doctrine or belief that the

expansion of the US throughout the American
continents was both justified and inevitable.
In other words: God wanted the US to extend to
the Pacific Ocean

Capitalism

an economic and political system in which a

country's trade and industry are controlled by
private owners for profit, rather than by the
state.
New American capitalism encouraged
expansionism in the 20th century not the
concept of Manifest Destiny any longer

Monroe Doctrine

an American foreign policy opposing

interference in the western hemisphere from
outside powers

Roosevelt Corollary

supposed to be an addition to the Monroe

Doctrine. Says the US has the right to exercise
military force in Latin American countries in
order to keep European countries out.

Sewards Folly

What the purchase of Alaska was originally

deemed (an ice box)

Panama Canal

a ship canal 40 miles long across the Isthmus

of Panama built by the United States (19041914)

Gun Boat Diplomacy

foreign policy that is supported by the use or

threat of military force.

Annexation

the action of making a territory part of a

nation.
For example: America annexed Hawaii in 1898

Imperialism

a policy of extending a country's power and

influence through diplomacy or military force.

Anti-Imperialist

Opposition to colonialism, colonial empire, and

imperialism. As such, anti-imperialism includes
opposition to wars of conquest, especially wars meant
to conquer and colonize countries whose territories do
not border the imperial power, and wars meant to
subjugate peoples of different cultures; the term also
comprises political opposition to the territorial
expansion of a country beyond its established borders.
Famous Anti-Imperialist:

Jane Addams
Grover Cleveland
Booker T. Washington

Insular Cases

Several U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning

the status of territories acquired by the United

States in the SpanishAmerican War (1898).
Asked the question - "Does the Constitution
follow the flag?"
Essentially, the Supreme Court said that full
constitutional rights did not automatically
extend to all areas under American control.

Protectorate

a state that is controlled and protected by

another.
After the US won the Spanish American War,
Cuba became a protectorate of Americas

Meaning the US told them who they could and

could not make treaties with, and who they could
and could not trade with

Basically bossed them around

Yellow Journalism

Exaggerated Newspaper stories told to sell

newspapers

Spanish-American
War

a war between the United States and Spain in

1898
Originally over Cuban independence the US
won and from it got the territories of:

Guam, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Wake

Islands

Nationalism

patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts for your

country.

Social Darwinism

The theory that individuals, groups, and

peoples are subject to the same Darwinian
laws of natural selection as plants and
animals.
Used to justify racist imperialism

Isolationism

policy of remaining apart from the affairs or

interests of other groups, esp. the political
affairs of other countries.
The US stayed to itself after the Civil War until
its involvement in the Spanish American War,
with the US emerging as a world power

Intervention

Becoming involved

American
Expansionism

is the economic, military, and cultural

influence of the United States on other
countries. Such influence often goes hand in
hand with expansion into foreign territories.