Glossary

Boxer Rebellion

In 1900 Chinese nationalists, known as Boxers, besieged the Legation Quarter in Peking, calling for the expulsion or death of all westerners. European and American forces crushed the rebellion.

Edwin L. Godkin

Godkin, along with William Jennings Bryan, Andrew Carnegie, and Mark Twain, were noted anti-imperialists who strongly objected to the American annexation of the Philippines.

Emilio Aguinaldo

Aguinaldo led Filipinos in the war for independence between 1899 and 1902. American troops ended the rebellion, but the lives of 4200 American, 20,000 Filipino soldiers, and 200,000 Filipino civilians were lost.

Josiah Strong

In his book Our Country, Its Possible Future and Present Crisis, published in 1885, Strong provided a racial justification for American expansionism. He believed that America, as an Anglo-Saxon nation, had a destiny and duty to expand and spread its influence.

large policy

Henry Cabot Lodge and other expansionists advocated the "large policy," which called for the acquisition of an American empire and a powerful navy to protect it.

Maine

The explosion of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana Harbor in February 1898 led Congress to declare war against Spain.

Paris Peace Conference

American and Spanish delegates negotiated the settlement of the Spanish-American War at this conference. From Spain the United States wrested the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. These new imperial possessions gave the United States strategic bases in the Caribbean and along the trade routes to Asia.

Queen Liliuokalani

When Queen Liliuokalani assumed the Hawaiian throne in 1891, she initiated a strongly anti-American policy. She wanted to purge American influences in Hawaii and disenfranchise all white men except those married to native women. White islanders, supported by American minister John L. Stevens, overthrew her in 1893.

The Influence of Sea Power upon History

Published by Alfred T. Mahan in 1890, this important book advanced the simple thesis that naval power was the key to national greatness. It was applauded by expansionists.

Yellow journalism

Newspapers published by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer freely engaged in "yellow journalism," exaggerating Spanish military operations against Cuban rebels. Sensational coverage biased the American public against Spain, and vastly expanded the newspapers' daily circulations.

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