Latin America and the Pacific U.S. and Virginia History

Spanish American War - 1898 In 1898, Cuba was attempting to gain independence from Spain We decided to intervene and help Cuba – naturally, this led to a war with Spain The short war (it only lasted 10 weeks) was fought in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean The United States was victorious, leading the U.S. being recognized as a world power The U.S. will also annex (gain) Puerto Rico and the Philippines as territories

Roosevelt and the Rough Riders Teddy Roosevelt captured national attention by advocating for the Spanish American War in 1898. His volunteer cavalry brigade, the Rough Riders, won public acclaim for its role in the battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba. Roosevelt returned a hero and was soon elected governor of NY and later president of the U.S.

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders

The Panama Canal In 1903, Teddy Roosevelt encouraged the construction of a canal in Central America that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans – this became the Panama Canal Once problem presented itself – that area of Central America belonged to Colombia With the backing of the U.S., Panama rebelled and declared independence from Colombia This rebellion meant that the United States would have sole control of the canal Jerk move or smart move on our part? The canal officially opened in 1914

Panama Canal Construction

Panama Canal Today

Hawaii In 1898, the U.S. overthrew the monarchy of Hawaii and annexed the island The man in charge of the annexation was a guy named Samuel Dole Last name sound familiar? He was a planter. He liked fruit. Most of Hawaii’s population was the native – due to racial tensions the U.S. would not make Hawaii a state until 1959

Open Door Policy In the early 1900s, Secretary of State John Hay declared an Open Door Policy with China The purpose of this policy was to keep trade with China open and equal to all countries (mainly the U.S. and Europe) China continued to be exploited by Western countries for the next several decades and the U.S. gained greatly from trade