Chapter 28 America Becomes a World Power

28.2 America Stretches Its Wings *Imperialism- The policy of extending a nation’s power by gaining political and economic control over other countries. *1867 US purchases Alaska from Russia. *1898 under President McKinley, the US annexes Hawaii.

28.3 “A Splendid Little War.” *1898 President McKinley sends US battleship Maine to Cuba to support them in their quest for independence from Spain. *February 15, 1898 explosion sinks the Maine while at Havana harbor- no one knows how it happens. *US uses this as a reason to go to war with Spain. *Spanish-American War lasts only 4 months. *Cuba gains independence; US gets Puerto Rico as territory.

28.4 The Philippines *At the same time the US is fighting the Spanish-American War, the US sends naval fleet to the Philippines to help them gain their independence from Spain. *US defeats the Spanish and buys the Philippines from Spain for $20 million. *Filipinos feel betrayed by the US. Led by General Emilio Aguinaldo, they revolt against US. Fighting goes on for three years, but US prevails and keeps the Philippines as a territory until 1947.

28.5 Panama and the Canal *1901 President McKinley is assassinated. Theodore Roosevelt becomes president. *Roosevelt wants to build a canal to join the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 1903 he offers Columbia $10 Million for land in Panama. *Columbia refuses to sell their land, so US sends warship to Panama. *US helps Panamanians gain independence from Columbia. In return, Panama sells narrow strip of land to US. *1904 canal construction begins. *1914 51-mile-long Panama Canal opens.

28.6 The Outbreak of World War I *June 28, 1914 Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated by a Serbian nationalist while visiting the province of Bosnia. *Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Germany joins in by declaring war on Serbia’s ally, Russia. Germany and A-H form the Central Powers. *France and Britain come to Russia’s aid. The three countries become the Allied Powers. *Eventually over a dozen countries take sides in “The Great War.” *Woodrow Wilson is US president. *US remains neutral at first.

28.7 A New Kind of Warfare *Both sides dig in and for three years fight a “trench warfare”in lines that stretch over 600 miles across France. *New weapons such as machine guns and poison gas kill soldiers in massive numbers. *By the end of 1914 *Germany loses France loses 300,000 130,000 soldiers soldiers. in a single battle.

28.7 Continued… *Most trade between countries is by sea. *Britain mines German ports to close off trade. *Germany uses a new type of vessel, the submarine, or U-boat, to block British ports. *Warns other countries that it will sink their boats if they try to enter British ports. *Americans are outraged by this, but the US still remains neutral.

28.7 continued… *May 7, 1915 Germany sinks the British liner Lusitania. *1198 people are killed, along with 128 Americans. *Still the US remains neutral. *Trade between US and the Allies increases after the sinking as Americans now favor Britain, France and Russia. *February 1917 Germany begins sinking US merchant ships. *President Wilson finally asks Congress for a Declaration of War.

28.8 To Make the World Safe for Democracy *American troops begin arriving in Europe in June 1917. *They bring new energy to the Allies as Russia drops out of the war and makes peace with Germany. *1 million US soldiers in Europe by 1918. *US commander, General John “Blackjack” Pershing coordinates huge numbers of soldiers, tanks, airplanes and artillery that push Germany back to its own border.

28.8 Continued… *To avoid an invasion of their own country, Germany agrees to an armistice (cease-fire). *On November 11, 1918 the war ends at a cost of over nine million lives.

*28.9 The Struggle for Peace. *President Wilson proposes 14-points for world peace. *Points 1-5 aim to prevent future conflict between nations. *Points 6-13 describe new boundaries for European nations. *Fourteenth point calls for a League of Nations to address world concerns. *January 18, 1919 Germany signs The Treaty of Versailles. *Treaty is designed to punish Germany.

*28.9 Continued… *January 18, 1919 Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles. *Treaty designed to punish Germany in four ways: 1) Germany must disband its military. 2) Must give up its colonies. 3) Must surrender territory in Europe. 4) Must pay reparations (repair) to pay for damages and war deaths. *Most Americans wary of the Treaty. They don’t want to get involve in European affairs ever again. *Because of this, the Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles in March 1920. *In Germany, the Treaty leaves a bitter legacy. Germans feel betrayed by the treaty. *This legacy leads to an obscure corporal’s rise to power in the 1930’s. His name…Adolf Hitler. …THE END