World Power Unit Notes
27.2
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- America Stretches Its Wings
1867 – US purchases Alaska from Russia for 2 cents an acre
Alaska provides thick forests, plentiful fish & wildlife
Settlers discover gold, copper, coal & other minerals
By 1890s business leaders wanted to establish plantations, dig
mines in new places, and establish new markets for finished
products
 US expands to islands in the Pacific Ocean: the Midway Islands for
trade with Asian countries
 US annexes Hawaii for sugar plantations and create Pearl Harbor
Navy base
27.3 – A Splendid Little War
 In the 1890s after establishing sugar plantations in Cuba,
Americans became aware that the Cubans wanted their
independence from Spain.
 Spain herded Cubans into “reconcentration camps” and forced
them to live without beds, toilets, medical care, or much food –
many people died
 US newspapers used yellow journalism to sensationalize the
stories of the treatment of Cubans by the Spanish, in an effort to
grow sympathy for the Cubans and go to war with Spain
 1898 – US sends the battleship the Maine to Cuba, shortly after it
arrives there is an explosion sinking the ship, Americans quickly
blame Spain and urge McKinley and Congress to go to war
 Teddy Roosevelt takes his regiment to Cuba with the intention of
capturing a major city. At the battle of San Juan Hill, they charge
toward the Spanish, and they triumphed with “bulldog courage”
 The US also captures or sinks all of the Spanish ships in the
harbor, and Spain surrenders
 The outcome of the war: Cuba wins independence but allows US
to keep plantations and businesses there, as well as build naval
bases, and the US gains control over Puerto Rico
World Power Unit Notes
27.4 – The Philippines
 At the same time the Cubans wanted their independence, the
Filipinos wanted their independence from Spain as well.
 As US declared war on Spain in Cuba, it was also declared war on
Spain in the Philippines
 Battle at Manila Bay lasted about 4 hours, at the end - all of the
Spanish ships were sunk or sinking
 The Spanish agreed to “lose” a fake battle and surrendered to the
US
 The US negotiated to buy the Philippines from the Spanish, and
annexed the Philippines in 1899; established a nonmilitary
government; built roads, schools and hospitals, and didn’t grant
independence until 1947
27.5 – Panama and the Canal
 Vice-President Roosevelt wanted to join the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans and create a short cut that ships could move quickly
through. The Navy could defend American territories and
businesses would gain more with lower shipping costs.
 When President McKinley was assassinated, Roosevelt becomes
president and addresses Congress to argue for the canal, they
approve funding for the canal, and in 1903 the US offered
Colombia $10 million for the land in Panama. Colombia refuses to
sell the land.
 Roosevelt sends a warship to Panama to help with their fight for
independence from Colombia and then offers the new country
$10 million for a canal zone.
 Construction began in 1904, the conditions for building the canal
were poor and many died from malaria and yellow fever.
Precautions had to be taken against the mosquitos, and
conditions improved.
 The Panama Canal opened in 1914 and was controlled by the US
until 2000.
World Power Unit Notes
27.6 – The Outbreak of “The Great War”
 Tensions in Europe caused nationalism – inspired people in the
Balkan countries to want their independence from AustriaHungary, which had been taking over smaller/weaker countries
 It also caused militarism and secret alliances between countries
where they agreed to help each other in case of attack. AustriaHungary and Germany headed the Central Powers; France, Russia
and Britain led the Allied Powers
 The assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand
and his wife by a Serbian nationalist caused Austria-Hungary to
retaliate against Serbia. Then Russia declared war on AustriaHungary, and Germany declared war on Russia. More than a
dozen countries took sides in the Great War.
 The US wanted to stay out of the war, and initiated a policy of
neutrality
27.7 – A New Kind of Warfare
 By September 1914, Germans fought on 2 fronts, on the Eastern
Front they fought the Russians, on the Western Front they fought
the French and British.
 On the Western Front, both sides dug long narrow trenches to
protect their soldiers, where the men ate, slept, fought, and died.
 The land between the trenches was considered “no-man’s land”
and soldiers put up barbed wire and booby traps to protect their
sides. This type of warfare made it difficult to advance their lines
and push back the enemy.
 Advancement in technology provided new weapons, machineguns with rapid fire could shoot hundreds of bullets in a minute.
Germans invented poisonous gas chemical weapons that were
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knick-named mustard gas due to the yellowish-greenish color of
the gas
Both sides used new technology and strategies that were effective
for defense, but not for advancement to push their enemies back.
To supply soldiers in the trenches, both sides bought food,
ammunition and other supplies from neutral countries. Most
trade was with the US for both sides, however the Allies and
Central Powers wanted to cut off or blockade the other side from
getting their supplies.
Britain blockaded and mined the North Sea against Germany, and
the Germans used U-boats (submarines) to try and blockade
Britain. They started sinking merchant and passenger ships
without warning because they thought that the ships were taking
supplies to their enemies.
With the sinking of the passenger ship Lusitania, 1,198 people
were killed, including 128 US citizens. The US was outraged and
chose sides; they reduced sales of supplies to the Central Powers
and increased their sales to the Allied Powers.
27.8 – To Make the World Safe for Democracy
 President Wilson took measures to prepare for war after the
sinking of the Lusitania, however he still wanted to keep the US
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out of the war. He tried to start peace talks but European leaders
refused.
Germans were sinking 50 – 100 British merchant ships per month,
but supplies were still getting to their enemies. In order to cut off
supplies they broke their promise to stop sinking merchant ships
from neutral countries without warning; and torpedoed three US
merchant ships, killing many Americans. This was a fatal mistake
for the Germans.
In a special session of Congress, Wilson urged a declaration of
war, and that the US would fight along the sides of the Allied
Powers. He said that this was not just to protect neutral shipping
but because “the world must be made safe for democracy.”
To get US supplies delivered safely, convoys of American
warships escorted cargo vessels, to protect them from being
attacked. US destroyers helped the British navy against the Uboats.
When the US entered the war, we only had 200,000 soldiers with
limited training. Soon there was a national draft that upped our
numbers to 3 million men, and another 2 million volunteered.
When US troops arrived in Europe, they soon found out that
trench warfare was not effective. General John J. Pershing worked
on strategies to force the Germans out into open country.
At the same time, Russia was forced to drop out of the war due to
millions of soldiers dead and people starving throughout their
country. There was also a revolt against their country that
overthrew their czar/ruler, and their new government made
peace with the Germans.
General Pershing’s plan took advantage of several offensive
capabilities that were developed during the war. Tanks could
advance through trenches, Airplanes could deliver machine-gun
fire and drop bombs. Due to this, the allies forced the Germans
back to their border.
To avoid invasion into their own country, the German leaders
agreed to an armistice or cease-fire. On November 11, 1918 was
World Power Unit Notes
known as Armistice Day, later renamed in the US as Veteran’s
Day.
 The costs of the war:
1. More than 9 million people died
2. US lost 116,000 men
3. Warring nations mourned the loss of so many young men
4. Physical damages throughout Europe
27.9 – The Struggle for Peace
 After fighting in Europe ended, President Wilson went to Paris to
take part in peace talks
 Wilson had a proposal for a postwar agreement called Fourteen
Points for World Peace
o Points 1-5 aimed to prevent conflict; avoid secret treaties or
alliances, practice free trade, reduce weapon supplies, and
draw new borders for countries based on self-determination
o Points 6-13 described new boundaries for many European
countries
o Point 14 called for nations to join a general association of
countries to protect each other called the League of Nations
 Germany surrendered believing that Wilson’s Fourteen Points
would be the basis of a fair and just peace.
 At the Treaty of Versailles, Germans found out that the other
delegates were determined to punish them and remove it as a
future threat. They were to disband (break up) their armed forces,
give up its colonies, and surrender territory in Europe. They were
also called to pay reparations, or money to make up the damages
and war deaths, set at $33 billion.
 The Allies rejected some of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, including
freedom of the seas, but they did create new boundaries for
countries based on self-determination.
World Power Unit Notes
 Wilson needed approval of two thirds of the US Senate to ratify
the peace treaty. He ran into opposition, and some senators
worried that other countries would force American soldiers to
fight in international conflicts. Also the Senate argued that
Congress had the Constitutional power to declare war. They
didn’t want to take part in the League of Nations and rejected the
Treaty of Versailles.
 The Legacy of Versailles was the US going back to a policy of
isolationism; the League of Nations did settle a few small
disputes, but lacked the power that Wilson hoped it would have;
and Germany felt betrayed and were bitter about the treaty.