US History Biographies Unit 4
Knowledge and
Skills Statements
(US.4) History. The
student understands
the emergence of
the United States as
a world power
between 1898 and
1920.
US History Biographies
Student Expectation
A. Explain why significant
events, policies, and
individuals such as the
Spanish-American War, U.S.
expansionism, Henry Cabot
Lodge, Alfred Thayer Mahan,
Theodore Roosevelt, Sanford
B. Dole, and missionaries
moved the United States into
the position of a world
power;
Biography
Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924) A senator from
Massachusetts, Henry Cabot Lodge supported
American expansion as a way to increase
national pride, spread civilization, and thereby
gain world power. He and Theodore Roosevelt,
drawing upon the theories of naval historian
Alfred Thayer Mahan, favored the "large policy."
This depended on world trade and ship
transport. An American-controlled canal through
Central America was necessary as were coaling
stations and naval bases in the Pacific, on
Hawaii, Guam, Wake Island, and in the
Philippines. A strong navy was required to
protect the merchant marine as it sailed from
North America to the Far East and points in
between.
Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) Alfred Thayer
Mahan was an admiral and naval historian
whose theories on the relationship of sea power
and world commerce influenced foreign policy
development in the 1880s and 1890s. His
theories were published in The Influence of Sea
Power upon History (1890).
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) Born in New
York, Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th
president. He graduated from Harvard, was
elected to the New York legislature, wrote
history and served as president of the New York
police boards. He gained national attention as
the leader of the "Rough Riders," a volunteer
cavalry unit which served in the SpanishAmerican War. He served as governor of New
York and then as McKinley's vice president.
When McKinley was assassinated in 1901,
Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency and was
later elected to a full term in 1904. He
supported expansionism, the development of a
canal across Central America, and a powerful
navy. Under Roosevelt's direction the United
States became the police of the western
hemisphere and numerous reforms were
enacted: he prosecuted big business for trust
violations, supported passage of the Pure Food
D. Understand the contributions of
the American Expeditionary Forces
(AEF) led by General John J. Pershing;
F. Discuss the importance of
congressional Medal of Honor
recipients, including individuals of all
races and genders such as Vernon J.
Baker, Alvin York, and Roy Benavidez.
and Drug Act, and created national parks.
Sanford B. Dole (1844-1926) When U.S.
President McKinley came into office in 1897;
Dole led renewed negotiations for annexation.
The Republic of Hawaii offered a treaty of
annexation, which the U.S. accepted by joint
resolution in 1898. Dole drove a hard bargain, in
which the U.S. paid off the accumulated national
debt of the Kingdom and Republic (paying more
than the market value of the ceded lands at that
time). Dole also successfully demanded that
although the public lands of Hawaii would be
ceded to U.S. control, those lands would not
become part of the U.S. land inventory but
would be held as a public trust for the benefit of
all the residents of Hawaii. Dole wrote the
Organic Act whereby annexation was
implemented. In 1900, he became Hawaii's first
Territorial Governor. In 1903 he became
presiding judge of the U.S. District Court for
Hawaii where he served for 12 years until
retiring at age 72. Following ten more years of
charitable works, he died in 1926.
General John J. Pershing (1860-1948) Born in Missouri, John Pershing
spent his life in the military. He graduated from West Point in 1886 and
was commissioned second lieutenant of cavalry. He fought in the Indian
Wars, commanded an all-black unit for a time, taught at West Point, and
served as a military observer during the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. He
spent nearly a decade in the Philippines and then was sent to Mexico to
apprehend Pancho Villa in 1914. In 1917, Pershing was selected to lead
the American Expeditionary Force to Europe during World War I. Pershing
did not agree with French and British officers who sought to incorporate
the U.S. troops into their units. Pershing insisted that Americans fight
together. His troops were instrumental in the defeat of the Germans in
the Argonne Forest, in the Meuse-Argonne region of France.
Alvin York (1887-1964) Known as the greatest [American] hero of World
War I, after his platoon had suffered heavy casualties and 3 other
noncommissioned officers had become casualties, Cpl. York assumed
command. Fearlessly leading 7 men, he charged with great daring a
machinegun nest which was pouring deadly and incessant fire upon his
platoon. In this heroic feat the machinegun nest was taken, together with
4 officers and 128 men and several guns. York was promoted to Sergeant
and received the U.S. Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, the
French Croix de Guerre, the French Legion of Honor, the Croce di Guerra
of Italy, and the War Medal of Montenegro.