Unit 3: Imperialism and World War I
Study Guide
Imperialism
1. What is imperialism? Why did the U.S. become an imperial power in the late 1800s?
2. Why did people such as Alfred T. Mahan believe the United States should become a more imperialist
nation?
3. What is “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox?” Why is it called that?
4. What industry were Americans involved in Hawaii?
5. Who is Queen Liliuokalani?
The Spanish-American War
6. What event caused public opinion to shift in favor of going to war with Spain?
7. What is yellow journalism and how was it used to gain support for the war?
8. Why did the US pass the Platt Amendment? How is it different from the Teller Amendment?
9. Who were the Rough Riders? Why is the Battle of San Juan Hill Significant?
10. What were the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris?
11. How did the Spanish-American War change America’s position in world politics?
Latin America
12. Why was the Roosevelt Corollary added to the Monroe Doctrine?
13. What was the main reason that the United States wanted to build
the Panama Canal?
14. In order to build the Panama Canal, what did the US do for the
nation of Panama?
15. Compare and contrast the foreign policies of Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft & Woodrow Wilson.
16. Why did Pancho Villa burn Columbus, New Mexico?
China
17. What is meant by the term “sphere of influence?”
18. Why did the United States issue the Open Door Policy?
19. What was the goal of the Boxer Rebellion?
Russia
20. What happened during the Bolshevik Revolution?
21. How did the Bolshevik Revolution affect attitudes toward communism?
World War I
22. What event was the official start of WWI in Europe?
23. When war broke out in Europe in 1914, what was President Wilson’s response
INITIALLY?
24. What is the Zimmerman Note?
25. What was Wilson’s campaign slogan in 1916?
26. What eventually caused Wilson to reverse his position on neutrality and break diplomatic ties with
Germany?
27. What reason did Wilson give when he asked Congress to declare war on Germany?
28. What is the Selective Service Act?
29. What was the purpose of the Committee on Public Information?
30. What was the purpose of the Espionage and Sedition Acts?
31. What Supreme Court decision limited freedom of speech during war time?
The Treaty of Versailles
32. What was the goal of Wilson’s Fourteen Points?
33. Why was the US Senate divided over whether or not to ratify the Treaty of Versailles?
34. What aspect of the treaty was included to give self-determination to ethnic minorities in Europe?
35. Why was the United States reluctant to support the Fourteen Points?
36. In the end, how did the Treaty of Versailles worsen conditions in Europe?
America After the War
37. How did the war impact the lives of African Americans? Hint: What was the Great Migration?