Mr. Walter
AP US History 2
Names:
Period:
The American Age of Imperialism/Empire/Expansionism (take your pick!):
Collaborative “Fact Pack” Activity
In the late 1800s/early 1900s, especially following the depression of 1893-97, the American
foreign policy and mindset began to become more assertive, and eventually more aggressive.
The pinnacle of this period was the “splendid little war” that was launched by President William
McKinley in 1898, the Spanish American War. There is no other individual figure that personifies
the sudden administration of Theodore Roosevelt, who rose from Assistant Secretary of the
Navy to Governor of NY, to Vice President, to eventually become President after McKinley’s
assassination in 1901.
Directions
1. Form a team of 3-4 students.
2. Convert this file into a Google Drive file, and share it with the members of your group.
3. Locate the premium databases on the Media Center site and grab a textbook from the
cabinet.
4. Work collaboratively to build the “Fact Pack” for our brief unit on the American Age of
Imperialism/Empire/Expansionism. As you do so, please:
a. Focus only on key details and facts that connect directly to American foreign
policy in this era. Limit yourself to a few essential points. We will use this “Fact
Pack” to dig deeper in a few days.
b. Work collaboratively, not separately. Talk about what you are finding!
c. Do not simply cut and paste. Use multiple sources and synthesize. Complete
sentences are not always necessary.
d. Edit and clean up the document to make it look organized.
e. Whenever possible, add pictures, maps, links to video clips, and other material
to add depth to your Fact Pack.
5. When you are finished, share it with me at rwalter@pascack.k12.nj.us. It will be
assessed for effort, neatness, accuracy, and completion for 20 points.
A. Events
Conduct research into the following events. Use the book and high-quality sources online.
These events are deliberately out of order. As you gather information, place the events in
chronological order, and whenever possible, explain cause and effect relationships between and
among the events. Focus on the most important facts and ideas, and how they relate to the
story of late 1800s/early 1900s imperialism/expansionism/empire. Be sure to provide
dates/date ranges as well. Explain each event’s larger relationship to the story of American
expansionism/imperialism.

The Great White Fleet built and the U.S. Naval College founded

Fishing rights dispute between the U.S. and Great Britain

Venezuela and British Guiana dispute

Samoa

Naval base established at Pearl Harbor

Independent republic of Hawaii proclaimed

Hawaii annexed, becomes an American territory

Cuban revolt

de Lome letter

The explosion of the battleship USS Maine

McKinley asks Congress for Declaration of War against Spain

Teller Amendment

Spanish-American War
o Manilla Bay
o San Juan Hill
o Santiago Bay

Terms of the Treaty of Paris, 1898

Foraker Act and Jones Act

Cuban-American Treaty of 1903

Platt Amendment and terms

War in the Philippines

Philippine Government Act

Open Door Notes

Insular Cases

Boxer Rebellion

Wake Island annexed

Panamanian Revolution/Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty

Panama Canal built

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Russo-Japanese War and the Treaty of Portsmouth

Gentlemen’s Agreement between US and Japan

Root-Takahira Agreement
B. People
Conduct research into the following people and/or organizations, using the book and highquality sources online. Limit your work to the historical time period in question (late
1800s/early 1900s) and to the specific area of empire/expansionism/imperialism, or foreign
policy. As you gather information, the relationships among the people whenever possible.

Frederick Jackson Turner

Alfred T. Mahan

Josiah Strong

Henry Cabot Lodge

John Hay

Theodore Roosevelt

William McKinley

Queen Liliuokalani

Sanford Dole

Valeriano Weyler

Jose Marti

William Randolph Hearst

Joseph Pulitzer

Albert J. Beveridge

George Dewey

The “Rough Riders”

The 24th Infantry and 10th Calvary

Emilio Aguinaldo

Anti-Imperialist League and its members