Deck 19: The Quest for Empire, 1865-1914

Question 1

The annexation of the Hawaiian Islands was preceded by ____________________.

A) a request for such action by Queen Liliuokalani
B) the discovery by the State Department that the Japanese living on the islands were preparing for the annexation of the islands by Japan
C) a revolution in which all foreign business interests were forced out of the islands
D) the seizure of Hawaii's government, which was plotted by American sugar growers and carried out with the assistance of American troops

Answer 1

the seizure of Hawaii's government, which was plotted by American sugar growers and carried out with the assistance of American troops

Question 2

As a consequence of the sinking of the Maine, ______________________.

A) Congress authorized President McKinley's request for $50 million in defense funds
B) Spain agreed to allow the United States to arbitrate the dispute between Cuban insurgents and the Spanish government
C) Cuban terrorists bombed the Spanish embassy in Washington, D.C.
D) Enrique Dupuy de Lôme publicly belittled President McKinley

Answer 2

Congress authorized President McKinley's request for $50 million in defense funds

Question 3

Which of the following is true of both the Venezuelan crisis and the Cuban crisis?

A) In both instances, the United States insisted that it would set the rules of conduct in the Western Hemisphere.
B) Both situations indicated willingness on the part of European powers to back down in the face of American might.
C) Both situations contributed to a general deterioration of American relations with the European powers.
D) In both instances, the United States waged war without congressional approval to do so.

Answer 3

In both instances, the United States insisted that it would set the rules of conduct in the Western Hemisphere.

Question 4

What did the Venezuelan crisis indicate?

A) England was spoiling for war with the United States.
B) United States foreign policy was subtle and cautious.
C) The United States wanted war with England.
D) The rights of smaller nations are often not considered when two major powers confront each other.

Question 5

Which of the following best expresses the beliefs of William H. Seward?

A) War is the only means by which the United States can acquire an empire.
B) America will acquire an empire without war because of the natural process of gravitation toward the United States.
C) The United States must resist the temptation of annexing territories populated by nonwhites.
D) As missionaries spread the Christian message, the other peoples of the Western Hemisphere will be drawn into the American orbit.

Question 6

Political leaders who favored economic expansion during the 1890s but not the annexation of overseas territory ___________________.

A) became more vocal and began to dominate government decision making
B) gradually lost ground to those who advocated both formal and informal imperialism
C) completely abandoned their position in the aftermath of the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War
D) came to be concentrated almost exclusively in the Republican party

Question 7

Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis argued that:

A) The prevalence of violence in American society may be explained by the fact that Americans have continually had to tame and civilize a vast wilderness
B) The American character has been shaped by the ever-expanding continental frontier
C) Now that North America has been civilized, the American people will look inward with the goal of creating a truly egalitarian democracy
D) With the passing of the frontier, Americans must fulfill their destiny by acquiring an overseas empire

Question 8

Which of the following played a role in precipitating the Cuban revolution of 1895?

A) The abolition of slavery in Cuba
B) The beginning of Cuban industrialization
C) An American military invasion
D) The imposition of a United States tariff on Cuban sugar

Question 9

Which of the following was central to America's well-being, according to Captain Alfred T. Mahan?

A) A commitment to educational excellence
B) The building of a strong, efficient navy
C) Doubling the size of the United States Army
D) The spread of democratic principles throughout the world

Question 10

Hawai'i's annexation to the United States occurred under President _______________________.

A) Grover Cleveland
B) Benjamin Harrison
C) William McKinley
D) Theodore Roosevelt

Question 11

The politicians who determined American foreign relations between 1865 and 1914 _______________.

A) failed to recognize the relationship between expansion and economic growth
B) allowed foreign policy to be shaped almost exclusively by public opinion
C) believed that exertion of American influence abroad would help maintain prosperity at home
D) rejected the concept of power politics, advancing instead the idea that all nations are equals in the world community

Question 12

What was a consequence of race-based explanations for expansion by United States leaders?

A) Such explanations led American leaders to study other societies and cultures so that they could create a world community of nations based on mutual respect and cooperation.
B) Such explanations led United States policymakers to make unwise concessions to some nations because they were considered to be weak and inferior and in need of aid.
C) Such explanations hampered the development of a modern navy because they led United States leaders to believe that God would always protect Americans.
D) Such explanations justified domination and war because they fostered the belief that superior people do not negotiate with inferiors.

Question 13

Those who advocated for the expansion of an American empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century espoused which of the following ideas?

A) When the United States intervenes and remakes the societies of weaker nations, it is extending the benefits of liberty and prosperity to less fortunate people.
B) Because the American empire will be built by peaceful means, there is no need for expansion of the navy.
C) American involvement in other lands will be confined to the sharing of American technology and will be initiated only at the request of foreign peoples.
D) In acquiring colonies abroad, the United States must allow the peoples of those lands to shape their own economic and political destiny.

Question 14

Which important event occurred in 1866, largely due to the efforts of Cyrus Field?

A) The first permanent, underwater transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully laid, linking Europe and America.
B) Russia sold Alaska to the United States.
C) A United States naval squadron seized and laid claim to the Midway Islands.
D) The first transcontinental railroad was completed, linking the east and west coasts of the United States.

Question 15

What is a reason that annexationists plotted the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian government?

A) To avoid paying the new American tariff on Hawaiian sugar imported into the United States
B) To provoke a war between the United States and Japan
C) To place Queen Liliuokalani in power
D) To keep more Chinese and Japanese from migrating to Hawai'i

Question 16

The United States declaration of war on Spain in 1898 _____________________.

A) was the result of Spain's refusal to respond to diplomatic proposals from the United States
B) came after Spain made some diplomatic concessions to the United States
C) came after Spain stepped up its reconcentration policy
D) was the result of Spain's rejection of an offer from the United States to buy Cuba

Question 17

One way to arouse patriotism and gain local support for naval expansion was to _________________.

A) name ships after prominent Americans
B) name ships after states and cities
C) ask local politicians to christen ships
D) have sailors from only one state serve on board a ship

Question 18

President Taft tried to employ dollar diplomacy to counter __________________.

A) Chinese influence in Japan
B) Japanese influence in Russia
C) Japanese influence in China
D) Chinese influence in the Philippines

Question 19

The massacre at Rock Springs, Wyoming in 1885 is evidence of which of the following?

A) Miners and railway workers in the American West often reacted with violence against newly hired Hispanic workers.
B) Labor strikes often led to disorder and violence in mining communities in the American West in the late nineteenth century.
C) Discrimination against African Americans was just as prevalent in the American West as in the South during the late nineteenth century.
D) Racist attitudes against Chinese immigrants were prevalent in the American West in the late nineteenth century.

Question 20

Secretary of State William H. Seward successfully acquired which of the following for the United States?

A) Alaska
B) Guam
C) Puerto Rico
D) The Virgin Islands

Question 21

By 1890, Americans owned about what percentage of Hawai'i's wealth?

A) 66 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 75 percent
D) 50 percent

Question 22

The Platt Amendment:

A) Committed Cuba to representative democratic government
B) Granted the United States the right to intervene in Cuban affairs
C) Linked Cuba and the United States in a mutual defense pact
D) Gave the United States special trading advantages with Cuba

Question 23

As a result of the Treaty of Paris in 1898, ______________________.

A) the United States agreed to pay Spain $20 million for territories acquired
B) Cuba became part of the United States
C) the Philippine Islands became independent
D) Wake Island became a United States protectorate

Question 24

How did President Theodore Roosevelt respond to Colombia's hard bargaining over the proposal to cut a canal through its province of Panama?

A) He ordered the navy to sink two Colombian ships to show that he would not tolerate delay.
B) He agreed to increase the amount paid to Colombia by a substantial amount.
C) He convened a conference of Latin American nations to put diplomatic pressure on Colombia.
D) He sent American warships to the Isthmus of Panama to ensure the success of a revolution for Panamanian independence.

Question 25

Which of the following arguments was used by opponents of the Treaty of Paris?

A) The war is unjust, so the treaty is also unjust.
B) The United States should not be engaged in economic expansion.
C) The annexation of areas populated by dark-skinned people will undermine Anglo-Saxon purity.
D) The radical and revolutionary ideas of the Puerto Rican people will undermine American capitalism.

Question 26

The United States opposed the existence of spheres of influence in China for what reason?

A) Such spheres threatened American trading interests in China.
B) Such spheres posed a direct threat to American troops stationed in the Far East.
C) Treaty obligations required the United States to defend China against outside interference.
D) The United States believed in self-determination for the Chinese people.

Question 27

The Boxer Rebellion against foreign presence in China ___________________.

A) drove the imperialist powers out of China
B) led the major powers officially to approve the Open Door policy
C) was brought to an end when the imperialist nations, including the United States, sent troops to China
D) brought the United States and Japan to the verge of war because of American support for the nationalist Chinese rebels

Question 28

Who was the Nationalist leader of the Philippines who had been battling the Spanish for years?

A) Jose Rizal
B) Marcelo Azcarraga Palmero
C) Mariano Ponce
D) Emilio Aguinaldo

Question 29

The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty between the United States and Great Britain:

A) Stipulated that investments in Latin America by the United States and England had to be made jointly
B) Stipulated that Great Britain would provide two-thirds of the financing for the construction of a Central American canal
C) Stipulated that when a Central American canal was built, the territorial sovereignty of the nation chosen to build it had to be respected
D) Provided for joint control of any canal built in Central America

Question 30

From 1899 to 1902, the United States used its army to suppress a struggle for independence in ___________________.

A) the Hawaiian Islands
B) Panama
C) the Philippine Islands
D) Samoa

Question 31

Which of the following statements best expresses the rationale behind the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine?

A) The United States believed it should extend financial aid to Latin America to help raise the standard of living in the region.
B) The United States believed that it had the right to colonize Latin America to exploit the resources of the region.
C) The United States believed it had the right to intervene in the political and financial affairs of Latin American nations so that the region could be stabilized and intervention by European nations prevented.
D) The United States believed it had an obligation to help the Latin American countries find the political system best suited to their culture.

Question 32

Acquisition of the Philippine Islands by the United States led to __________________.

A) an attempt to Americanize the islands
B) an alliance with Japan to fortify the islands
C) the granting of independence to the Philippine Republic by Congress in 1899
D) Japanese armed intervention in the islands

Question 33

As a result of the Battle of Bud Dajo, the United States _______________________.

A) crushed a threatened revolt against American rule in Puerto Rico
B) was forced to grant independence to Cuba and the Philippine Islands
C) defeated resistance to American rule in the Philippines by the Muslim Filipinos of Moro Province
D) captured Emilio Aguinaldo and crushed the Philippine Insurrection

Question 34

African American soldiers at the time of the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War ____________________.

A) faced racism within the military just as they did within society
B) served only in the Corps of Engineers
C) were not allowed to engage in combat
D) were not allowed to become commissioned officers

Question 35

The primary intent of the Open Door notes of 1899 and 1900 was to ________________________.

A) institute an educational exchange program with China
B) further the work of Christian missionaries in China
C) protect American commercial interests in China
D) increase naval strength in the Far East

Question 36

In the early 1900s, the United Fruit Company ____________________.

A) owned more than one-half of the property in Mexico and dominated Mexican political life
B) became a dominant economic and political force in Central America
C) opposed expansionism in the hope of preserving a market for domestically produced agricultural products
D) operated primarily out of Europe, where it had invested over $100 million

Question 37

Which of the following best expresses the ideology behind the Open Door policy?

A) Freedom of the seas will lead to the enrichment of the world community of nations.
B) All nations must be allowed to develop their own political and economic systems.
C) All nations of the world should be considered equals.
D) The closing of any area to American products, citizens, or ideas threatens the survival of the United States.

Question 38

In 1895, from American soil, Jose Marti launched a revolution against which country?

A) Italy
B) Spain
C) Poland
D) Germany

Question 39

What caused the greatest number of deaths in the Philippine Insurrection?

A) Combat wounds
B) Tainted food
C) Disease
D) Heat stroke

Question 40

The Teller Amendment _____________________.

A) detailed humanitarian reasons for the declaration of war against Spain
B) approved the annexation of Hawai'i
C) approved Commodore Dewey's attack on the Spanish fleet in the Pacific
D) disclaimed any American intention to annex Cuba

Question 41

Citing specific examples, explain the difference between President Roosevelt's diplomatic style in dealing with the nations of Central America and in dealing with the major powers of Europe and Asia.

Question 42

Trace the history of America's foreign relations with Great Britain between 1865 and 1914, and explain why the two nations grew increasingly to respect and trust each other.

Question 43

In 1914, when the First World War broke out in Europe, what country seized Shandong and other Pacific islands from the Germans?

A) Japan
B) England
C) France
D) Mexico

Question 44

Which of the following is true of the economic relationship between the United States and Mexico by 1910?

A) American capitalists owned Mexico's railroads and mines.
B) Porfirio Diaz had begun to nationalize American investments in Mexico.
C) American investors had begun to divest themselves of their business interests because of violent, anti-American demonstrations.
D) Mexico had ceased to be an economic satellite of the United States.

Question 45

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, relations between the United States and Great Britain _______________.

A) remained cool, aloof, and neutral
B) were so poor that war at times seemed imminent
C) deteriorated into a deep hostility
D) became increasingly friendly

Question 46

Explain how the economic interests of businesspeople and farmers motivated and shaped America's expansionist foreign policy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Question 47

Examine the domestic sources of American expansionism and imperialism in the late nineteenth century.

Question 48

Discuss the role of ideology and culture in American expansionism and imperialism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Question 49

Explain the foreign policy goals and objectives of the foreign policy elite, and explain the elite's impact on American foreign policy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Question 50

Discuss the foreign policy goals and objectives of William H. Seward as a member of the Senate (1849−1861) and as secretary of state (1861−1869), and explain the extent to which his goals were realized by the late 1880s.

Question 51

Which statement accurately characterizes the relationship between the United States and Great Britain during the late nineteenth century?

A) The United States repeatedly rebuffed British attempts to create a more cordial relationship.
B) The two nations always seemed to be on the verge of war.
C) Great Britain's bluff and bluster caused irreversible damage to the relationship between the two nations.
D) The two nations slowly concluded that the interests of both could best be served by warmer relations.

Question 52

Discuss the causes and consequences of the Venezuelan crisis of 1895.

Question 53

Examine and evaluate American policy toward China in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Question 54

Compare and contrast American imperialist attitudes toward Asia with that of South America, and discuss whether notions of race and masculinity were applied differently to each region.

Question 55

Discuss the underlying and immediate causes of the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War, and outline the provisions of the Treaty of Paris.

Question 56

Examine and evaluate American policy toward the Philippines from 1898 to 1916.

Question 57

Examine the debate between imperialists and anti-imperialists over acquisition of the Philippines, and explain why the imperialists prevailed.

Question 58

Trace the points of connection and departure between McKinley's foreign policy and that of his successor.

Question 59

Defend the following statement: "The conduct of American foreign policy between 1877 and 1914 demonstrated tension between two American ideals: (1) the right of people to self-government and (2) America's responsibility to be an 'uplifting' and 'civilizing' influence in the world, sometimes called the mission-of-America idea."

Question 60

Discuss the causes and consequences of the Hawaiian crisis of the 1890s.