Unit 7

• Yellow journalism


  type of sensational, biased, and often false reporting for the sake of attracting readers. Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers.
• Josiah Strong

  author of Our Country, on Anglo-Saxon superiority; a popular American minister in the late 1800s who linked Anglo-Saxonism to Christian missionary ideas
• Alfred Mahan


  Captain of the U.S. Navy who was for imperialism. He thought that a bigger navy was needed to protect American ships. He believed that the future of military power lay in the navy. Wrote Influence of Seapower on History.
• Emilio Aguinaldo


  Leader of the Filipino independence movement against Spain (1895-1898). He proclaimed the independence of the Philippines in 1899, but his movement was crushed and he was captured by the United States Army in 1901. Filipino General - helped US take Philipines during Spanish-American war - helped Philippines gain freedom from US
• Teller Amendment

  As Americans were preparing for war with Spain over Cuba in 1898, this Senate measure stated that under no circumstances would the United States annex Cuba. The amendment was passed as many in the muckraking press were suggesting that the Cuban people would be better off "under the protection" of the U.S.. This Amendment was drafted by Henry M. Teller which declared that the US had no desire for control in Cuba & and pledged the US would leave the island alone.
• Platt Amendment

  Specified when the US could interviene in Cuban affairs.

  Allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba and gave the United States control of the naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
• Open Door Policy

  Statement of U.S. foreign policy toward China. Issued by U.S. secretary of state John Hay (1899), the statement reaffirmed the principle that all countries should have equal access to any Chinese port open to trade.
• The Roosevelt Corollary


  Roosevelt's 1904 extension of the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the United States has the right to protect its economic interests in South And Central America by using military force. Addition to the Monroe Doctrine asserting America's right to intervene in Latin American affairs
• The Insular Cases

  Beginning in 1901, a badly divided Supreme Court decreed in these cases that the Constitution did not follow the flag. In other words, Puerto Ricans and Filipinos would not necessarily enjoy all American rights.
• Spanish American War


  In 1898, a conflict between the United States and Spain that began from the U.S. supporitng the Cubans' fight for independence
• 16th Amendment

  Allows the federal government to collect income tax.
• 17th Amendment

  Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures.
• 18th Amendment


  Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages
• 19th Amendment


  Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1920) extended the right to vote to women in federal or state elections.
• Initiative, referendum, recall


  Initiative: people have the right to propose a new law. Referendum: a law passed by the legislature can be reference to the people for approval/veto. Recall: the people can petition and vote to have an elected official removed from office. These all made elected officials more responsible and sensitive to the needs of the people, and part of the movement to make government more efficient and scientific.
• Ida Tarbell


  A leading muckraker and magazine editor, she exposed the corruption of the oil industry with her 1904 workA History of Standard Oil.
• Lincoln Steffens

  Early muckraker who exposed the political corruption in many American cities. United States journalist who in 1906 started an era of muckraking journalism (1866-1936), Writing for McClure's Magazine, he criticized the trend of urbanization with a series of articles under the title Shame of the Cities.
• Robert M. LaFollete

  He was the governor of Wisconsin, nicknamed "Fighting Bob," He used the "brain trust," a panel of experts, to help him create effective, efficient government. He was denied the nomination for the Republicans in favor of Theodore Roosevelt. Progressive governor of Wisconsin who was elected in 1900. He limited campaign spending, He created a commission to regulate railroads and utilities so they wouldn't overcharge customers, He created a commission to oversee transportation, civil service & taxation.
• Frances Willard


  Worked for women's suffrage as President of the Women's Temperance Union. She worked to educate people about the evils of alcohol. She urged laws banning the sale of liquor. Also worked to outlaw saloons as step towards strengthening democracy.
• Square Deal

  Theodore Roosevelt's promise of fair and equal treatment for all. Economic policy by Roosevelt that favored fair relationships between companies and workers.
• Pure Food and Drug Act

  Halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines and false labeling. 1906 - Forbade the manufacture or sale of mislabeled or adulterated food or drugs, it gave the government broad powers to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in order to abolish the "patent" drug trade. Still in existence as the FDA.
• Meat Inspection Act


  1906 - Laid down binding rules for sanitary meat packing and government inspection of meat products crossing state lines.
• Social Gospel


  A movement in the late 1800s / early 1900s which emphasized charity and social responsibility as a means of salvation.
• Scientific Management

  studying people to find the most efficient ways of doing things and then teaching people those techniques
• Conservationism


  environmental view which stated that land should be protected for carefully managed development, led to the formation of the National Parks System
• Preservationism

  setting aside select areas as natural and underdeveloped
• Woodrow Wilson


  President of the United States (1913-1921) and the leading figure at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. He was unable to persuade the U.S. Congress to ratify the Treaty of Versailles or join the League of Nations.
• Lusitania

  A British passenger ship (holding Americans) that was sunk by a German U-Boat on May 7, 1915. 128 Americans died. The sinking greatly turned American opinion against the Germans, helping the move towards entering the war.
• 14 Points

  (1918) Woodrow Wilson's peace plan, set out before war ended, helped bring it to and end because it helped Germans look forward to peace and be willing to surrender, was easy on the germans punishment for war. Points included: poeple all over the world are to determine their own fate, (self-determination)no colonial powers grabbing nations, free trade, no secret pacts, freedom of the seas, arms reduction, creation of world orginization/League of Nations.
• League of Nations


  A world organization established in 1920 to promote international cooperation and peace. It was first proposed in 1918 by President Woodrow Wilson, although the United States never joined the League. Essentially powerless, it was officially dissolved in 1946.
• George Creel


  A journalists who was the head of the Committee of Public Information. He helped the anti-German movement as well as inspired patriotism in America during the war. Known for promoting the war effort in WWI
• Espionage Act

  1917 act gave the government new ways to combat spying. This law, passed after the United States entered WWI, imposed sentences of up to twenty years on anyone found guilty of aiding the enemy, obstructing recruitment of soldiers, or encouraging disloyalty. It allowed the postmaster general to remove from the mail any materials that incited treason or insurrection.
• Sedition Act


  1918 Law that made it a crime to criticize the government or government officials. Opponents claimed that it violated citizens' rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, gauranteed by the First Amednment.
• Schenck vs. US


  a 1919 supreme court decision upholidng the conviction of a socialist who had urged young men to resist the draft during WW1. justice holmes declared that gov't can limit speech if the speech provokes a "clear and present danger" of substantive evils.
• Great Migration


  Movement of African Americans from the South to the North for jobs.
• War Industries Board


  Government agency established to coordinate the purchase of war supplies during World War I. Agency established during WWI to increase efficiency & discourage waste in war-related industries.
• Henry Cabot Lodge


  Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he was a leader in the fight against participation in the League of Nations.
• Treaty Of Versailles


  Treaty particularly known for ending WWI and its harsh reparations towards the Germans after World War I.
• Zimmerman Note

  Written by Arthur Zimmerman, a german foreign secretary. In this note he had secretly proposed a German- Mexican alliance. He tempted Mexico with the ideas of recovering Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The note was intercepted on March 1, 1917 by the U.S. government. This was a major factor that led us into WWI.
• Irreconcilables


  These were Republicans who wanted no part with the League of Nations. They were a burden to the vote on the League of Nations and had a part in its failure to pass.