AP US HISTORY: 2.2.6 Vocabulary and Reading Questions
6. List the advantages and disadvantages of American expansionism in the Philippines.
+Advantages: -Acquired port of Manila -Improved trade in Asia -Increased American prestige +Disadvanatges: -Costliness of war against insurgents -Difficulty of governing the Philippines -Controversy raised at home -Filipinos considered undesirable as citizens
1. Create your own timeline of the Spanish-American War. Include key dates, important events, prominent causes, and significant consequences.
-Date: February 1898 -Event: Sinking of Maine -Cause: Undetermined -Consequence(s): Public opinion favors war. -Date: April 1898 -Event: Declaration of war -Cause: Conflict with Spain over Cuban independence -Consequence(s): War begins in the Caribbean and Pacific. -Date: May 1898 -Event: Dewey victory in Manila -Cause: Orders from Navy Department -Consequence(s): The United States gains a key port. -Date: October 1898 -Event: Treaty negotiations in Paris -Cause: Spanish surrender -Consequence(s): Debate over the Philippines begins. -Date: December 1898 -Event: Treaty of Paris signing -Cause: Issues of Philippines and Cuba settled -Consequence(s): Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines become territories; Cuba gains independence.
3. Evaluate the headlines below in terms of bias.
-Headlines: "Maine's Hull Will Decide" -Bias?: Not biased -Clues: Factual statement -Headlines: "Destruction of the War Ship Maine Was the Work of an Enemy" -Bias?: Somewhat biased -Clues: Emotive word "enemy" -Headlines: "The Journal Offers $50,000 Reward for the Conviction of the Criminals Who Sent 258 American Sailors to Their Death" -Bias?: Biased -Clues: Offer of reward, the word "criminals" -Headlines: "Bloodthirsty Spain Given Formal Notice to Quit the Continent" -Bias?: Biased -Clues: "bloodthirsty"
Panama Canal
A 50-mile waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow part of Panama. It was built by the United States and opened to ships in 1914, saving them an 8,000-mile journey around South America. Control of the canal was returned to Panama on December 31, 1999.
Spanish-American War
A conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States. It started in Cuba when the United States supported Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The U.S. Navy also fought in other Spanish territories, gaining Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands as U.S. territories.
In one or two sentences, write the "big idea" or main point of this activity.
America's goal of creating a world trading empire, as well as public opinion and the influence of yellow journalism, led to the Spanish-American War. Territorial gains from the war were beneficial but caused conflict in the Philippines, where American control was not wanted.
8. Summarize the gains made by the United States between 1890 and 1917.
During this period, America gained in military and commercial power. It acquired overseas territories, such as Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. It also improved its ability to trade worldwide and enlarged its naval fleet.
4. What were some reasons for the style of reporting practiced by yellow journalists?
Emotive, sensational writing sold newspapers. Yellow journalists were out to increase circulation and beat the competition by any means necessary.
2. Summarize the events surrounding the sinking of the USS Maine and evaluate the significance of this event in relation to the causes of the Spanish-American War.
In February 1898, the USS Maine blew up and sank in Havana Harbor. Although the U.S. Navy's investigation was inconclusive, reports in the yellow press incited public opinion in favor of war. The Maine disaster did not start the war, but it influenced public support for a declaration of war.
9. In your opinion, was U.S. military behavior in the Philippines a war crime? Explain your reasoning.
One definition of a war crime is that it includes acts contrary to the rules of war. When asked if burning villages and leaving women and children homeless were not "contrary to the rules of civilized warfare," General Hughes replied, "These people are not civilized." In other words, he was admitting that burning villages is not a civilized act. In my opinion, these were war crimes.
5. What were some short-term and long-term effects of the role of journalism in the Spanish-American War?
One short-term effect of aggressive journalism was that the U.S. Navy banned journalists from its warships. Another was that journalists created media heroes, such as Theodore Roosevelt. In the long term, these new-style journalists invented the war correspondent and changed war reporting.
Insular Cases
Series of U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War. The cases applied to the islands of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
yellow journalism
The practice of publishing stories without researching or checking the facts, usually to sway public opinion.
7. What were some short-term and long-term consequences of the Insular Cases?
The short-term consequences were that Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines were governed as territories and that their inhabitants were deprived of full U.S. citizenship. In addition, there was controversy in the United States over this question of citizenship in the territories. A long-term consequence was that the Supreme Court redefined basic ideas of American territorial acquisition.
Treaty of Paris of 1898
The treaty that ended the Spanish-American War. Under the agreement, Spain gave up all claims to Cuba and ceded its colonies of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States.
