What happened?

• Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown by American-backed business interests in 1893.

• The U.S. formally annexed Hawaii in 1898 under President William McKinley.

Why is it important?

• Marked U.S. expansion into the Pacific, setting a precedent for imperialism.

• Hawaii remains a key strategic military and economic location today.

Primary Source: Petitions from Hawaiian Natives Against Annexation
- National Archives(https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hawaii-petition)

Author: Queen Liliuokalani, last ruler of Hawaii.

Main Idea: Opposes the unlawful U.S. annexation of Hawaiian lands.

Key Details:

• Asserts her rightful ownership of Hawaiian Crown Lands.

• Calls on the U.S. to restore her sovereignty.

What did we learn? The annexation of Hawaii violated native sovereignty, benefiting U.S. business and military interests.

What happened?

The war was sparked by the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana, Cuba.

The U.S. declared war on Spain, leading to battles in Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

Why is it important?

The U.S. gained control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

Marked the beginning of America as a global imperial power.

Primary Source:

• Yale Law School Avalon Project (https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/sp1898.asp)

Author:

• U.S. and Spanish diplomats.

Main Idea:

• Spain ceded its territories to the U.S.

Key Details:

• Ended Spanish rule in the Americas and the Pacific.

  
  

• Established U.S. control over new territories.

What did we learn?

The war marked U.S. expansionism, gaining new territories and global influence.

What happened?

The U.S. declared that all nations should have equal trade rights in China.

Aimed to prevent European powers from monopolizing Chinese markets.

Why is it important?

• Showed U.S. interest in international trade and influence in Asia.

  
  

• The policy continues to influence U.S. foreign trade today.

Primary Source: [Yale Law School Avalon Project](https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/opendoor.asp)

Author: John Hay, U.S. Secretary of State.

Main Idea: Promoted free trade in China for all nations.

Key Details:

• Prevented foreign powers from fully colonizing China.

  
  

• Strengthened U.S.-China trade relations.

What did we learn?

The Open Door Policy maintained U.S. trade access in China and countered European imperial influence.

What happened?

The boxer rebellion was an anti-foreigner uprising in china and in order to end it they had to get support from the imperial Chinese government and military

Targeted foreigners, Christian beliefs and Chinese converts, was motivated by resentment and economy struggles

Why is it important

Started a major conflict between china and foreign powers, and led to the intervention of an eight-nation alliance and demonstrated china's resistance to western imperialism

Author

National Army museum (UK)

Main idea

The boxer rebellion was a big anti-foreigner uprising in china that led to international military military problems

Key Details

Violence spiked in 1900 and lead to a siege in Beijing's quarter

The rebellion was crushed and china had to face severe consequences like repairing what they destroyed

What did we learn?

Showed the tension between china and western imperial powers

Highlighted the resistance between china and foreign countries

Primary source

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/boxer-rebellion

What happened?

A revolution against Spain and later they fought the US, Took control of katipunan after a execution and was exiled from Spain in the 1897 and when returned to the US

Why is it important

June 12, 1898 is now Philippine independence day, marked transition from Spanish to American rule and exposed US imperialism

Key Details

The katipunan was a secret revolutionary and started the resistance against Spain and originally Spain exiled Aguinaldo in 1897 but he returned in 1898

What did we learn?

Colonial powers use local revolutions for their own gain and the Philippines history is tied to both Spanish and American rule

https://guides.loc.gov/world-of-1898/emilio-aguinaldo-famy

What happened?

• Started after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated.

• European alliances led to a large-scale global war.

Why is it important?

• Led to massive destruction and political changes worldwide.

• The U.S. later joined, influencing global power shifts.

Primary Source: Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s Assassination Reports
- Chronicling America (Library of Congress) (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/)

Author: Austria-Hungary government

Main Idea: Demanded Serbia take responsibility for assassination.

Key Detail: Serbia’s response led to war.

What did we learn? WWI reshaped global politics, technology, and warfare, leading to future conflicts and treaties.

What did we learn? WWI reshaped global politics, technology, and warfare, leading to future conflicts and treaties.

• First woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

• Advocated for women’s rights and pacifism.

Why is it important?

• Paved the way for women in government.

Demonstrated the impact of the suffrage movement.

Explanation: Shows her advocating for women’s rights.

Primary Source: Rankin’s Anti-War Speech (1917)

Author: Jeanette Rankin

Main Idea: Opposed U.S. entry into WWI.

Key Detail: Advocated for peaceful solutions.

What did we learn? Rankin’s election marked progress for women’s rights, inspiring future female leaders in politics.

When Teddy Roosevelt became president in 1901, it wasn't through a typical election rather, it was due to the tragic assassination of President William Mckinley

why was it important?

The election of Teddy Roosevelt in 1901 was important for several reasons because it wasnt an actual election, but rather a presidential succession after the assassination of President William Mckinley and it was incredibly important because it marked the beginning of a new era in U.S. politics.

main idea-Teddy Roosevelt became president in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley, having served as vice president. He is known for his progressive reforms, including trust-busting, conservation, and expanding the role of the government in regulating business and protecting workers.

key details-Teddy Roosevelt became president in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley, having previously served as vice president. He quickly gained a reputation for progressive reforms, focusing on trust-busting, conservation, and regulating big business, while expanding the power of the presidency.

what did we learn- we learned that Teddy Roosevelt became president in 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley, and as he was serving as vice president at the time. Upon taking office, Roosevelt became known for his progressive policies, including breaking up monopolies, conserving natural resources, and advocating for the welfare of workers,which helped shape his lasting legacy as a reform-minded and dynamic leader.

primary source

https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-1904-presidential-election

Why is it important?

The american congress passed the volstead act on October 18, 1919 to enforce prohibition, Prohibited the manufacter, sale and transportation of alcohol and congress overrode the rule

Key details

After the law was passed a lot of crimes were related to people smuggling alcohol and drinking alcohol and organizing deals with people, this caused many public resistance's and cops becoming corrupt

What we learned

Laws making people act a certain way should be a public agreement, Prohibition led to more crime instead of reducing the amount of crime, this also set a regulation for the future to make sure that the public agree's with the laws

Main idea

The 18th amendment was to stop people from buying, transporting, and selling of alcohol, in the United States to help and try to reduce crimes related to drinking alcohol to save time for cops

Primary source

The 18th Amendment Text
- [National Archives](https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27)

What happened?

Susan B. Anthony helped people notice the struggles, she was arrested in 1872 for illegally voting in a president election, She had trial and got fined 100 that she refused to pay and the trial brought attention from all over the nation to women's problems

Key details

Many books, diaries, scrapbooks, speeches and a lot of legal documents and then materials from the national woman suffrage association and new york woman suffrage association and her case highlighted the legal barriers women face in the fight for voting rights

Main idea

The collection documents Susan B. Anthony lifelong fight for women's right and their struggles, it provided insights into her activism, strategies and challenged the movement and reflects the broader struggle for gender equality

Why is it important?

Her activism helped lay the foundation for the 19th amendment which let women have the right to vote in elections, Her trial in 1873 showed the legal problems that women had to and this helped feminist activism

Author

Susan B. Anthony

Primary sources

Susan B. Anthony’s and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Writings
- [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/collections/susan-b-anthony-papers/)

What happened?

Ideas of a canal to cross the central america, the french tried but failed but then america tried and completed the task, Panama tried but failed due to lack of resources and diseases

Why is it important?

They made a shortcut between the atlantic and pacific ocean and it reduced the travel time for shipping and before the canal was made it took way longer to send things across far measures

Main idea

The idea was to make a passage that can make boats go through there so much more easier and this helped cause shipping prices to drop

Key details

it helped build a system that boats with cargo can go through easier, this caused shipping prices to drop because of how much easier and how much time it saved and how much easier its to get from point A to point B

What we learned

Able to overcome really hard obstacles and demonstrated the ability to tackle problems with engineering feats and working as a group with other countries can make things a lot easier

Primary source

American Presidency Project (https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/)