The Turn of the Century

(Period: Growth and Transformation)

Synopsis:

For a brief synopsis of the history of this time and period: Click Here.

Historical synopsis courtesy of A Hypertext on American History from the colonial period until Modern Times by Department of Humanities Computing, University of Groningen, The Netherlands and the former United States Information Agency (1953-1999).

Key Facts:

• Theodore Roosevelt played an important role in expanding the US Navy

Key Events:

• 1989 - Spanish-American War: a war fought over Cuban independence, fueled by American unrest with stories of Spanish atrocities in its Caribbean colonies.
• December 10, 1898 - Spain ceded the land of interest in the Spanish American War, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
• 1959 - Hawaii became the 50th state.
• 1917 - Puerto Rico became a US commonwealth.

Key People:

• William Seward - Secretary of State who, in 1867, purchased Alaska from Russia. This is widely referred to as "Seward's Folly"
• Rough Riders - a volunteer regiment of soldiers who fought in Cuba, helping them achieve independence from Spain

Vocabulary:

• Folly - a stupid decision