HIST 3361

American Diplomacy

Study Guide for the Second Exam (February 27)

The second exam will be very similar in format to the first test. The exam will consist of essay questions and ID terms. You will need to provide your own bluebook for use during the exam.

Six of the following ID terms will appear on the exam, and you will be expected to identify four of them. Identifications should consist of at least three sentences (or four or five bullet points) that identify the subject and state its historical and diplomatic significance. You should also give an approximate date for each term that you identify. For the date, you may state a decade (e.g., 1920s), or you may give an exact year, which will be counted as correct if it is within a five-year margin of error. For people, you should list the decade(s) in which their significant diplomatic contributions occurred. As was the case with the first exam, identifications of people should focus on their diplomatic achievements, rather than their other activities. The historical and diplomatic significance is a very important part of the ID, so make sure that you understand the historical context and long-term significance of each ID term.

Two of the following essay questions will appear on the exam, and you will be expected to answer one of them. The essay will be worth a total of 60 points, and the IDs will be worth 40 points, just as they were on the first exam. Your essay should be well organized and should cite specific historical examples (e.g., you should mention specific people, events, etc.) in addition to discussing broader historical trends. Essays should synthesize material from the lectures and all relevant assigned readings, including online primary sources, the textbook, and Stanley Karnow’s In Our Image.

ID Terms:

Ferdinand Aguinaldo

America First Committee

Article X of the Versailles Treaty

Atlantic Charter

James G. Blaine

Philippe Bunau-Varilla

Grover Cleveland

Dawes Plan

Dollar Diplomacy

Fourteen Points

Good Neighbor Policy

Japanese Invasion of Manchuria

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Henry Cabot Lodge

Lend-Lease Act

Lusitania

William McKinley

Nye Committee

“Open Door” Policy

Pershing’s Punitive Expedition

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

Spanish-American War

Washington Naval Conference

Essay Questions:

1. Why did the United States develop an imperialistic foreign policy in the late 1890s and early twentieth century? What were the steps in the making of this foreign policy? What arguments did Americans make for and against imperialism? To what extent was American foreign policy of the late 1890s and early twentieth century a break with the nation’s previous foreign policies, and to what extent was it a continuation of long-term trends?

2. Was America’s long-term occupation of the Philippines a success or failure in terms of 1) benefiting the US, and 2) improving the quality of life for Filipinos? Trace the history of America’s occupation of the Philippines and explain what this narrative can reveal about the causes and consequences of early-twentieth-century American imperialism.

3. How would you evaluate Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy? What were its successes and failures? To what extent did his ideological approach to foreign policy benefit (or harm) the United States and the world?

4. To what extent was American foreign policy isolationist during the 1920s and 1930s?