Today we are continuing with Chapter 10 blog discussions.Purchase of AlaskaRussia was having problems with Great Britain, and Russia thought they were going to lose Alaska. It cost $7.2 million toal, and 2 cents an acre and was bought in March of 1867. William Seward, Secretary of State, pushed to buy it, and many people thought it was a stupid thing to do. People called the land cold, bare, and useless, but there were many natural resources that they did not know about. There was forests, mines, fish, and animal furs. Purchasing it allowed the U.S. to almost completely surround the British colonies.Puerto RicoThe U.S. got Puerto Rico from the Treaty of Paris and the Spanish-American War by military. The Foraker Act got rid of military rule and established civilian power in the government. In 1917, the Jones Act was established and granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, which means they are citizens (move freely), they can be drafted, have to pay taxes, involved in Ms USA pageant, but they cannot vote for U.S. president. They do not want to become part because they do not want to lose their heritage.CubaThe Teller Amendment guaranteed Cuban independence after Spanish-American War. The Cubans did not want us there, but they eventually accepted it. We gave them independence with strings attached, and after two or three decades they were cut.The Platt Amendment had many conditions:1. Cuba could not make treaties with foreign countries2. U.S. could intervene in Cuba when felt we had to3. Cuba could not go into debt4. Cuba had to give land to U.S. for naval base, which became G.B.-The United States was interested in Cuba because of a naval base, sugar and tobacco plantations, a base to eventually build a canal in Central America, and a strategic location. Treaty of Relations was between Cuba and U.S. which was a good neighbor policy.ChinaThe Open Door Policy is when the United States wanted to get into China so trade with any country was free. They wanted to be able to trade with them. Many countries liked the new policy, but they wouldn’t sign it because they didn’t want to give up their rights.Wake Island, Midway, American Somoa helped give us stepping stones to China
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