Question

1. the excerpt below is from alfred thayer mahan, the influence of sea power upon history, published in 1890.

english naval power has been in all parts of the world and her fleets have at once protected them, kept open the communications between them, and relied upon them for shelter... colonies attached to the mother-country afford, therefore, the surest means of supporting abroad the sea power of a country... british power was everywhere that her ships could reach.
in this book, mahan urged americans to build a large navy and acquire colonies as britain had. what other strategy did mahan advocate for the united states to succeed as a naval power?
a. developing an air force
b. having a large standing army
c. placing military bases in europe
d. building a canal through central america

1. the political cartoon on the right appeared on the cover of puck magazine on december 1, 1897. its caption says “another shotgun wedding, with neither party willing.” the cartoon depicts president william mckinley as a minister conducting a wedding. he is reading from a book entitled “annexation policy.” the man in the confederate uniform holding the shotgun is u.s. senator john tyler morgan, a former confederate general and a prominent imperialist. kneeling before the minister are uncle sam and a hawaiian woman.

what is the main idea of this political cartoon?
a. president mckinley would have preferred to let hawaii remain independent.
b. the annexation of hawaii was popular with most americans but not among hawaiians.
c. most hawaiians would have preferred to be annexed by japan rather than by the united states.
d. president mckinley and the senate pushed through the annexation of hawaii despite opposition at home and in hawaii.

Explanation:

For Question 5:

Alfred Thayer Mahan focused on naval power and global maritime access. A canal through Central America (Panama Canal) would drastically reduce travel time between the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific fleets, a key strategy he advocated to strengthen U.S. naval capabilities. The other options are irrelevant to his naval-focused ideas.

For Question 6:

The cartoon's caption "Another Shotgun Wedding, with Neither Party Willing" and imagery (McKinley as the minister, a senator with a shotgun, Uncle Sam and a Hawaiian woman as the unwilling parties) show that the U.S. government (McKinley and the Senate) forced the annexation of Hawaii, even though both the U.S. public (implied by Uncle Sam's reluctance) and Hawaiians (the Hawaiian woman) opposed it. Option A is incorrect as McKinley supported annexation; B is wrong because the cartoon shows both parties unwilling, not just Hawaiians; C has no basis in the cartoon's content.

Answer:

1. D. building a canal through Central America
2. D. President McKinley and the Senate pushed through the annexation of Hawaii despite opposition at home and in Hawaii.