Explanation:
Focus on improving the occupied countries by providing security to the civilians. example/ let's say that Ethiopia wants to drill for water in a neighboring country. the US will provide the drilling equipment necessary to do so. then the civilians can plant foods, water their livestock, etc...
The Minie Ball was a type of muzzle-loading spin-stabilized rifled musket
Over speculation means to over "guess." eg, majority of the people feel the stock market will go up, so they greedily buy, when in reality it's the peak already and stock market prices will drop soon.