American Imperialism

The end of the nineteenth century marked a significant change in the American foreign policy. Prior to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, America had paid little attention to foreign affairs. When compared to some of the more powerful European countries, such as France, Germany, and Great Britain, the United States had a

Imperialism is a recurring theme in the history of the world. Stronger countries see themselves as superior to other societies and believe their ways are right. They force religion, government, and practices on countless foreign lands. At the very end of the nineteenth

Imperialism is when stronger nations take over weaker nations. As a matter of fact, one example of Imperialism is the Scramble for Africa, which happened during the 19th Century. The Scramble for Africa is when European nations all wanted a piece of Africa which they were incredibly rich and raw materials. For example, African countries had Gold, diamonds, coal, oil, and so much more. There are many factors that play into the development of Imperialism, but which one played the largest role.

When Theodore Roosevelt went to Colombia he asked the government of Colombia if he could build a canal through their land so the US could import items more efficiently. The Colombians said no, but Roosevelt having a plan B went to Panama and encouraged them to break free from Colombian rule. Panama, influenced by the President of the United States at the time did break free and said yes for the US to build a canal through their country. They gained Hawai’i through trapping the Queen of Hawai’i in her palace with local militia while the farm owners slowly sold their land to the US government. By the time the queen was released, it was too late. All of Hawai’i was owned by the US government now. This showed their selfish ambitions because if the US did not get what they wanted through diplomacy then they will resort to cheap tricks. Such as keeping the queen in her palace while the farmers sold all their land, and persuading Panama to separate from

After the Civil War, the United States struggled to keep up with other countries in the world. While figuring out how fix the corruption in the American government, the other countries were practicing imperialism. Imperialism is a policy by which strong nations extend their political, military, and economic control over weaker territories. Realizing that we needed to make a change, the United States started working towards the goal of practicing imperialism as well. To do this, our first few targets were Hawaii and Alaska. In 1867, we sought to buy Alaska because they had resources that we wanted, such as lumber and minerals. This was known as Seward’s Folly after the Secretary of State William Seward. In 1898, our desire of Hawaii was fulfilled when they agreed to annexation. However, this was not without struggle. King Kalakaua of Hawaii wanted the white planters to vote, but when he died, his sister, Queen Liliuokalani reversed his decision. She took away the power of whites, which eventually led to her being overthrown with the help of the United States Marines. The Hawaiian people opposed annexation, but when Mckinley became president, Hawaii was declared American territory. Sanford B. Doyle, a white plantation owner who asked for the annexation, became the first governor of Hawaii. This addition into American territory drastically influenced our economy.

Imperialism is when a larger, more powerful nation takes control of smaller, weaker nations. The American idea is for freedom. As a nation the United States promotes the freedom of itself and other countries. America once fought for the freedom from a larger, more powerful nation, so why would the government want to go back on what this country was started on, which was freedom.

The monarchy continued to lose faith in their American counterparts and the promises of self-determination for the Hawaiian people by the U.S. While members of the annexation movement believed U.S influence to be faltering and feared a loss of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Civil War broke out in the United States. Under Kamehameha V’s reign the increased demand for sugar, wool, and other food stuffs due to the loss of agricultural resources in the south. This surge in the economy immediately benefitted the missionaries, who had since established a place within Hawaiian trade and

After the Spanish-American war in 1898, America attained much power. The defeat of Spain led the U.S. to the broadening their horizons through international expansion. Seeing how the U.S. rivals had already established overseas empires, the U.S. wanted to emulate. They jumped into action and produced a ‘foreign policy’ giving America the right to build empires in areas such as Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. The american foreign policy of imperialism, exerting military, economic, or political control over weaker nations, was unjustified due to geographic greed for resources, unjustified subjugation, and cultural oppression through white washing.

These advances along with the pressure of other countries seemingly shifted intentions of expansions. Document G, a drawing of America guarding China, along with Document E, which states “we will not abandon our opportunity in the orient”, both hint at alternate desires for the country other than growing and civilizing. There was a hunger for power that swept the globe, including America. However the United States had a lot to gain from these areas like new materials, business, and relationships. These advances that they were fighting for did line up with previous expansion’s desire to better America. The desire for power was their, but this did not lesson American desire to better the nation and the people in

The Spanish war gave the United States an empire. At the end of the Spanish war the United States took Spanish colonies such as Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and many other islands. The creation of the American Empire leads to the end of the Spanish Empire. The United States wanted to build up the countries so that markets would open up and purchase American goods and to improve the American economy.

When we think of countries fighting for resources, we think of two nations of equal strength fight for valuable territory. However imperialism was different, it was more powerful nations like those in Europe, fighting for political and military power over weaker countries like India in the 19th and 20th century. The definition of imperialism is the policy of extending the rule of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies. This practice was very common of European countries at the time, but was ultimately inhumane and cruel towards the subject country. The reason for this it cause many negative things, and some positive things too.

The USA want to achieve the dream of across the Atlantic and Pacific, seized the

America has always proven to be a strong hand in shaping the world on a global stage. Since its participation in the World Wars to its involvement in current affairs such as ISIS and the Iranian Nuclear agreement, America has always kept a strong hand of cards. According to Business Insider, the United States remains the strongest military power in the world followed by Russia then China. And with this power reserved at hand, the United States has shown that it can be present on the world stage and can take part in international affairs. But not only does the question arise whether America’s participation is sufficient in the global scheme but also whether or not it’s assertiveness is necessary for a positive progression on the World Stage.

The phenomenon of the Western imperialism is not new. It is a process of which according to colonizers aims to civilized the people of under-developed countries. According to Ferry, there were many economic concerns which urged them to expend colonies in the world. The hidden purpose of this expansion was to get the maximum economic benefits. Through the expansion of French colonies all around the world, France became able to expand its trade with other countries. The most important fact in this regard was that foreign policies of powerful countries became the cause of this expansion.

Although much debate surrounds the United States’ classification as an empire, there is no doubt or argument saying that the U.S.’s involvement in global affairs has changed the world, whether that is a positive or negative outcome will be left for another day. In this paper, the US shall be regarded as an empire because of its past and present actions in the global viewpoint. American dominance in the global view of the world can be traced back to the end of the Second World War, when they surpassed the United Kingdom as the world’s superpower, although many British people did not accept it at the time. It was at this time that the U.S. began to fight proxy wars to contain the threat of Communism, which just ended up undermining American