American Imperialism In The 19th Century

Born out of the independence of a subordinate nation, the United States of America aggressively pursued a desire for expansion of power and influence in other countries through diplomacy and force so that they could gain political or economic power – or both. In this brief paper we will discuss the ambition for the U.S. to overthrow the government and economy of other nations, how it was rationalized, and which countries were subject to the foreign policies that the U.S. was going to subject them to; willingly or by force.

The effects of imperialism during the late 1800s had been either the means of ruins of a society or the very means of success for a country. Due to the advanced technology, countries manipulated their new found power to the greatest potential. If not all, many industrialized countries expanded their rule over to foreign lands. As imperialism occurs within a country, the natives have the option to follow the new rulers or get destroyed. With inferior technology only such choice will result for the weaker nations. As imperialism continues throughout the early 1900s, nothing is resolved. Imperialist powers continues to depleted the foreign lands of the raw materials and colonized people will continue to suffer.

This part of the story began, not in the Americas, nor in Europe, but in the Middle East. Carrying the message of the new prophet Mohammed out of the Arabian Peninsula, Muslims began making major inroads into western Asia and northern Africa in the seventh century, eventually encroaching on Europe’s southern and eastern frontiers. In 1095, Pope Urban II responded to a request for aid from the Byzantine emperor, whose dominions were under attack by Muslim invaders, launching the era of the Crusades. For two centuries, European-based Christians battled with Muslims in the Holy Lands and elsewhere. For the elite classes who engaged in crusading, provincialism died away, replaced by new information and contacts in the wider world. Soon Europeans would begin turning this new knowledge and these new tools against the people from whom they were appropriated.

Some Americans supported imperialism from a moral rather than an economic opinion. They saw much of the world as living in darkness. It was the duty of the United States, in their view, to bring the light of freedom and Christianity to those dark places. Josiah Strong, a Christian missionary leader, was a leader of this group (Anglo- saxon civilization). Josiah Strong was a prominent leader in the movement to apply Darwinist principles to society (Social Darwinism). He, along with others like Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge believed that the Anglo-Saxon race was superior and was destined to rule the world or a large portion of it. In his influential book Our Country, Strong wrote that the United States had a “divine mission” to

Japan witnessed China experience with the military power iof Western nations and after the arrival of an American delegation in 1853, Japan is also forced to open its ports. Japan was able to adapt quickly and match the power of the West and establish itself as a competitor for colonial rights in Asia. Japan then challenges and defeats China in a war over influence in Korea.

Of course this argument cannot have only one of these options as the sole option, there is never a silver bullet. But there can be one of these that makes more sense than some of the others depending on the circumstances. There are many different thoughts about why Great Britain continued practicing imperialism in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The three main ideas are most commonly known as economic, strategic, and social Darwinism theories.

Imperialism affected Britain by economic benefits, it was mostly to entrepreneurs. The profits in the early centuries from trade in furs, tea, and or slaves. Also the success in sugar, rubber, and cotton plantations. Success came in the 19th century when Britain became the “Workshop of the world.” By 1850 maybe half a total world GDP. Economic benefits to the poor were they emigrated as miners to Australian, fishermen to Newfoundland, farmers to Southern Africa, and just about anything to the united states. Some people made no more money than they did back home. But many became more appreciably to the money they made since it was more than back home.

Throughout the Nineteenth Century wealthy European countries engaged to take advantage of poor African nations. This imperialism was seen as a duty to God and country. Often, there efforts to colonize less civilised nations resulted in the destruction of families, government, and individuals in the colonised nations. In White Man's Burden and Things Fall Apart Achebe and Kipling discuss imperialism in different ways.

America in the late nineteenth century, experienced a period of radical imperial expansion. This was due to a multitude of reasons. In 1890, the Census Bureau announced that the western frontier had ended, this limited the American ideal of venturing and escaping civilisation for a dangerous and adventurous conquest for land and a new life. Due to the end of the frontier, the romance of the West ended with it. This caused a lot of psychological stress to many American citizens that their dreams were diminished. Another reason for imperialistic expansion was due to the increase in population, wealth and industrial production; this made many Americans believed they had to expand or explode. These ties with economic incentives allowed the political

In 1800s, Europeans powers occupied only a few small coastal ports on the African coast. By 1900s, those same powers had divided almost all of the continent among themselves. Those conquests brought about significant Economic changes to those across the continent. The economy changed during the process of imperialism, the slave trade and economic policies which made the colonization process a success.The goal to colonialism was to give humans resources that are beneficial in areas of the economic nations. Europeans did that by developing a trade system, a cash crop agriculture also by building trade network that controls the economic achievement.

After a long period of reconstruction and isolation, the United States became increasingly imperialistic by the end of the nineteenth century. After the Spanish American War, the United States focused their diplomacy onto Latin America in hopes of aiding them and protecting any economic investments. During the first decade of the twentieth century, the political desire to expand the power of the United States caused a deep resentment among the inhabitants of Latin American nations which ultimately led to the existing animosity among the relationships between the two regions.

The Declaration of Independence established the self-evident truths that the laws of nature entailed. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness became rights to every person in the eyes of Americans. As the 20th century approached and America’s international affairs expanded, the natural rights declared by Americans was challenged globally. In order to protect and preserve natural human rights while also improving domestic entities, the United States of America strengthened their foreign presence during the late 19th century.

I would say in my own words that imperialism came as a fact that people in America realized the control of other countries, and supporters of American imperialism wanted to protect American interests. Furthermore, progressive presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson concluded that America can use its power when it comes to interest of America, when it is possible that America is in danger of being threatened (Hewitt, Lawson). During the late 19th/early 20th centuries American imperialism drove factors such as economics, cultural and social. The US export drastically increased and between 1870 and 1910, “U.S. exports more than tripled” (Hewitt, Lawson 623). The biggest companies increased their earnings because of foreign market. Also,

Driven by their ambition of increasing commercial profit, protecting their interests in the region from other European competitors, and expanding economic influence in Asia, the Europeans played an irreplaceable role in the transformation of Asian countries in the era of 1700 to 1900. The Europeans transformed Asian empires that enforced “closed country” policy, which threatened the European commercial interests in Asia in the 19th century, to polities that were forced to open up ports to trade. The increasing commercial interactions between the Europeans and the Asians also triggered the transformation of the political and social structures of Asian countries, ending feudal dictatorships and influencing new polities to adopt western legal framework. Furthermore, European religion and other western cultural features were also introduced and later integrated into the eastern cultures. In the meantime, European empires expanded their commercial activities from coastal cities to the interior Asian lands, increasing their presence and domination from the 16th century colonial era to the period of imperialism in the 19th and 20th century. The extensive interaction in the era integrated the two sides of the world, fostering the communication and mutual development that shaped the world order in the 20th century.

Japan may have restored sovereignty to the Emperor and updated its Feudal government to a modern system, but its economy could not reach its potential unless Japan compensated for its need of resources such as oil, rubber, and metals (Columbia University). The Empire of Japan, as it was called from the Meiji Restoration until post World War Two invaded a series of countries from the late 1800’s to the 1940’s. These include the Sino-Japanese War (1895), Russo-Japanese War (1905) both over Korean domination, Manchuria (1931), China (1937), and French Indochina (1940) (Columbia University). The government was still militaristic and expansion for economic gain was the direction Japan chose (Japan-Guide). This is seen through the risks Japan took to get the benefits of the invasions, such as Korea and its raw materials, and the supplies of Manchuria, China, and French Indochina. Lastly, Japan wanted to go after British and Dutch colonies to help secure their defense. The only thing standing in the way of taking these territories was the American Navy (Columbia University). Now Japan has to gamble. However, Japan has won wars against both Russia and China from a few decades before. Not only has Japan gained what they wanted from them, but they have established themselves as a power and gained respect (Japan-Guide). With a great sense of Nationalism and militarism, Japan has convinced people that loyalty to the country and the ways of Bushido, the old Samurai creed, will bring them