Dbq 1 Expansionism

During the late 1800’s to World War I, the United States had both expansionist policies and non-expansionist policies. Although there was in some sense a departure in their expansionist ideas, the United States had a greater extent to continue expansionist thinking. The United States from the late 1800’s to the start of World War I (WWI) had many of its expansionist policies in place. For example, social Darwinism, the idea that the Western world was more fit to rule and had cultural superiority, was still prevalent (Doc A). This is a direct throwback to when the US was trying to colonize East to West and believed in Manifest Destiny, that they were chosen by God to conquer the New World from ocean to ocean. Another example is the spread of …show more content…

The ideas around the late 1800’s also emulated the same thinking, that the Anglo-Saxon race was the purest of all Christians and were destined to take over Mexico, Central and South America and eventually the rest of the world (Doc C). This shows a continuation of expansionist thinking as this same idea has been around since the Puritans. Another reason for continued expansionism was trade. When the US acquired the Philippines in 1899, they were itching to trade with China and the rest of Asia (Doc E). At this time people also had the notion that the Pacific Ocean was under the US influence and it was their duty, assigned by God, to trade with Asia. This parallels thinking back to the 15-17th century. The Old World wanted to trade with the colonies in the New World, showing how there was a continuation of expansionism during the late 1800’s to the start of WWI. Moreover, there was an open door policy (Doc G) where the US could trade with China without being restricted in the beginning of the 20th century. This shows how the US still had expansions as they were trying to get into China without any