Dbq Essay On Imperialism

What role did Imperialism play in shaping U.S. foreign policy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

Many people have their ideas and opinions on the topic of imperialism of the different continents like Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Imperialism had different effects that came from the and different reasons for which it was done. There have been poems, essays, and short stories about the good and bad of imperialism. Those who read some of these works interpret them in different ways that can change the message the author originally had planned. Imperialism shed light upon that not everything is how it seems.

Since there were many nations involved, there were many attributes that led up to imperialism. Firstly, the Europeans wanted economic expansion. Since the industrial revolution had taken place, the Europeans were in need of more natural resources. They also wanted new markets for the sake of selling industrial products. To achieve this they had to look for more places outside of Europe and colonize it.

American Imperialism became relevant in the United States government and has influenced American foreign policies. American Imperialism has effected the foreign policies in a negative way for both Americans and the countries who agree to our policies.

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.

In 1910, Europe was the city that rested upon a hill. It was home to countries that

Between 1870 and 1920, the European nations took the use of imperialism due to economic, political, and social forces to control the less-developed locations of the world. Economical forces used the need for raw materials for a reason to take locations. Social forces such as racism, thinking that themselves, the Europeans were better than whomever they were taking over. Political forces used militarism more often than not to take the less-developed locations of the world. The use of economical, political, and social forces were all important during the rise of imperialism during the 1870s through 1920s due to the humanitarianism (used in both political and social forces), racism, and the market through world trade with the need for militarism.

With the late 19th century came a great change in the ideas of expansionism in the United States, but also a continuation of its ideals. The idea of imperialism, where the United States would extend its power around the globe, stood in contrast with the original Manifest Destiny ideal of the 1840s and 1850s when America was expanding west from ‘sea to shining sea.’ However, the inherent social and cultural sentiments were still present in the late 19th century expansionism, though the economic and political purposes had changed.

African colonization obviously offered new wealth sources, such as markets and resources, to the European nations; however, many people doubted the ethicality of the act. In his speech in 1888, Joseph Chamberlain, British industrialist, politician and reformer, clearly argues that colonization is incredibly necessary to the British nation. He believes that the British Isles could not last for a single day without the natural markets for trade provided by the African colonies (Document 4). However, since he is an industrialist, Chamberlains goal is to increase his own wealth along with his countries, therefore, this argument could be distorted. Cecil Rhodes, British imperialist, easily revealed his thoughts on Imperialism when he said “Philanthropy is good, but philanthropy at 5 percent is even better” in a speech at the chartering of the British South Africa Company in 1889 (Document 5). William Clark disagreed with imperialist in a Progressive Review in 1879. His opinion was that the financers who hope to gain profit use Jameson, a “British military officer who led an

Throughout the history of the world, imperialism has played a major role. Imperialism is one country’s complete domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. Imperialism has many positive and negative effects. The Age of Imperialism is considered 1800 - 1914. During this time Europe became a major world leader. European countries set up colonies all over Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and encouraged their citizens to populate them. European imperialism boosted Europe’s economy, and made them a world power. Imperialization had an entirely different effect on Africa, Latin America, and Asia. People of these countries were mistreated, they lost their culture, land, and self respect. The negative effects of

Imperialism is a factor that has transformed societies and nations over the course of history. In the past, nations such as France, Great Britain, Germany, and Spain have been categorized as “imperialistic” nations. These nations referred to advanced technology as power. The industrial revolution and increase in new technology gave them the idea to want to spread their ideas to other countries around the world. This involved taking over nations and building colonies to benefit the mother country.

British imperialism lasted for hundreds of years and has had staggering effects in India that we can still see today. Britain initially became interested in India in the 1600’s; the government set up trading posts around the country because it was interested in the raw materials and resources available. At first Britain used indirect rule through Sepoys -- Indian soldiers -- but after the Sepoy Rebellion Britain had to step in to rule directly. Although British imperialism had positive effects such as eradicating immoral customs and paving the way for modern India, it also had numerous negative effects, such as by creating laws to better control Indians which left their government negatively impacted, taking from India with no concern for the

From: Cecil Rhodes, British imperialist in Africa, Confessions of Faith, 1877 I contend that we [Britons] are the finest race in the world, and the more of the world we inhabit, the better it is for the human race…It is our duty to seize every opportunity of acquiring more territory and we should keep this one idea steadily before our eyes that more territory simply means more Anglo-Saxon race, more of the best, the most human, most honourable race the world possesses.

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.

Imperialism is the domination of a weaker country by a stronger country. For instance Britain dominated India and China in the mid 1880s to the beginning of the 20th century. Imperialism has had both a positive and negative effects on the countries involved. Britain was imperialistic for many reasons, it could dominate because it had the technology and power to do so. They also needed land to acquire raw materials for growing markets.