Late nineteenth century and early twentieth-century United States expansionism was a continuation from past United States expansionism because of the reasoning and purposes behind the expansion. In both time periods the purpose of acquiring more land was to do according to God’s will, gain more power, and improve the U.S. economy. Religion can be found at the core reasons of why many people choose to act upon a variety of things in their lives. A prime example of this prior to late nineteenth-century would be Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the belief that the United States has a mission to spread its ideals, such as freedom and liberty through territorial expansion, all justified under the idea that this was God’s will that must be …show more content…
In past U.S. history the major goal throughout the 1800’s is to gain more land, major instances would be the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and Mexican-American war in order to gain territories, such as Arizona and New Mexico. By controlling more and more land it created more power for the United States. This was still true ending the 19th-century and the beginning of the 20th century and many countries knew it. Thomas Nast’s “The World’s Plunderers” (Doc. A) portrays Germany, Britain, and Russia grabbing territories on a globe claiming them as their own. Although Nast’s point in the comic was that countries had overstepped their boundaries, it provides reasoning behind why the United States did expand. Other already powerful countries were gaining land and thus power and the U.S. was not about to be left out in the race for power in the world. Another example of the wish to gain power is in Senator Albert J. Beveridge’s Speech to the 56th Congress (Doc. E) after the Philippines had become a U.S. territory. He said, “The power that rules the Pacific, therefore, is the power that rules the world. And, with the Philippines, that power is and will forever be the American Republic.” The whole point is that because the U.S. gained more land, the Philippines, the U.S. now has more power. The U.S. is basically completing with other countries. Alfred Thayer Mahan asked, “Is the United States… prepared to …show more content…
Just as this is true now, it was also true throughout all of American history. One of the main reasons for moving out West to the frontier was some promising thoughts of silver and gold, the California Gold Rush of the 1840 and ‘50s along with Oregon Gold Rush of the 1850s are prime examples of how people quickly became prosperous from expansionism. Movement out west not only benefited the economy out West for the miners but along the economy of the those who stayed in the cities on the Eastern coast. Because so many people were moving out west, the cities got a little less populated and a higher percentage of people living in the cities were able to get jobs. Expansion westward also created jobs, the railroad industry being a main instance. The U.S. needed to improve its economy in the late 19th-century and early 20th-century as well because the markets had been saturated with goods. For a while the economy was fine and everyone was buying goods but marketers didn’t plan for obsoleteness and so they made goods to last and therefore didn’t have anyone to sell to. This was when the country began to look towards other countries markets. Alfred T. Mahan even said at the time, “Americans must now look outward. The growing production of the country demands it.” (Doc. C) So this then lead to the acquisition of the Philippines, Hawaii, and
Throughout the history of the United States, America had a desire to expand its boundaries. The United States acquired most of it's land during the nineteenth and early twentieth century with a brief break during the Civil War and Reconstruction. However, the way America went about graining new lands drastically changed from non-aggressive means in the beginning to extremely aggressive means towards the end. This essay will depict the extent to how late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century United States expansionism was a continuation
The most significant reason for American expansion between 1880 to 1929 was the economic benefits that came with the policy. The United States, during the nineteenth century, believed American expansion to overseas markets would provide them with the economic resources and labor the country needed. This form of expansionism eventually provided the United States with the Philippine Islands, as well as Hawaii towards the late nineteenth and asserted the U.S. as an imperial power. One of the main reasons the U.S. wanted to acquire Hawaii, besides the
century. These changes led to the opportunity for Americans to own land. The new settlements
Ever since Jamestown, America has come a long way. In the middle of the nineteenth century American’s were eager to move west. They wanted to see the span of the United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Jefferson was able to double the size of the United States by negotiating with France, which ended up being known as the Louisiana Purchase. Americans saw empty land waiting to be filled. They thought the open land meant opportunity and potential wealth. By moving west, they could share their unique way of government and the freedom it represented. They believed that America would be a great nation.
In the late 1890's, the United States experiences imperialistic feelings rise again. The country as a whole feared our resources running out, so there was an increase in foreign trade. The intellectual justification for the idea of the New Manifest Destiny was social Darwinism, or survival of the fittest. In Latin America, the United States sided with Venezuela against Britain over border disputes; we were willing to go to war with Britain on the matter and we were protecting our own interests there. In 1898, France and Britain annexed Hawaii to the United States, which was an
Manifest destiny was the idea that the citizens of the United States had a God-given right to extend their way of life from the Atlantic to the Pacific and that no physical barrier or human force could stop the settlement of these lands. This idea became a prevalent thought in the minds of many United States citizens. The expansion into new territories across the continent was a direct link in the chain of events leading to the Civil War.
Prior to the 1800s, US expansion had been accepted by the government in the thirteen colonies. Despite the government's favor for territorial expansion, the controversy was spread throughout the 13 colonies on the idea of expansion. An American who influenced expansion in America, John O’ Sullivan, conjectured that territorial expansion was destined and it was god’s given right to expand America coast to coast, or in this case into westward territories. This thought was defined as Manifest Destiny and aided the fuel of western settlement, Native American Removal and war with Mexico. Many Americans did, however, oppose expansion and war causing, but their inputs didn’t change the idea of expansion. During the period of 1800-1855, America’s idea to expand territory succeeded in events such as the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Indian Removal Act. These events certainly satisfied proponents of expansion and influenced America's westward expansion. Despite these achievements, opponents of expansions opposed because of events like the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American war. America’s shape today is indeed based on these beliefs of expanding America.
American imperialism of the late 1800s and early 1900s demonstrated the same cultural and social justification of previous expansionism. The original doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which emerged in the 1840s to accompany westward continental expansion, advocated a belief that America was destined by God to expand its borders across the continent. For the most part, the United States’ need for more land was primarily to keep other nations (mainly European powers) out of the western hemisphere. The United States continued to expand westward and gain land. After a war with Mexico over the rights to Texas, the country gained much of the southwest including the land of California. They also gained the Oregon
to further their supply of land and profits. To fulfil the demands of the American expansionists,
In the early to mid 1800s, Americans began to want to expand the country again. Some Americans did not agree with the idea of expansion, and wanted to remain complacent with the amount of territory that they currently owned. The nation was torn. There were supporters and opponents of the idea of expansion. Each side presented their points but we eventually ended up expanding.
Westward expansion was a new thing and time in our country and had many impacts on the American people and ways of life. The government made it available to buy a lot more of land in the West. Our government gave opportunities for people to move west for a better life or more land in the west. The government gave opportunities like the homestead act where the government would give families 160 acres of land if they moved west at the time this deal was going on. This act was signed into law by President Lincoln in 1862. People moved west for any opportunity they could. People moved for a new life, more land, and more opportunities in
Westward expansion seemed natural to many Americans in the mid-nineteenth century (29. Manifest Destiny). Pioneers believed America had an obligation to stretch the boundaries to the East Coast. After claiming land to the Mississippi River and the Louisiana Purchase was explored, Americans started going west. The Second Great Awakening also spawned the drive to move west and many people believed God blessed the growth of the nation. Native Americans were considered
During the early 1900’s the United States was already familiar with sending their troops overseas to claim new territory. America has never been afraid to show authority and invade land, it's a tactic the United States government has perfected over the past 120 years. When the U.S. sees other nations becoming empires they want to join in on the action. Any government that takes overseas possession has an obligation to the people but it doesn’t always go as planned. When a country gains power and becomes a world superpower no one can stop them from conquering territory.
Naval growth led to the idea of an Open Door policy for china in 1899¬–1900 and set the scene for much greater participation in local and geographical affairs with the state and trade during the early 20th century. The United States gained an overseas area which distributed as a base for United States businesses and military in the Asia/Pacific area. So the United States needed to gain control over the Philippians to have that power and a place to refuel and sell goods.
During the nineteenth century, manifest destiny became a particularly common concept. This idea stated that Americans were destined to expand across the western frontier and the world because the “superior” Anglo-Saxon race had received God’s divine blessing to do so. The idea first came about during the American Revolution in the 1700s and continued through such events as the Civil War and other nineteenth century conflicts. Americans became involved with Cuba, the Philippines and their turmoil with Spanish rule. They turned a “rescue mission” for the Cubans and Filipinos into an overtaking. Power-hungry Americans sought to take over the world, particularly in markets like China, regardless of the conflicts and battles that would ensue as