The International Scene Of The United States

“Thus it appears that Hawaii was taken possession of by the United States forces without the consent or wish of the government of the islands, or of anybody else so far as shown, except the United States Minister.” President Cleveland’s words remind me of how cruel America took over Hawaii. Hawaii had been a Monarchy for many years, just as the United States has been a republic many years, yet the United States selfishly overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy just so they could have a naval base in the Pacific Ocean. Throughout this research paper I will support my claim of why I think it was not right that Hawaii was illegally annexed.

The United States has progressed economically and as a result methods of expansionism have evolved but it also tried to stay with the ideals of the forefathers. In Document C the importance of naval power is expressed and it outlines the obligations: the

Just as merchants needed ports to refuel their trading ships, the U.S. Navy needed safe harbors abroad. The United States began working to gain control of strategic ports in the Pacific in order to meet this need. Small islands that had been mostly ignored by imperial powers thus became more valuable. Before long, the United States had established rights in Pacific island nations including the Marshall Islands and Guam.

By late the nineteenth century the world was in an Age of Imperialism. The foremost European powers were all competing and swiftly increasing their territorial claims. Americans have always felt the desire to grow and expand the United States, they ultimately proved that with Manifest Destiny, when they settled from the east to the west coast. The idea of expansion overseas was something not new to the United States. The war against Mexico had allowed the United States to be carried into the Pacific and the issuing of the Monroe Doctrine allowed the United States to expand their sphere influence well beyond the Caribbean and into Latin America. American Historian Howard Zinn (1980) says that the Monroe Doctrine was, “Issued in 1823 when the countries of Latin America were winning independence from Spanish control, it made it plain to European nations that the United States considered Lation America its sphere of influence” (p. 297). Also, the very idea of imperialism is deep rooted and is expressed through that very ideal of Manifest Destiny. Bowles (2013) states that, “Many believed it was God 's plan for the United States to control the continent from sea to shining sea” (p. 8). With the outbreak of the Civil War, the idea of expansion and Manifest Destiny would be nonexistent, but this very idea of expansion outside the continent would return into the hearts of many American politicans and leaders at the end of the nineteenth century.

In Alfred T. Mahan’s article The Interest of America in Sea Power, Mahan proclaims, “America must look outward. The growing production of the country demands it” (Document C). Mahan maintains that America should not permit all of its ports on both the Pacific and Atlantic to be directed by other countries since America’s expansion requires its ports on both oceans as a means of remaining in control of the nation. At the end of his article, Mahan states three things that citizens should do in order to protect

After reading the Congressional Report, as a reader we get a better understanding of what truly angered the Americans. With all the foreign relationships in a twist, their “right to use the ocean”, was taken away. The nation was in tremendous fear due their men, ships and cargo being violated in the process of their passageways. Congressman Calhoun, backups the

The documentary America the Story of Us: Bust summarizes the transition from the prosperous and roaring 20s to the struggling Depression. Focusing on events and causes leading to the Depression as well as its effect on the American population during the time, the film gives an overlook of one of the most unfortunate times in American history. Beginning with the public’s distress during the stock market crash the depression began to spiral as people lost jobs from layoffs, lost homes due to foreclosure, and lost many of life’s basic necessities. The prosperous 1920’s was behind them and the publics high consumerism and production rates of the time reached an all-time low. After summarizing the causes of the Depression the documentary continues bringing attention to the building of the Hoover Dam and how its completion boosted American moral and started the slow and hard fight out of the Depression.

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell is a book that provides an in-depth analysis of United States Imperialism in 1898, particularly the annexation of Hawaii and its citizens. During the year, not only did the United States conquer Hawaii, but also grew their empire in Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines, securing their status as a super power. After studying the Gilded Age and the United States’ imperialism tactics and reading Vowell’s work, it is easy to see a trend of how the U.S operated and the lengths that they went through to grow their empire. “Vowell uses her perspective and opinions to take you through the annexation of Hawaii and why it was important not only to her, but to history as a whole. The book consisted of multiple

Isolationism refers to “a national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries” (The American Heritage Dictionary). In America’s case, isolationism refers to our long-lasting reluctance to be involved in European alliances and wars. America’s isolationist ways date back to the early nineteenth century when John Adams warned congress about involvement in European affairs by stating “Our business with them, and theirs with us,” he wrote, “is commerce, not politics, much less war” (Tindall, 894). Europe was viewed as “old world” and had many problems. Americans did not want to engage in Europe’s power struggles or military conflicts, so we isolated ourselves. Foreign relations were not as important to our country, as our own were in America such as: western settlement, domestic policies, and industrial development.

For the past 5 years I have worked with NOAA at the marine protected areas center both on the MPA inventory and as ocean use mapping coordinator with Mimi D'Iorio and Charlie Wahle, whom I believe you know from your days on the federal advisory council. The ocean use work is dependent on building an effective network of partners that range from state and federal agencies to ocean stakeholders including non-consumptive users, commercial and recreational fishermen, and conservationists. Through my work with the Pacific Regional Ocean Uses Atlas I have demonstrated the ability to build such a network that leverages capacity of state and local partners, and engages the ocean community to participate in a process that assists in the development of federal ocean and coastal policy initiatives.

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

To change the course of history is impossible, but to eliminate the precarious risk of history repeating itself is quite the contrary. While historians argue to this day about why the U.S. didn’t intervene earlier in the persecution of German Jewry, many others believe that the U.S. was right on staying out of the mass genocide, because of the effects of WW1 and the amount of isolationism that had been spread around America. Not only had isolationism played a role in the inaction, but also the effects still occurring from the Great Depression. The United States may have had political reasons not to intervene, but morally to allow two and a half million innocent people to die, because of what one man’s ideas are is inhumane. America should have stepped in beforehand, because though it was happening in another country, we are all human and all deserve the right to live.

In the chapter “Foreign Policy” in the book, “The Politics of Power” by Ira Katznelson, Mark Kesselman, and Alan Draper, describes in detail of the events leading to America’s great level of dominance. Throughout the chapter, a few key points were made. The main three points that were observed in this chapter consisted of America’s influence and global expansion, the transition into the globalization era, and environmental problems. From the beginning of the exploration era, to the globalization ear, foreign policy never escaped existence. The use of foreign policy continued into the beginning of World War II, after the war, and through present day. Between each date in history, foreign policy increasingly has played a major role in the turning tides within each event. The importance of foreign policy instructed the world into what it is today and has continued to do so. The relationship pertaining to the United States and its foreign policies have aimlessly been altered through good and bad times. At its birth, America’s international involvement began. Through time, its foreign policy has gained great interest and provided immense dominant reputation. Within the ordinance of America’s global dominance, speculation estimates that no nation truly is dominant as other problems counter true dominance. These problems consist of global warming, human rights, and ecological crisis. These problems will challenge nations in the future to answer the question: “What nation is truly

From its inception, America has been in a continual state of growth and expansion. Influenced by their grandfathers’ westward expansion in the early 19th century, expansionists in the turn of the 20th century expanded American influence and control worldwide. Various sources brought American desire of faraway land, through both individuals and through developments of the period. However, this Manifest Destiny didn’t always result in positive development, as shown with later problems incurring from the U.S. occupation of Cuba and the Philippines.

It is a way for the government to essentially borrow money from people to help pay for military activities, anything they need, when they need it.