The Rise and Fall of American Hegemony

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s the United States (U.S.) pursued an aggressive policy of expansionism extending its political and economic influence around the world. What is imperialism? Why this policy was adopted and how it was rationalized. The major events that took place and which countries of the world the U.S. became involved due to this policy. Finally, we will see, not everyone supported foreign affairs by the U.S. and in 1899 they founded the American Anti-Imperialist League. I will discuss their view of Imperialism and discuss the outcome of the foreign policy going into the twentieth century.

Generally I concur with Wilson's understanding and Thorn's theory, that the worldwide "first class" attempting to control the world and popular feeling are going to fall flat and their defeat is to a limited extent since they are deceiving themselves and decline to see what "undermines their conclusion of themselves and their perspective."

Today we are making more than we can use. Today our industrial society is congested; there are more workers than there is work, there is more capital than investment. We do not need more money- we need more circulation, more employment.” This quote from Albert J. Beveridge shows a problem in the economy in America. If the leaders of America during the rise of American Imperialism focused more on what is happening in their own country, instead of showing the world how large and powerful the navy and military is, which goes against almost every American ideal, then the United States may be more financially stable today. It is a shame that the problems we face today can lead back to the problems of the past. The problems of the past should make the leaders of the world today realize the next step in fixing the problem. The opposite has happened. The leaders today have to fix the problems that started in the past, which makes it hard for the government to progress away from American Imperialism. Instead of learning from the past the world is focused on fixing the problems that have occurred because of the past, and almost every incident past the 1920s have occurred as a result of American

Imperialism is a recurring theme in the history of the world. Stronger countries see themselves as superior to other societies and believe their ways are right. They force religion, government, and practices on countless foreign lands. At the very end of the nineteenth

America wanted to expand their foreign policy to help boost their economy. They felt threatened because not only did they have to compete with countries like Germany and Japan to secure access to Chinese markets. The first foreign policy the U.S. had was the Monroe Doctrine, which closed the Western Hemisphere to further colonization from European countries. This secured the U.S. foreign trade with Central America. The American foreign policy warned European nations to stay away from the Western Hemisphere while the U.S. also competed for trade in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Discuss the extent to which American hegemony led to the rise of the modern American empire.

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.

At the turn of the 19th century, the US was in a position to become the superpower it is today, after winning the Spanish American War, a new US viewpoint came to mind, the one of an imperialist. The driving forces of US imperialism in the late 1800s to early 1900s were to have new markets for goods to be sold, military expansion through new bases around the globe, and a need to uplift foreign cultures to American “standards”.

As the world moved on from the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, it became clear that there were several countries rising far above the others, and therefore controlling global affairs. These global giants consisted of the United States and the European great powers. These countries were able to control global affairs because of their expanding scientific and technological knowledge, ideas of nationalism, and practice of imperialism. However, these factors came with side effects, such as radical political movements and a mounting tension among the countries. Early twentieth century, the United States and each of the European great powers became the first countries to hit the scientific and industrial revolutions, giving them significant leads over the rest of the world.

The 1890’s was the age of America’s new imperialism. The idea of imperialism resulted from the belief of Manifest Destiny, the idea of expanding America’s frontier from coast to coast was destined by God. The continuation of filling up western land created a closed frontier, pushing America to expand to other places outside of the mainland. The principle of expanding to other areas was to help America become a world power.

The current overwhelming dominance of the unprecedented modern American empire in the realm of world politics generally agreed upon by experts and scholars around the world. There is little to refute the argument that there is any state that comes close to the strength of the Americans in a vast number of areas, most notably economically and militarily. Present debate among experts in the field of international relations revolves around whether the Americans can maintain their primacy for upcoming generations. Robert Dujarric and William Odom, both experienced and respected scholars of international relations, declare in their 2004 work, “America’s Inadvertent Empire,” that America is in a solid position to keep a tight hold on its place at the top. Vividly explaining America’s path to dominance while emphasizing the current state of domination, the authors effectively present the abilities of the empire while also illustrating the potential threats that could bring it down.

The United States experienced a period of growth and maturation during the twentieth century. Now, this is not to say that this was the only period of growth, but it was a significant time during which the United States began to establish its military force at an international level. By establishing itself during the twentieth century as one of the world’s largest superpowers, America grew to be respected by most of the world’s nations. America also grew to become much more active in foreign affairs, even in ones that had no relation to the nation. The United States began to look for chances to expand their country, as well as opportunities to benefit financially from these territories. Imperialism is the word that best describes the foreign

     America has been a world power for as long as anyone can remember. But how did it become what it is today? Through decades of racism and greed! Our country is one of the most racist country’s there has ever been! But without it America would be nothing like it is today. Slavery made America and racism made it grow. America has proven itself to be a selfish, greedy, and racist country.

Issue 3: There is potential for another “Superpower Nation” to emerge from Europe or Asia.

The world is becoming a smaller community through technological advances and international travel opportunities that make communication and interaction with others around the world a common occurrence. Some world leaders envision a global community that would lead to a one-world-order to include government and commerce. Globalization has been on the rise but is not shared and accepted by all. Nationalism continues to play a significant part in international interactions. With its goal of European unification for economic and political voice, the European Union (EU) can be used as a model for globalization. This paper will consider if using the EU as a model is a valid argument.