In the United States, a tyranny of power has been allowed to occur. Thousands of residents have been done wrong by governmental powers without having any say so to stop it. The forcible annexation of residential areas without voter permission should not be allowed in the United States. Many would say the source of this problem of abuse of power comes from the days of American Imperialism. American Imperialism is when we would annex small, and what we considered to be lower, countries just for the use of power and extra money in our pockets. Whatever the cause, forcible annexation is something that wrongly continues to exist today. In the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, the idea of imperialism swept over the world (Lapsansky). Imperialism is the policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. All of the major world powers, such as Britain and France, began forcibly annexing inferior nations into their empires. The United States, not wanting to be considered “less than” the other nations and not wanting to be left behind began implying the same policy to how they ran their country as well. The United States began bringing in small countries using force, such as Hawaii, the Philippines, and Cuba (Lapsansky). Even though our annexation would greatly upset the natives and lead many to rebel, the only concern of the United States was to bring in the countries and as much profit from them as possible. This is due to the idea of the “White Man’s Burden,” and “Anglo-Saxon Superiority.” Within these two ideas, it is believed that the English speaking countries of the world are superior to those of foreign tongue and skin tone and that it was up to us to reach out to these poor native people and h... ... middle of paper ... ...il 2011. Hewlett, Michael. "BRIEF: Lexington will not annex Winston Road area." Winston- Salem Journal (NC) 25 Nov. 2008: Newspaper Source Plus. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. Hewlett, Michael. "Lexington council votes 'no' on store's plea to be annexed: Owners wanted to sell alcohol; officials say that wasn't a factor in decision." Winston-Salem Journal (NC) 23 June 2009: Newspaper Source Plus. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. Gannon, Patrick. "N.C. bills would place moratorium on involuntary annexations." Star-News (Wilmington, NC) 03 Feb. 2011: Newspaper Source Plus. EBSCO. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. Lapsansky-Werner, Emma J., Peter B. Levy, Randy Roberts, and Alan Taylor. United States History. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2008. Print. "Messino, Paul. "The Tyranny of Local Government." Fee.org. 2005. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. .
The most predominate justification for imperialism, at least for business America, was to expand its economic interests throughout the world. First off, as the American domestic market for manufactured goods seemed to be shrinking many American business interests started search for ways to keep their businesses expanding; the best way to do this was to rival European imperialism and thus rival European markets (Hewitt, 622-624). Additionally, during the 1870s and 1890s the economy cycle was characterized with booms then busts but it wasn't until the depression of the 1890s did America see its greatest economic contraction; this led political and business leaders alike to search for foreign markets and create them (Hewitt, 623). Furthermore, not only were business leaders looking to sell their goods overseas by acquiring territories as a launch pad into new markets, an example of this was acquiring Guam and the Philippines to have easier access into the Chinese Market, but business leaders also looked to acquire te...
Throughout the course of history, nations have invested time and manpower into the colonizing and modernizing of more rural governments. Imperialism has spread across the globe, from the British East India Company to France’s occupation of Northern Africa. After their founding in 1776, the United States of America largely stayed out of this trend until The Spanish-American War of 1898. Following the war, the annexation and colonization of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines ultimately set a precedent for a foreign policy of U.S. imperialism.
In conclusion, the Philippines never should have been annexed. The United States believed they were better the Philippines when in reality they were dictating over them just as the Spanish had done before. Also, it was a complete waste of money and resources. Philippines finally received their independence in 1946, for which the United States received no compensation for the 20 million dollars they spent to purchase the land in the first place. Resources for the military, and schooling, and government also went to waste because the Philippines didn't accept the American lifestyle or civilization, therefore the funding for those institutions were useless. Hopefully the United States learned that controlling other countries against their will is unethical, and will choose to learn from the mistake, and not be doomed to repeat the past.
The United States saw its territory more than double in the first three decades of the 19th century. Bursting with nationalist fervor, an insatiable desire for more land, and a rapidly increasing population, the western frontiers of the United States would not remain east of the Mississippi. The eventual spread of the American nation beyond the Mississippi into Native and French land, referred to as “Manifest Destiny” by John O’Sullivan, was rationalized as a realization of their God given duty. The Louisiana Purchase set the precedent for unrestricted westward expansion in America, and allowed for others to follow in his footsteps. Characterized by racist overtones, a lack of the “consent of the governed, and ethnic cleansing, there is no valid distinction between this American continental expansion and the international expansion sought by Europe in the late 19th and 20th centuries, and is clearly imperialist in nature.
Throughout history, many powerful nations interfered with nations that were weaker than they were. This form of sabotaging a nation is economic, political or cultural life is called as imperialism. Imperialism is often separated into two sects. The first one is old imperialism, which was the period from the 1500s to the 1800s, where European nation started to colonize many areas such as the Americas, and parts of Southeast Asia. On the other hand, the new imperialism was the period between the years “1870-1914”, where Europe became more focused on expanding their land into Asia and Africa. Imperialism had many pros and cons. In addition, it also had many causes led by the feeling of nationalism.
While the US may have prided themselves in the fact that we didn’t practice imperialism or colonialism, and we weren’t an Empire country, the actions conquering land in our own country may seem to rebuff that claim. In the 19th century, the West was a synonym for the frontier, or edge of current settlement. Early on this was anything west of just about Mississippi, but beyond that is where the Indian tribes had been pushed to live, and promised land in Oklahoma after policies like Indian removal, and events like the Trail of Tears. Indian’s brief feeling of security and this promise were shattered when American’s believed it was their god given right, their Manifest Destiny, to conquer the West; they began to settle the land, and relatively quickly. And with this move, cam...
American Imperialism began at the start of the 19th Century, but many Americans had different views on whether Imperialism was proper and legal. Many Americans at the turn of the century believed that bringing new nations into the United States was proper, and necessary to improve America. Legally Imperialism violated the Constitution, and it contradicted statements in the Declaration of Independence and Washington 's Farewell Address. American Imperialism was right deemed proper because it involved the idea of Social Darwinism, and it helped improve American Industries. The need to obtain land to increase trading and materials lead to many countries such as England, France, and Germany to take control of most of Africa and Asia for industrial
The imperialist spirit of the United States was inherited from England after the U.S. broke away from its mother country in 1775. The young country wanted to spread its ways of living across its landscape, creating defined boarders on both sides that separated it from its English predecessors. Thus America’s New Frontier was born. America built up its imperialistic nature throughout the 19th century and on into the 20th century, flexing its muscles and establishing itself as a new world superpower. The modern United States no longer finds land to claim, but instead is involved with a Cultural Imperialism, which has affected how other countries around the world feel about the United States.
Immediately following the war with Spain, the United States had both the political will to pursue imperial policies and the geopolitical circumstances conducive to doing so. But the way in which these policies would manifest was an open question; was the impulse to actively remake the world in America’s Anglo-Saxon image justified? Hence, there were several models of American imperialism at the turn of the twentieth century. In the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Samoa, the United States asserted unwavering political control. In Cuba, and later throughout most of the Caribbean basin, the economic and political domination of customarily sovereign governments became the policy. Ultimately, the United States was able to expand its territory
Imperialism is the policy of a state aiming at establishing control beyond its borders over people unwilling to except such control. Because of this unwillingness imperialist policy always involves the use of power against its victims. It has therefore often been considered morally reprehensive, and the term has been employed in international propaganda to discredit an opponent’s policy. In the Nineteenth Century America, this was conveyed as the awakening of economic and political values. Principally, the goal was to seize the market of raw materials for its cultural gains and to create dominion by appealing to a wide range of people. Even though the import business is an important source of capital and worldwide gain, it also is the main factor in separating classes of people from their moral and traditional values. For this purpose, the Anti-Imperialist was formed in 1899 to neutralize the economic and political views of the Imperialists. Even though Anti-Imperialists are against domination, American Imperialism was widely accepted because imperialists viewed expansionism and foreign trade as the solution to military empowerment, cultural superiority, and the accumulation of new markets.
After the civil war, United States took a turn that led them to solidify as the world power. From the late 1800s, as the US began to collect power through Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines, debate arose among historians about American imperialism and its behavior. Historians such as William A. Williams, Arthur Schlesinger, and Stephen Kinzer provides their own vision and how America ought to be through ideas centered around economics, power, and racial superiority.
... that Constitution never expressly gave the country a right to acquire new land, so the government did not have the right to acquire territory” (Allard par. 68).
As shown, America’s rapid change as the 19th century came to a close was supported by a various amount of imperialistic beliefs, motives, and incidents that almost jumpstarted the U.S. onto the world stage. Many of these incidents such as the public’s thirst for expansion, the annexation of several faraway lands, and the build-up of U.S. military forces would not have been possible without the Spanish American War. Moreover, the Spanish American war would not have been possible without the American people. Imperialism was a consequence of the American Democratic experiment, giving the people what they want.
Imperialism, defined by Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, is "the policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas"(Merriam-Webster). During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the United States pursued an aggressive policy of expansionism, extending its political and economic influence around the globe. The United States has become an empire. Although the United States has less power – in the sense of control over other countries’ internal behavior – than Britain did when it ruled a quarter of the globe, the United States now has more power resources relative to other countries than Britain had at its imperialistic peak. American Imperialism was driven by a need for markets and raw materials, as well as the desire for power and success. The United States increasingly appears to be an imperial power.
Imperialism is a policy that is used by stronger nations to extend political, economic or military control to weaker nations around the world. American imperialism existed between the 1890 and 1913.President Theodore Roosevelt was a very influential person during American imperialism age. Military backround gave Roosevelt a very strong following of people, so when the idea of imperialism was brought up to United states citizens by Roosevelt through speechs the minds of citizens quickly changed. Roosevelt claimed that "we do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious effort." The United States wanted to expand because the United states wanted a stronger military, indutrilization and many more reasons. After the start of American imperialism there where many positive and negative effects like the construction of the pananma canal. Panma also gained independence ,The United States also became a very powerful place in the world. The Philippines, Alaska, Cuba , Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam and mexico where all places in the world the United states was involved in during the imperialism age.