20th Century Pros And Cons

Many pros and cons influenced the domestic and international developments during the early part of the 20th century. Which contributes to the idea of progress being a zero sum game. From families including men women and children living in abandoned homes and tents due to the breakdown of the economy during the 1920s, or the red scare of socialists uprising and coming to ruin the Democratic America. These all contribute positives and negatives that greatly impact and grow the American identity of ambition, through innovation and imperialism for the American people. The idea of Imperialism, in America, began in 1838 when “Washington, D.C., had decreed that they must be driven west and their lands given to the white man” (“The Cherokee Removal

This introduced the idea of “Manifest Destiny”, that it was there (American People) God given right to expand from sea to shining sea. For the American people, this sparked sense of opportunity. For some it meant restarting their lives, for others in search of a new one. By 1840, nearly 40 percent of Americans had settled in the West (history.com). During this time, the expansion Westward truly described the Land of Opportunity. While, 7 million ambitious Americans were expanding West in search of a new life, 4,000 Indians were paying the price (pbs.org). Deemed the, “Trail of Tears”, John G. Burnett describes his encounter in, “The Cherokee Removal through the Eyes of a Private Soldier”, as, “However, murder is murder whether committed by the villain skulking in the dark or by uniformed men stepping to the strains of martial music. Murder is murder, and somebody must answer,

This time on an international scale. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge wrote in a magazine article, “In the interests of our commerce… we should build the Nicaragua canal, and for the protection of that canal and for the sake of our commercial supremacy in the Pacific we should control the Hawaiian islands and maintain our influence in Samoa… and when the Nicaraguan canal is built, the island of Cuba… will become a necessity…” This idea from Henry Cabot Lodge proved why the government felt they had to do this, to protect the best interest of the American people. Before elected President, William McKinley said: “We want a foreign market for our surplus products… American factories are making more than the American people can use’ American soil is producing more than they can consume. Fate has written our policy for us; the trade of the world must and shall be ours.” This is economical and commercial ambition that is done for the best interest of the people. The Cuban invasion was viewed, by the Americans, as a reminder of what they had gone through with the British. Cuba at the time was fighting for independance from the Spanish. After the US helped defeat the Spanish, they moved into Cuba to assure that their Economic influence was established in Cuba. The only way to be sure this was done correctly was to settle in Cuba. The American business Cuba was influenced greatly due to the trade of surplus sources (farmers etc). To