The Continuation and Departure Trends of United States Expansionism

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Recommended: Course of expansionism in the mid to late 19th century

United States expansionism in the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century is both a continuation and a departure of past United States expansionism. Expansionism in the United States has occurred for many reasons. Power (from land), religion, economics, and the ideas of imperialism and manifest destiny are just a few reasons why the U.S. decided to expand time and again throughout the course of its 231 year history. Expansionism has evolved throughout the years as the inhabitants of the country have progressed both socially (the Second Great Awakening, the women's suffrage movement, the populist party and the early 19th and 20th century social reformers) and economically (factories, better farms, more jobs, etc.) Expansion changed from non-interference policies to the democratic control of the government as the United States grew in both size and population. Through the use of the documents and events during two major-expansion time periods (1776-1880) and 1880-1914), I will display both the continuation and departure trends of United States expansionism.

The departure from previous expansionism (up to 1880) developed alongside the tremendous changes and amplifications of United States power (in government, economics, and military.) The growth in strength and size of the United States' navy gave the country many more opportunities to grow, explore, and expand both in size and money. The better range and build of ships allowed the U.S. to enter the far-east "trade and money" lands of the Philippines (eventually a territory) and China. Because of the huge production of agricultural goods and the need for outputs and markets for these goods, the United States needed to find other places for shipping, trading, buying, ...

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...y twentieth-century was both a continuation and a departure from previous United States expansionism. The countries remarkable evolution from a quiet, small country with a great idea (expansionism) to a large, amazingly successful (economically and politically) and not despotic country is truly supported and based by expansionism and imperialism. The U.S. has both strayed from its previous ideas through the "new" expansionism (the navy, the new foreign policies (Roosevelt Corollary, and Monroe Doctrine, etc.) and stayed true to the founding ideals (God, the belief in Manifest Destiny, etc.). The imperialistic ideals and highly effective policies and notions of both the "new" (1880-1914) and "old" (1776-1880) expansion periods are what truly allowed the United States to succeed, thrive, and grow into the amazingly prosperous, large, successful country that it is today.

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