Imperialism The United States had taken part of an agreement in 1898 called The Treaty of Paris. This treaty officially ended the Spanish-American War. The United States acquired three new territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The nation had all this new land, and they could not decide what they wanted to do with it. This was one of the first opportunities the nation had to begin imperialism and it consequently started disputes between Americans. Part of the nation believed that it was part of their Manifest Destiny to take advantage of this land and enhance its political, social, and economic impacts. The other view point that many people believed, was that it would be unconstitutionally wrong to take over this new …show more content…
Senator on September 16,1898. Albert Beveridge expresses his support of imperialism through his “March of the Flag” speech. Beveridge was speaking on this topic because it was a big dispute in America at the time, and he was wanting to give his expert opinion on the subject. He used his words as a counterpoint to those who were against imperialism. One could say that Beveridge believed it was part of our manifest destiny to take over these new territories to enrich our country. The majority of his speech was written through the concept of manifest destiny. For example, Breveridge argued that it was the right thing to do as white Americas who were God’s “chosen people” to expand their country. Another convincing argument he presented to his audience is that without expansion, European powers would have the opportunity to take these territories that God had specifically assigned to America. He expressed that it would be selfish of America to continue isolation policies by stating “Has God endowed us with gifts beyond our deserts and marked us as the people of His peculiar favor, merely to rot in our own selfishness, as men and nations must, who take cowardice for their companion and self for their diety…” It is easily seen that Beveridge did not take this situation lightly, and was confident in his viewpoint. He supports his viewpoint by relating his cause to the forefathers’ …show more content…
However, Albert Beveridge also had strong suits throughout his speech that backed up his stand point. Both senators had speech’s that were well put together, and used convincing writing to get their point across. I think America needed professional thoughts on the subject, so they could logically see why or why not they should expand their country It is easily inferred that the underlying purpose of both of these speakers were to make America a better nation. Both had good intentions, they just had opposing view points. Both of these men help Americans understand what was going on, and I think it helped people make their decision on what side they were going to agree
Beveridge drew on 19th century antebellum expansion during his speech. In paragraphs 1-3, he explained how America was so many different things that added to the greatness of the colonies. For example, he said America was “a noble land that god has given us” and “a greater England with a nobler destiny.” He also drew on the fact that we had “saved” other nations from being savage. Beveridge spoke of the resources in the countries that America had conquered. “Their [Puerto Rico's] trade will be ours in time,” further explaining that he was pro-expansion for his own benefit.
senator. In Beveridge’s speech “The March of the Flag” (1898) he argued that the Philippines should be Annexed into the United States in order to better the lives of the indigenous people and establish new markets of trade. During this era, West Indians and Pacific Islanders were looked down upon and considered “savages.” Therefore, Beveridge believed that Pacific Islanders, specifically Filipinos, could not govern themselves, and it was America’s Anglo-Saxon duty to colonize and save the people of the Philippines. Beveridge supports his argument by referencing Thomas Jefferson, who he called, “the first Imperialist of the Republic,” highlighting the Louisiana Purchase and how the great expansion West ward, is no different from the expansion overseas. Beveridge’s ability to state his argument, and compare his argument with historical events solidifies his
In 1900, Senator Albert Beveridge, a Republican from Indiana, gave a speech in response to “The Philippine Question”. Beveridge was asked by senators and members of the House of Representatives to give a speech on the Philippines. At this time, the United States was in discussion of what the future steps would be after the Spanish-American War, which resulted in a win and subsequent acquisition of the Philippines. Senator Beveridge responded to the idea that the United States should stay in the Philippines for its available resources for the United States, its impact it gives the United States in the Pacific Ocean, and the destiny the United States has in spreading democracy. Senator Albert Beveridge makes a strong argument of why the United States should stay in the Philippines; his arguments of commerce, world powers, and race are all strong for the United States, but there is a strong resistance from the Filipino people and their vocal leader Emilio Aguinaldo.
The War of 1898 was a war between Spain and the United States of America. It is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted wars in American history. There were many circumstances that led up to the battle between Spain and America. The three main causes of the War of 1898 were the worsening economy during this time, nationalism, and imperialism. The Spanish American war was brief and included few battles. In fact, there was never much doubt of its outcome, but the war had major historical significance.
Throughout history, the United States had come off as a stubborn nation that would take what they wanted at any cost. This was prevalent in both cases of expansion as the Americans risked war and national safety for the sake of gaining land, or even merely for proving a point. During the early years of expansion, the Americans had pushed aside the Native Americans and whoever else inhabited the land they wanted. They believed that the land was rightfully theirs and that every one else was merely squatting on their territory. This idea was continued into the early twentieth century as the Americans looked to the oceans for new territories to their kingdom. This idea is greatly exemplified in document 'E', in which Senator Albert J. Beveridge delivers a speech to Congress, saying that, "...and thanksgiving to Almighty God that He has marked us as His chosen people, henceforth to lead in the regeneration of the world..."
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.
The Spanish-American War was the brief conflict that the United States waged against Spain in 1898. The war had grown out of the Cuban struggle for independence, and whose other causes included American imperialism and the sinking of the U.S warship Maine. The actual hostilities in the war lasted four months, from April 25 to August 12, 1898. Most of the fighting occurred in or near the Spanish colonial possessions of Cuba and the Philippines, nearly halfway around the world form each other. In both battlegrounds, the decisive military event was the complete destruction of a Spanish naval squadron by a vastly superior U.S. fleet. These victories, after brief resistance, brought about the surrender of the Spanish to U.S. military forces as indicated by a peace treaty signed between the two countries on December 10, 1898, in Paris, France. In the end, the Americans had minimal casualties, while the Spanish suffered immense fatalities and damage to their naval resources (Encyclopedia Britannica).
The “Manifest Destiny,” was the belief that the United States was destined to take occupation and possession of the entire continent. Its intention was to promote further territorial expansion spreading a common system of principles across every area between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the early United States. The concept of American expansion was not a new thought. Years ago, many Europeans had also shared a similar understanding, claiming a divine right to obtain new lands as their own to tame. “A Plea for Compromise” Robert C. Winthrop recalls, “Spain and Portugal, we all know, in the early part of the sixteenth century, laid claim to the jurisdiction of this whole northern continent of America” (Winthrop). However, Journalist John
Another argument in favor of U.S. imperialism was that of Albert J. Beveridge. Beveridge argued that it was the duty of Americans to govern others, he felt that if Britain and Germany could, then why not America as well. In response to the opposition that stated that people should not govern those who do not wish to be governed Beveridge responded that, “…applies only to those who are capable of self government,” (Beveridge 1898), and as he and many others saw it, foreign lands were not capable of self- government. Additionally, Beveridge argued that there was too much in America. He stated that there are too many employees and not enough jobs, too much capital and not enough investment; he felt that all the U.S. needed was more circulation. Invading and taking over foreign lands was just the way to do it.
Manifest destiny is the idea that Americans had, and have, the inherent right to expand the United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. As we know, this eventually happened, but it took a lot of time, money, blood, and effort in order to achieve this divine goal. We take for granted the size and span of our country, when for a good part of the 19th century, we shared the land mass with Spanish Mexico. It’s important to understand what drove us to pursue this goal, and the struggles that we encountered in obtaining, exploring, and settling the land.
Many believed in Manifest Destiny. That is was a God given right to spread Christianity and American ideals such as democracy all over the continent from coast to coast. This idea triggered over a million Americans to get up and sell their homes in the east and set out on Oregon, Mormon, Santa Fe, and California trails. Not everyone agreed with this expansion in the West. The slavery debate, once again, fueled many problems with Westward expansion. Whether to have slaves in the West, or even in the South for that matter was greatly
The years 1840 to 1890 were a period of great growth for the United States. It was during this time period that the United states came to the conclusion that it had a manifest destiny, that is, it was commanded by god to someday occupy the entire North American continent. One of the most ardent followers of this belief was President James K. Polk. He felt that the United States had the right to whatever amount of territory it chose to, and in doing this the United States was actually doing a favor for the land it seized, by introducing it to the highly advanced culture and way of life of Americans. Shortly after his election he annexed Texas. This added a great amount of land to the United States, but more was to follow. The Oregon Territory became a part of the United States is 1846, followed by the Mexican Cession in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. At this point the United States had accomplished its manifest destiny, it reached from east to west, from sea to shining sea. Now that the lands it so desired were finally there, the United States faced a new problem- how to get its people to settle these lands so they would actually be worth having. Realistically, it is great to have a lot of land, but if the land is unpopulated and undeveloped, it really isn't worth much. And the government of the United States knew this. One of the reasons that many did not choose to settle there immediately was that the lands were quite simply in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by mountains, inhabited by hostile Indians, and poor for farming. Because of these geographical conditions, the government was forced to intervene to coax its citizens into settling the new lands. Basically the lands were not settled because they were available, they were settled because of various schemes the government concocted to make them seem desirable.
To draw the attention of his audience to the historical dimension of expansionism, he uses an incomplete exclamation (l. 37). “The march of the flag” is the key expression of Beveridge's speech. He refers to it in order to get legitimacy for his imperialistic aims and because it
They needed to take care of the other group of people sharing the same pieces of land they lived on, the natives, and they needed to do so without causing costs for war. Negotiations between people were made in order to secure safe and guaranteed land for the Natives, which included the promise of “...boundary protection by federal troops against land-seeking settlers.” (Roark 226) In return for this the Creeks made a promise of their own “..to accept the United States alone as its trading partner, shutting out Spain.” (Roark 226) These promises were broken by both parties involved and new approaches had to be made, and America as a young nation continued to struggle with this issue and the correct way in dealing with it. However, American 's did not only have to worry about social and political issues with the Natives who shared their lands but also with other nations, France and Britain, who America wanted to work well with but were always at war it seemed. This issue with the two other countries constantly at War made work with either side very difficult for America and the American people had split opinions on how to deal with the situation, and split opinions on what country they should work with and support over the other. This disagreement among the American people on how to deal with the situation and what sides to take lead to many mistakes in dealing with both sides over
"The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 defined United States foreign policy in the Americas for the rest of the 19th century and beyond. It declared that the United States had an interest in the Western Hemisphere and the European powers must not meddle in the affairs of any developing nations there. The United States was a young nation in 1823 and did not really have to powers to back up the Monroe Doctrine. However, the policy was used to justify the sending of the U.S. troops into Mexico in 1866 (to intimidate the French) and the purchased of Alaska in 1867". Another case of Imperialism was the United States industrial economy was growing so fast that they were producing more goods than they could consume. The over abundance of industrial goods led the United States to look for new markets. Next came the Spanish-American War, which started with the Americans not liked the way that the Spaniards were treated the Cubans. After this an U.S. battleship (Maine) was docked outside of Havana (Cuba's Capital) and all of a sudden exploded from under the sea. At the time no one actually knew the real reason why the ship exploded but many Americans thought that it was the Spaniards. 266 officers and men were lost in the explosion. William McKinley (U.S. President 1897-1901) went to congress and asked for permission to send troops to help stop the fighting in Cuba. After a couple of days he was given permission which shortly led to war. Spain declared war on the United States on April 24th followed by an U.S. declaration of war on the 25th.