Colonialism: The Role Of Imperialism In The United States

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American imperialism is the economic, cultural, and military influence of the United States on other countries, specifically foreign countries. For over twenty years after the end of the Civil War in 1865, The United States hardly expanded until the early 1890’s when America started moving toward imperialism due to the depression of the 1890’s and fear of dwindling resources. This imperialistic period ran until the years after World War II. During this time period the United States exercised political, cultural, and economic control over foreign countries such as Cuba, Germany, and Austria. Hawaii also came under the control of the United States which eventually resulted in Hawaii becoming the fiftieth state of the United States of America. …show more content…

Industrialization caused many of the businessmen to look abroad to find new places to sell their goods and establish trade. The country also feared that since the population of the United States was growing, the supply of raw materials would dwindle. This is why controlling the trade of foreign countries was beneficial to the United States because it assured more markets and a seemingly endless supply of raw materials. Military motives were also factors that motivated the spread of imperialism. The main advocate from the military perspective was Alfred Thayer Mahan who was a captain and eventually an admiral in the United States Navy. Mahan believed in the importance of naval power and this is shown through his thesis; “countries with sea power were the great nations of history” (Brinkley,

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