The 19th century set the stage for different policies that lead to the extending of America’s power, which is defined as imperialism. Imperialism started for different reasons like the Americans wanting the U.S. to expand or explore the unknown land, or even some feared existing resources in U.S. might eventually dry up. The reason imperialism started doesn’t really matter, but more of what it caused. Imperialism lead to Cuban assistance, the addition of Hawaii and Alaska to America, and Yellow Journalism. Beginning in 1492, Spain had been the first European nation to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean and colonize the Amerindian nations of the Western Hemisphere. The empire that came from this exploration extended from Virginia on the …show more content…
Many Cubans didn’t want to be under Spanish rule, leading them to flee to Florida and other parts of the United States. At the same time, however, they still remained loyal to Cuba. Jose Marti, a Cuban writer living in New York, came to Tampa to gain supporters to help Cuba fight for its independence from Spain. A rebellion was started by the Cubans in 1895, against Spain to gain their independence. America was worried about this because of the millions of dollars invested in Cuban businesses and the U.S. citizens in residence there. Americans felt pity for the Cubans because of the harsh treatment the Spanish military did when trying to stop the …show more content…
These American planters wanted the United States to annex the islands for economic reasons. The Senate had put a treaty under consideration for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the territory of the United States. Under the U.S. Constitution and laws the enlargement of the U.S. limits is a manifestation of the highest attribute of sovereignty. If the annexation was ever entered upon as an Executive act, everything relating to the transaction had to be clear and free from suspicion. Grover Cleveland was president at the time and he opposed of the treaty and annexation , altogether, and would not allow it to continue. Cleveland even had a message accompanying the treaty, which declared that, "...the overthrow of the monarchy was not in any way promoted by this Government," (Grover Cleveland
Expansion of a nation was nothing new in terms of history. The fighting, buying and selling of land in North America was a common event during the 1800s. The United States had started expanding in 1803 with President Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory whose borders where not clearly defined. After the War of 1812 with the British, the northern border of this territory was defined at the 49th parallel. Then in 1819, Spain sold its claim to Florida to the United States. The United States wanted to continue to expand itself westward to the Pacific Ocean, a territory then owned by Mexico. The acquirement of this territory occurred after the Mexican War. How the territory was acquired by the United States is the topic in question.
Eventually, the expansion to this area became imperialistic. Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, offered one of the most attractive natural bases in the Pacific. Soon other Americans followed to become sugar planters and to establish profitable businesses. Americans were busy building huge plantations, warehouses, railroads, dry-docks, banks, hotels, and stores. They soon dominated the island's economy, and they were able to influence its government as well. Americans created and controlled Hawaii's legislature and cabinet, and they limited the power of the native king. As the century began to come to a close, disputes arose between the Kanaka and those of foreign descent. "Hawaii for Hawaiians" became the slogan of people who sought to restore the traditional ways of the kingdom. Others called for the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. Annexation would eliminate the recent trade restrictions on sugar and revive the island's faltering economy. The imperialistic was taking over the islands.
America looked beyond its borders for new markets because after the closing of the frontier, a fear of possible resource depletion swept through the nation. America’s desire to colonize foreign nations was driven by economic intentions, especially in Hawaii and Samoa, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. The United States’ involvement in trade with China made the importance of Hawaii and the Samoan islands evident. These islands acted as a stop for ships in the midst of their journey to Asia. American influence on the islands existed due to America’s growing population settling there.
United States of America. U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historian. Annexation of Hawaii, 1898. N.p, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014.
In 1893, Queen Lili’uokalani of Hawaii gave up her throne to the United States of America. About five years after in 1898, Hawaii was officially annexed and became a part of the U.S.A. During this time, the Hawaiian people were bitter and mournful as they watched the foreigners slowly take over their kingdom. Many foreigners came to Hawaii to achieve one goal, to increase the power of foreigners and decrease the power of Native Hawaiians. The kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown with the use of force and was unethically taken. Although Hawaii received benefits that were mainly in their economy, it still does not make up for the wrongful taking of the Hawaiian kingdom.
America has just annexed the Hawaiian island into the United States of America, but the question is how did we come to own these Hawaiian islands?
...se having more land naturally meant having more space for the immigrants and new opportunities. When business expanded, it meant having more wealth for the business owner. After the annexation of Hawaii, the natural resources were enjoyed by both America and Hawaii. Despite the fact that Hawaii was annexed during the war with Spain as a strategic move, America took great care in the expansion of the island (Thurston 1897).
“When we have pleaded for understanding our character has been distorted, when we have asked for simple caring, we have been handed empty inspirational appellations, then stuck in the farthest corner.”(Walker, p. 698). When the United States managed to annex Hawaii in 1898, they did break the law and the human code of conduct. A joint resolution of Congress produced the annexation rather than a two-thirds majority vote, which is required under the United States Constitution. (MacKenzie, p.24) Also, the Native Hawaiians were vastly opposed to the annexation because it violated a treaty the U.S. had with Hawaii stating that they would not interfere with Hawaii’s right to self-government. (Castanha, p.2) So when the U.S. held a vote on whether or not Hawaii should become a state, many Hawaiians did not vote because their only choices were statehood or staying a territory of the U.S. and they did not want either of these. Many people today question the validity of the statehood because of the legal violations of long ago. Also, as human beings there is a naturally agreed upon law that we share with one another and that is to treat people with respect and dignity. The U.S. did not do this when they disregarded the treaty and the law to annex Hawaii. These are the reasons that Native Hawaiians are presently seeking reparations.
American acquired a foothold in Hawaii due to the sugar trade. In the 1890s, congress passed the McKinley Tariff which raised import rates on sugar. This undermined Hawaii’s sugar trade and put the islands into economic depression. American plantation owners knew that if Hawaii became a part of the United States than the tariff would no longer apply and sugar rates would return to their previous condition. Making Hawaii a state would be difficult as the native Hawaiians blamed foreign interference as the root of Hawaii’s problems. January 1893, the sugar planters staged a coup d’état along with military marines, all without presidential approval. The president at the time Grover Cleveland was an outspoken anti-imperialist and was ashamed at how the Americans acted on Hawaii. Cleveland aimed to restore Queen Liliuokalani to her throne but American sentiment favored otherwise, forcing the matter to be prolonged till Cleveland left office. When the Spanish-American War broke out, the military significance of the Hawaiian naval bases were too important and outweighed all other considerations. The new president, William McKinley, signed the treaty annexing Hawaii to the United States. Hawaii was granted statehood in 1959 making it the 50th
Imperialism is when a mother nation takes over another nation and become its colony for political, social, and economical reasons. Imperialism is a progressive force for both the oppressors (mother country) and the oppressed (colony), majorly occurring during the late 19th and early 20th century. It had more negative effects than positive effects due to its domination to other nations.
American Hawaii Hawaii is known for its beautiful beaches, it’s nice year-round weather, and its culture. Thousands of vacationers come to Hawaii each year to get away from the stressful city and relax. But do they know how cruel the Americans were to the natives? Do they know how we corrupted their culture and their religion? Do they know how Hawaii really became a state? Probably not. When most people think of Hawaii, they think of happy Hawaiian babes hula dancing and palm trees swaying in the warm breeze. Hawaii has still held on to many of their traditions although they were invaded by Americans. But you have to go to a museum to see their old way of life. Hawaii is now populated mostly by Americans. Native Hawaiians have adapted to our American lifestyle and much of their old traditions and beliefs are lost in history books. America dominated over the Hawaiians just as they did with the Native Americans. The Hawaiians didn’t even stand a chance against big brother. They probably feel the same way towards America just as a child does with stubborn parents. Now I will tell you about the history of Hawaii so you will see how the United States came to annex Hawaii. Hawaii was first inhabited by the Polynesians. They came in canoes from other islands around the pacific. They called the new found island "Hawaii", which means "home" in Polynesian language. Hawaii was their home until the white man came in and took advantage of these simple, happy aborigines. The corruption of this unique and fragile culture first started when Captain James Cook ran into the islands on January 18, 1778. After Cook’s discovery, many other foreigners (mostly American) visited the islands. They brought clothes, livestock, orange trees, horses weapons and souvigners. Foreigners also brought with them a handful of deadly diseases such as smallpox, measles, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. During the time period of Cook’s arrival in 1778 to 1820, the population of Hawaii dropped from 300,000 to 135,000 due to the diseases! Another problem was the introduction of alcohol. Like the native americans, Hawaiians were not immune to alcohol. Hawaiian’s were very sensitive to alcoholism. Hawaiians religion was a very complex one with many gods. They worshiped idols and they belived in many f...
Although there may have been some upside to it like no tariff, but there was zero hawaiian support for the annexation of hawaii. If you have zero percent of the natives that want the annexation to happen why should the foreigners the ones who have been taking away hawaii culture science King Kamehameha II reign choose to pick what happens to the Kingdom of Hawaii. There was ways to get around this though because the Hawaiian league chose pointed bayonets at king kalakaua which he had to singh which gave more voting rights to foreigners and less to hawaiians.
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
... middle of paper ... ... Also, Puerto Rico lies east of the Panama Canal, which controls passage between the American continents. With America owning all Pacific Island territories, another monopoly is placed, and the Young Imperialist strikes again. In less than 120 years, America emerged as its own country as a massive imperial force.
Globalization affects this world and the people of this world in many ways. It is the idea of making the entire world like a single country.