Americanization: Cultural Expansion and Economic Influence 1890-1945

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In Spreading the American Dream: American Economic and Cultural Expansion, 1890-1945, author Emily S. Rosenberg introduces to us how the United States shared its unique liberal economy and culture with the world. In her introduction, she illustrates the 1893 Chicago World Colombian Exposition and the ideology of liberal developmentalism and gives the reasoning behind the cultural imperialism. Rosenberg does not focus on the reaction to the “Americanizing”, but chooses to focus on the reasoning and justification of “Americanization”. My reaction to the introduction of Spreading the American Dream is that the ideology of liberal developmentalism was a valid reasoning to combat the American “isolationism” that the United States was associated …show more content…

Immigrants were processed through Ellis Island and flooded the cities in search of the jobs promised by the American propaganda. Cities were becoming over crowded and factory and work codes were not even taken into consideration. Despite these deplorable conditions, the 1893 World’s Fair, also known as the Colombian Exposition or the White City, debuted on May 1, 1893. Here, the best of the best of American innovation was broadcasted to the world. “The world's fair hosted fifty nations and twenty-six colonies,” according to americasbesthistory.com, an impressive feat considering that cars still had not been introduced until 1910. While reading the first part of the introduction of Spreading the American Dream, I felt a bit amazed myself. Considering the time period and the technology that was available to the world, General Electric’s Edison Tower of Light would dazzle me as well. However, as I read the second part of the introduction, particularly the five major features of the ideology of liberal developmentalism, I thought that the Americans’ wish for the world to follow in its footsteps was incredibly narcissistic, if not a bit optimistic. The Americans wished for the world, both first world and third world, to adopt their policies and become more like The States. Interestingly enough, these thoughts are very reminiscent of the great empires, such as the Russian Empire, the Mongol Empire, and, of course,

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