The United States briefly had the temptation of imperialism when it emerged as a world power a century ago, but the interlude of formal empire was not much more. A difference of England, the empire has never been an experience with which Americans feel at ease, and only a small fraction of their military occupations, directly to the establishment of democracies. The US empire is not limited by economics: the US UU they devoted a much higher percentage of their GDP to military spending during the Cold War than they currently spend. The imperial overreach will come rather from the need to monitor more peripheral countries that American public opinion is willing to accept. Indeed, opinion polls in the United States show very little popular appreciation
The United States of America was founded on the basis that we should be a free and independent country from Great Britain and its empire. Rather than simply being a part of its empire, America wanted to become its own country to fend for itself. Great Britain, after the American Revolution, realized that maybe it was the best idea to let America set off and accomplish their own endeavors. After America gained its independence from Great Britain, the Manifest Destiny became a popular idea to follow; it was God’s will for America to expand their land to the West Coast. However, after this was accomplished, Imperialism came about a short time period later. Imperialism is much like the Manifest Destiny, but in a more greedy way. Imperialism is most definitely glorified to seem like a favor America is doing—by becoming an empire—and taking these smaller nations and countries ‘under their wing’ to nurture them and teach them the ways of being a ‘civilized’ person. However, what is the reason for Imperialism being brought about? After claiming from the East to West coast in America, why would they need to expand their area further—other than ‘teaching’ right from wrong to the ‘uncivilized’ people of the world? America’s Manifest Destiny era and America’s Imperialism era definitely have similarities, such as their apparent motives or rewards, but they also have their differences, like their underlying motives and purposes.
Throughout the course of history, nations have invested time and manpower into the colonizing and modernizing of more rural governments. Imperialism has spread across the globe, from the British East India Company to France’s occupation of Northern Africa. After their founding in 1776, the United States of America largely stayed out of this trend until The Spanish-American War of 1898. Following the war, the annexation and colonization of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines ultimately set a precedent for a foreign policy of U.S. imperialism.
Until the late 19th century, America was not an imperialist nation in the sense that the western European nations were. The wars with Native Americans were not so much a colonization effort as it was sheer conquest. Imperialism is an oppression of a foreign land and people for the purpose of enhancing the economy and political prowess of the imperialist nation, as well as enforcing the imperialist nation’s culture and often religion on the native population. The Native American oppression was too domestic to be considered imperialism, and was done strictly for the land and the American belief in Manifest Destiny. In short, the Indian wars were no more imperialistic then the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire or the NAZI invasion of Europe. As a nation, America did not become imperialistic until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, under whom the U.S. acquired its first foreign colony. America did have a significant influence in Liberia, despite a void of military presence. The American government’s allowance of slavery and the ensuing anti-slavery campaign led to the rise of the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1817. The ACS, headed by Robert Finley, bought land on the West Coast of Africa in what is now called Liberia. This project was funded by members of the ACS and the American government, the latter of which donated one hundred thousand dollars in 1819. The ACS had a very strong influence in the American government due to some of its most prominent members, who included James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay.
interactions. American Imperialism was seen as proper by almost all Americans except those in those opposed to Imperialism, such as the American Anti Imperialist League. Imperialism by America was seen as a way to make the U.S. the “fittest” in Social Darwinism, and to increase foreign trade and materials for American businesses. Although Imperialism was proper, it contradicted statements in the Declaration of Independence and Washington 's Farewell Address, and violated the Constitution, making it not legitimate. American Imperialism was proper since it benefitted most of America, but it was not legitimate since it did not abide by the many important U.S. documents and
Although somewhat annoyed by the weaker United States, Britain chose to not to fight a war. Britain's rich merchant marine was vulnerable to American commerce raiders...
During the late nineteenth century, the United States pursued an aggressive policy of expansion, extending its political and economic influence throughout the world especially Cuba and Hawaii. American imperialism is the most widely used type of expression used by the United States to describe a history of United States foreign policy actions and doctrines that demonstrate an unequivocal intent to interfere in events around the world that favor their own economic, political, and economic interest strategies.
There is one key difference between America and other empires from the past that I think is the deal breaker. We don’t think of ourselves as an empire. American’s never refer to it themselves as imperialists. We don’t like the word. The British liked the fact that they where an empire. It was a source of national pride that they had colonized nearly a quarter of the globe. To many in Britain today it still is. For the British being an empire was not something you did secretly and then claimed not to be as many accuse America of doing.
The United States, during the Imperialism Age, began expanding overseas. Many beneficial factors can influence overseas expansion like how it maximizes profitability, helps better marketing plans for politicians and business owners, and leveraging of expertise which allows more money to come in. The United States during this time was doing what most countries, such as Germany and England, were doing: expanding their land and business and become a big nation power. The more land and business’s you have, the more powerful you are. In the United States’ case, however, was moral idealism or power politics the main motivator for them to expand overseas?
Between the years of 1867 and 1900, America adopted the ideas of expansionism and imperialism. Expansionism is the territorial expansion of a nation. Imperialism is the extending rule over foreign countries. The purchase of Alaska, the annexation of Hawaii, and the Spanish-American war were causes of these new ideas for the United States.
Imperialism had one of the greatest influences on how the United States grew to be. It had set way for global modernization, a bigger wealth economically with trade and improved industrialization for all Americans. Without the belief of Imperialism around, there would have been a possibility we wouldn’t have had the chance to grow stronger. Imperialism is better for the United States as a whole for it benefited us way more than Isolationism had.
Whilst the lack of acceptance of the USA as an empire is self evidenced by the very need for this debate, less sound is the assertion that this is in denial to reality. Cox raises the issue of territorial acquisition and magnitude (2004, p230) as qualifiers for empire, making the point as others have (Meinig 1993), that actions like the Louisiana Purchase demonstrate that the USA meets the qualifications of classical definitions of empire.The distinction of classical definitions is needed owing to the current state of uncertainty surrounding what it is that an empire is.
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
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.
During the late 1890s, the United States was experiencing great economic growth. The need for new economic markets for America’s booming manufacturing stirred a growing number to look toward American expansionism as a legitimate means to increase American power in the world. At the same time, European countries had long been engaging in a foreign policy of colonizing areas away from their sovereign land. Imperialism is the belief that a country should expand to other lands for economic, political, and cultural reasons. The expansion of the American empire during this time opened up new markets and resources, expanded democracy, and spread Christianity. Admiral Alfred T. Mahan, in his 1890 book, The Influence of Sea Power in History, argued that without a dominant navy, a country would be excluded from the profitable world trade markets and natural resources. In response, the United States began to look beyond its borders for naval strongholds.
... The Costs of US Hegemony: Military Power, Military Spending, and US Trade Performance. Sage.