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Imperialism in america
Imperialism in america
Brief essay on american imperialism
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At the end of the 1770’s, the United States was a small nation constituted of farmers. Nevertheless, after almost 100 years, the United States became an expanded country across the continent. During that time, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Oregon, Louisiana and California had already formed part of the United States’ territory, either through acquisition, mediation or annexation. By the time of the 1860’s, the U.S. economy was growing, conduced by modern developments in transportation and communication from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast and an extensive incursion of immigrants that caused a boom of urbanization and industrialization all over the country. Nonetheless, the consolidation of industrial revolutions and massive productions created a large surplus of goods that could not be consumed by the people in the United States. In consequence, the United States had to create a new way to expand their territories in foreign markets, so they could absorb the excess of the U.S. goods. However, in a time when France and Great Britain were “the two major imperialist powers,” the U.S. needed a strategy that would help it to compete on the world stage as a global power. As a result, based on ideological arguments, strategy concerns, and economic designs as its main reasons, the United States entered in a new era where its principal goal was the creation of an Imperialistic Empire. (Goldfield Page 614, Prof. Michael McKeown) The first reason under which the United States decided to emulate the model of Imperialism was based on its ideological and religious arguments. These started with the Rationales’ beliefs that America’s ideas and institutions were superior compared with any other country in the world. For example, some Americ... ... middle of paper ... ...in American Politics: A History. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &, 2009. Web. Page 190 - 197. 2 Abbott, Carl, Peter H. Argersinger, Virginia DeJohn Anderson, William L. Barney, Jo Ann E. Argersinger, and Robert M. Weir. "Chapter 22 "Creating a New Empire 1865 - 1917"" The American Journey. By David R. Goldfield. 5th ed. Vol. 2. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2009. 611-36. Print. "1866–1898 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." 1866–1898 - Milestones - Office of the Historian. U.S. Department, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. "Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power upon History: Securing International Markets in the 1890s." Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power upon History: Securing International Markets in the 1890s. U.S. Department of State, 20 Jan. 2001. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. McKeown, Michael “ Creating a New Empire 1865 - 1917.” Chapter 22. Power Point Presentation.
Correspondence of John C. Calhoun. J. Franklin Jameson, ed. Annual Report of the American Historical Association 1899. II. 1900.
This period of expansionism clearly demonstrates just how power hungry the United States was at this point in its history. One could say that this thirst for international power, and perceived need to exercise such power, directly led to World War One in the
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.
5 Robert H. Ferrell, America as a World Power, 1872-1945, (New York: Harper & Row
The late 1800’s was a watershed moment for the United States, during which time the Industrial Revolution and the desire for expansion brought about through Manifest Destiny, began to run parallel. Following the end of the Spanish-American war, the United States found itself with a wealth of new territory ceded to it from the dying Spanish empire. The issue of what to do with these new lands became a source of debate all the way up to the U.S. Congress. Men like Albert J. Beveridge, a Senator from Indiana, advocated the annexation, but not necessarily the incorporation of these new l...
Walens, Susann. A. United States History Since 1877. Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. September 2007.
From western expansion to foreign imperialism the United States has always been an expansionist country. Early America’s focus was to conquer the natives and obtain western land within North America, but in the latter of America’s history, specifically in the nineteenth and twentieth century, foreign imperialism became the new focus. America’s activity in foreign imperialism was a continuation and departure of the United States’ early expansionism. It was a continuation in terms of manifest destiny, the spread of Christianity, and by the concept of “the city on a hill” and a departure in terms of foreign involvement.
The Dutch seaborne empire (London, 1965) Canny, Nicholas: The Oxford History of the British Empire,vol I, TheOrigins of the Empire (New York 1998) Curtin, Philip D: The rise and fall of the plantation complex:essays in Atlantic history (Cambridge, 1990). Dunn, Richard S: Sugar and Slaves (North Carolina,1973) Haring, C.H: The Spanish Empire in America(New York, 1947) Hemming, John: Red gold: the conquest of the Brazilian Indians (Southampton 1978) Hobbhouse, Henry: Seeds of Change: Five plants that transformed mankind (1985) Mattoso, Katia M de Queiros: To be a slave in Brazil 1550-1888 (New Jersey, 1986) Mintz, Sidney W: Sweetness and Power (New York 1985) Winn, Peter: Americas:The changing face of Latin America and the Caribbean (California, 1999)
Through the use of the documents and events during two major-expansion time periods (1776-1880) and 1880-1914), I will display both the continuation and departure trends of United States expansionism. The departure from previous expansionism (up to 1880) developed alongside the tremendous changes and amplifications of United States power (in government, economics, and military.) The growth in strength and size of the United States' navy gave the country many more opportunities to grow, explore, and expand both in size and money. The better range and build of ships allowed the U.S. to enter the far-east "trade and money" lands of the Philippines (eventually a territory) and China. Because of the huge production of agricultural goods and the need for outputs and markets for these goods, the United States needed to find other places for shipping, trading, buying, and sellingand the far east was just the place.... ...
Roark, James L. et al., eds. The American Promise: A Compact, Vol. I: To 1877. 3rd edition. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.
Newman, John. UNITED STATES HISTORYPreparing for the Advanced Placement Examination. Second Edition. New York: AMSCO SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2010. eBook. .
... An American History of the World. 4th ed. of the book. W.W. Norton, 2012, 671. 2.)
William Graebner and Leonard Richards. The American Record: Images of our Nation’s Past. McGraw-Hilll; 5 edition. May 27, 2005
3. Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, Williams, eds., America Past and Present Volume II: since 1865 sixth edition (New York: Longman 2002).
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