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concerning late 19th century and early 20th century expansionism to wahat extent was it a departure
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Expansionism
Throughout history, many great nations have amassed an immense empire through expansionism, which is a nation's practice or policy of territorial or economic expansion. The United States expansionism was present since it became an independent nation itself. Manifest Destiny, which is the doctrine that the United States had the right and duty to expand throughout the North American continent played a major role in expansionism of the mid 1800’s. Evidence such as the Louisiana Purchase, the acquisition of California, and the Oregon Territory shows expansion of the United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Although expansionism in the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s was a departure from past expansionism, it also was a continuation in some aspects.
At the turn of the century, Americans looked past the contiguous United States to overseas empires. This expansionism movement was much the same to the expansionism movement of the early 1800’s in which Americans pushed from the Appalachians to the Pacific. In both instances, United States citizens moved into the new territories, joining the natives. Americans brought with them diseases that plagued the natives, and often killed large percents of the native population. Also, whatever lands Americans took over, and either time period, there were uprisings by the natives to try to overthrow unwanted American power. For example, wars between the Indians and United States Army in the west, and uprisings in the Philippines.
In comparison, both expansionism movements had their supporters and critics. Although there was large public support for expansion, more so in the 18th century, both movements sparked large debates. Such can be seen in writings by imperialists such as Josiah Strong, who went as far as preaching that god had divinely commissioned the United States to civilize the world. In contrast, both movements required military backing, which came in two different ways. During the expansionism westward, only ground military units were required. However, during expansionism overseas, a strong navy was essential, although ground troops were also needed during certain times. Imperialist and naval commander, Alfred Mahan believed that with a strong navy, the United States could successfully protect itself, and extend its influence overseas.
When the United States claimed territories in the west, such as California, they had every intention to later make them states. However, concerning the overseas territories, the United States simply wanted strategic trade and military locations, new markets, and resources.
At the turn of the century, and after gaining our independence, the United States land mass more than doubled through the use of purchasing, annexing, and war. However, the foreign policy of our government took a predominately isolationist stand. This was a national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries. General Washington shaped these values by upholding and encouraging the use of these principles by warning to avoid alliances in his farewell speech. The reasoning behind these actions was that the Republic was a new nation. We did not have the resources or the means to worry about other countries and foreign affairs; our immediate efforts were internal. Our goals that were of primary importance were setting up a democratic government and jump-starting a nation. The United States foreign policy up to and directly preceding the Civil War was mainly Isolationist. After the war, the government helped bring together a nation torn apart by war, helped improved our industrialization, and helped further populate our continent. We were isolationist in foreign affairs, while expanding domestically into the west and into the north through the purchase of Alaska. However, around 1890 the expansionism that had taken place was a far cry from what was about to happen. Expansionism is the nations practice or policy ...
Many people were in favor of U.S expansion around the world. There are three men though that are in favor of the expansion but had created arguments to back themselves up. Frederick Jackson Turner’s most famous argument was on devoted to the American Revolution, it was about the frontier or “Old West” in America. Turner was not one for war but sometimes he would write about war. He argued a few points in his work, The Frontier in American History. The first point that he argued was that a violent frontier was established from Georgia to New England as a result of the wars with France. He then made a point about the self-sufficient society that had also ben established on the frontier that was much different from the rest of society. Then he
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.
It was mainly the people in the north that opposed territorial expansion. This was because northerners saw how unmoral expansion could be. They also had no need for the newly acquired lands and feared that further acquisition of land would only strengthen the west; this is why opponents of expansion got so upset when the United States considered annexing Texas. William Plumer, a Federalist, said, “Admit this western world into the union, and you destroy with a single operation the whole weight and importance of the eastern states.”(Document A). People against territorial expansion realized that by annexing Texas, the western territory would grow, have a larger population, and would t...
United States expansionism in the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century is both a continuation and a departure of past United States expansionism. Expansionism in the United States has occurred for many reasons. Power (from land), religion, economics, and the ideas of imperialism and manifest destiny are just a few reasons why the U.S. decided to expand time and again throughout the course of its 231 year history. Expansionism has evolved throughout the years as the inhabitants of the country have progressed both socially (the Second Great Awakening, the women's suffrage movement, the populist party and the early 19th and 20th century social reformers) and economically (factories, better farms, more jobs, etc.) Expansion changed from non-interference policies to the democratic control of the government as the United States grew in both size and population. 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.
A reason America wanted to expand was because they wanted their economy to thrive. After the Spanish American war, Hawaii became extremely important to the US for business uses. Eventually, Hawaii and the US signed a trade treaty which allowed Hawaiian sugar to be sold in America. Soon after, President Mckinley decided to annex Hawaii because there were a lot of factors about Hawaii that could benefit America. The annexation of Hawaii allowed America to create more naval stations in order to protect it’s world trade. The growth of America’s economy was partly because of Hawaii's goods. The economy of the US would not be as successful as it is today if we did not expand our borders. The US had the most advanced economy, but that didn’t stop them from trying to achieve more success which leads to my second evidence. America needed new markets to sell US-made goods as well as raw materials like sugar and oil. So America’s plan was to trade with China and expand their trade routes. America didn’t want to risk the chances of losing trade opportunities with Japan, Africa, China and other nations so they had the intention of expanding abroad. Furthermore, the US was able to have a successful and wealthy economy by expanding
In the 1830’s America was highly influenced by the Manifest Destiny Ideal. Manifest Destiny was the motivating force behind the rapid expansion of America into the West. This ideal was highly sponsored by posters, newspapers, and various other methods of communication. Propaganda was and is still an incredibly common way to spread an idea to the masses. Though Manifest Destiny was not an official government policy, it led to the passing of the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave applicants freehold titles of undeveloped land outside of the original thirteen colonies. It encouraged Westward colonization and territorial acquisition. The Homestead Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. To America, Manifest Destiny was the idea that America was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic, to the Pacific Ocean. Throughout this time Native Americans were seen as obstacles because they occupied land that the United States needed to conquer to continue with their Manifest Destiny Ideal. Many wars were fought between the A...
Expansionism in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shared many similarities and differences to that of previous American expansionist ideals. In both cases of American expansionism, the Americans believed that we must expand our borders in order to keep the country running upright. Also, the Americans believed that the United States was the strongest of nations, and that they could take any land they pleased. This is shown in the "manifest destiny" of the 1840's and the "Darwinism" of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Apart from the similarities, there were also several differences that included the American attempt to stretch their empire across the seas and into other parts of the world.
For many year, the American boundaries expanded as people moved, at the governments urging, westward for new economic opportunities and later imperialist expansion was no different. While many factors contributed, economic possibility was a driving factor in the expansionist aspirations. The U.S., along with countries like Britain
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.
To begin with, the need Americans felt to expand west caused the government to seek more geographical territory and “Expansion westward seemed perfectly natural to many Americans in the mid-nineteenth century.”. The Louisiana purchase was one of the first expansions that made a big impact on the United States and initiated this movement. Events such as the Texas annexation and the Oregon Treaty of 1846 were parts of Manifest Destiny. These events expanded the national territory and encouraged people to settle further west, north, and south. Many of the treaties signed became controversial, but the governments' priority was for the nation to grow in size and importance.
One argument backing U.S. imperialism is by naval strategist, Alfred Thayer Mahan. At this time, Great Britain had the strongest sea power. Mahan states that America’s navy must be as strong to compete in trade and war. Expansion would aid exports, and more naval power would grant the ability to overcome obstacles such as a dispute between the U.S. and another country. Most importantly, Mahan states that the world is in struggle and the U.S. must protect itself to survive.
One of the largest and most wealthy countries in the world, the United States of America, has gone through many changes in its long history. From winning its independence from Great Britain to present day, America has changed dramatically and continues to change. A term first coined in the 1840s, "Manifest Destiny" helped push America into the next century and make the country part of what it is today. The ideas behind Manifest Destiny played an important role in the development of the United States by allowing the territorial expansion of the 1800s. Without the expansion of the era, America would not have most of the western part of the country it does now.
Throughout most of the nineteenth century, the United States expanded its territory westward through purchase and annexation. At the end of the century, however, expansion became imperialism, as America acquired several territories overseas. This policy shift from expansionism to imperialism came about as a result of American's experience in the Spanish American War and the Congressional debates that followed the American victory.
The United States, as a young nation, had the desire to expand westward and become a true continental United States that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Various factors, strategic and economic, contributed to the desire to expand westward. According to John O’Sullivan, as cited by Hestedt in Manifest Destiny 2004; "the U.S. had manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence to the free development of our yearly multiplying millions" (¶2). As Americans ventured westward to settle the frontier, their inherent superior beliefs, culture and the principles of democracy accompanied them. America’s ruthless ambition to fulfill its manifest destiny had a profound impact on the nation’s economy, social systems and foreign and domestic policies; westward expansion was a tumultuous period in American History that included periods of conflict with the Native Americans and Hispanics and increased in sectionalism that created the backdrop for the Civil War.