American Imperialism Dbq Analysis

Imperialistic America Imperialism took place in the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s and it defines one country’s superiority over another. Specifically, The United States practiced imperialism for the desire to strengthen military and create new markets for money. It led to many wars and disputes over countries, heavily in Latin America. Imperialism was not a proper and legitimate policy for the United States to follow. Upon the sinking of the U.S.S Maine, President McKinley declared a war on Spain with the helps of yellow journalism. With the exaggerations of the DeLome Letter, U.S forces attack a Spanish colony; the Philippines. This was an early example of imperialism, and the unethical side of this was not only shown with how misleading media is, but a fellow senator from Massachusetts, George F. Hoar, opposed the treaty annexing the Philippines. Hoar stated, “...under the Declaration of Independence you cannot govern a foreign territory, a foreign people, another people than your own ...because you think it is for their good…” (Doc 4). Hoar provides a very reasonable argument by trying to stop the
They supported the idea that every person “are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Doc 7). This statement is relatable to what senator Hoar expressed. The Anti- Imperialist League also compared the idea of imperialism to militarism, “an evil from which it has been our glory to be free” (Doc 7). This statement recognizes that The United States should not succumb to the evils that exist in a militaristic state. Despite this, many wars continued to break out between other countries with Latin America for the fight of ownership of another country. Although not many voices were heard in the debate over imperialism, the arguments against it speak strongly and show the unnecessary stakes taken during this time