American Imperialism In The Late 1800s

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Dictionary.com defines imperialism as, “the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring or holding colonies and dependencies”. Imperialism was well in the minds of the United States in the late 1800s. Many people were leaning towards Imperialism in the United States because of many different reasons. However, there were also people in the United States that were against Imperialism: the Anti-imperialists. These Anti-imperialists did not favor the thought of expanding the United States into other territories and disagreed the ideas of having trading ties with many different countries. However, Imperialism is the better and more beneficial idea because of three main reasons. These three reasons are the forming …show more content…

In the mid-1800s, many different nations were converting to Imperialism. These nations conquered other nations and formed protectorates (a territory that allows local leaders to rule as long as they listen to the conquering nation). These other countries were also going to different countries to try to get permission to trade with one another. The United States felt as if they were going to be left out if they did not join in on the Imperialist vision. Another reason why Imperialism is a more beneficial idea compared to Anti-imperialism is because of the influence of expansionism and Manifest Destiny. During this time of imperialism, many United States citizens believed that the US should expand to other territories, local and not local, to fulfill Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny is the belief of a better country, using Expansionism to gain new land and to make the power of the country bigger. During this time period, many countries were converting to Imperialism to expand overseas and expand their power. These new territories were called protectorates. A protectorate is a nation that was

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