n the fourth paragraph, in which Beveridge proclaims the March of the Flag as a slogan of American expansionism, he initiates a climax, which he uses to clarify the global importance of the expansion as a national issue, which is more important than party-policy (“...the question is larger than a party question. It is an American question. It is a world question.”, ll. 29 ff.). In addition Beveridge asks rhetorical questions to get support for his policy (ll. 31-36). To draw the attention of his audience to the historical dimension of expansionism, he uses an incomplete exclamation (l. 37). “The march of the flag” is the key expression of Beveridge's speech. He refers to it in order to get legitimacy for his imperialistic aims and because it
symbolises land, organisation and community of the United States.
Beveridge drew on 19th century antebellum expansion during his speech. In paragraphs 1-3, he explained how America was so many different things that added to the greatness of the colonies. For example, he said America was “a noble land that god has given us” and “a greater England with a nobler destiny.” He also drew on the fact that we had “saved” other nations from being savage. Beveridge spoke of the resources in the countries that America had conquered. “Their [Puerto Rico's] trade will be ours in time,” further explaining that he was pro-expansion for his own benefit.
senator. In Beveridge’s speech “The March of the Flag” (1898) he argued that the Philippines should be Annexed into the United States in order to better the lives of the indigenous people and establish new markets of trade. During this era, West Indians and Pacific Islanders were looked down upon and considered “savages.” Therefore, Beveridge believed that Pacific Islanders, specifically Filipinos, could not govern themselves, and it was America’s Anglo-Saxon duty to colonize and save the people of the Philippines. Beveridge supports his argument by referencing Thomas Jefferson, who he called, “the first Imperialist of the Republic,” highlighting the Louisiana Purchase and how the great expansion West ward, is no different from the expansion overseas. Beveridge’s ability to state his argument, and compare his argument with historical events solidifies his
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
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 ...
In conclusion, without struggle and without sacrifice this country would not have gained the independence and prove that united we stand and divide we fall. Thomas Paine quite elegantly put it “however strange it may appear to some, or however unwilling they may be to think so, matters not, but many strong and striking reasons may be given to shew, that nothing can settle our affairs so expeditiously as an open and determined declaration of independence” (Paine 111).
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.
This idea is greatly exemplified in document 'E', in which Senator Albert J. Beveridge delivers a speech to Congress, saying that, ".and thanksgiving to Almighty God that He has marked us as His chosen people, henceforth to lead in the regeneration of the world. " In contrary to America's earlier beliefs, however, the race for expansion became more of a global competition than that of controlling the surrounding lands. Other countries were quickly scooping up the remaining uncontrolled territories, and America felt that they needed to stake their claim to imperialism around the world. The cartoon presented in document "A" shows how all the European countries were picking away at the lands still open for taking.
Repeating the phrase “I call” in his last paragraph, Roosevelt is emphasizing that he, as the president, is asking everyone listening to do his or her part in the great effort and reiterating that he, despite all the power he holds, needs the citizens to work with him. Furthermore, Roosevelt uses the word “defense” to restate that the US would not be attacking or entering the war, but if they were complacent then they would be put on the defensive. In addition, Roosevelt repeats words like “swiftly”, “urgency” and “speed” to illustrate the urgency with which the country as whole must take action and become the arsenal of democracy. Finally, within Roosevelt’s speech, there are many occurrences of inclusive words such as “we”, “all” and “our”. By emphasizing the unity of the country through these words, Roosevelt reiterates that without a national effort, the situation they are in may become apocalyptic. The repetition of certain words throughout his speech allows Roosevelt to assuage the fears of his people and make a call to action to those
President Obama opens up his speech by addressing the crowd with mentioning the first three words of the United States Constitution “We the People”. This statement is followed by Mr. Obama describing how farmers, scholars, statesmen, and patriots traveled to finally make real their declaration of independence at a conference lasting thru spring of 1787. There was a point in the opening where a point was made that words on parsonage alone wouldn’t be able to complete the task of unity and equality during a time
With McKinley’s assassination, the Republicans and the country had bought themselves an activist president who, in the span of seven years, turned an isolationist America into a world power which created American leadership and power in world affairs, dealt corporations a new set of rules, enacted a philosophy and policy of environmental conservation, set forth a progressive agenda which held Victorian values at its fulcrum, and dealt with the social and economic issues presented by the burst of immigrants. The issues of non-english speaking immigrants, large corporate trusts acting with greed, defining America’s role in the world politic, all faced Roosevelt, as they face Bush today. Moreover, Roosevelt fashioned policies, rationales, and enacted legislation to engage this challenge and pursued an even more aggressive presidential activism in his second term.
As shown, America’s rapid change as the 19th century came to a close was supported by a variety of imperialistic beliefs, motives, and incidents that almost jumpstarted the U.S. onto the world stage. Many of these incidents, such as the public’s thirst for expansion, the annexation of several faraway lands, and the build-up of U.S. military forces, would not have been possible without the Spanish American War. Moreover, the Spanish American war would not have been possible without the American people. Imperialism was a consequence of the American Democratic experiment, giving the people what they want. . Works Cited http://www.course-notes.org/us_history/notes/the_american_pageant_14th_edition_textbook_notes/chapter_27_empire_and_expansion_18
In January 1941, FDR asked for Congress to think about the world while giving his speech on the “Four Freedoms”: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. After saying each freedom, he repeated the phrase “everywhere in the world” to emphasize the international reorientation of America’s foreign policy. The fourth freedom—freedom from fear—really aligned with the liberal strategy by calling for “a world-wide reduction of armaments.” Shortly after the speech, the influential publisher of Life and Time magazines, Henry Luce, wrote an essay titled “The American Century.” He identifies freedom as the source of prosperity, calling on the United States to follow his lead and promote the values of free markets and capitalism abroad to counteract the “demagogues” that called for “planned economies.” In August of that year, FDR and Winston Churchill met at the Atlantic Conference and drafted the Atlantic Charter: a policy statement that contains eight commonly held principles. Among these principles is the right of a person to a self-determined form of government, and the ability for trade to improve “labor standards, economic advancement, and social security.” Exactly one year after the writing of the Atlantic Charter, FDR gave a speech that rallied around the principles put forth in the Atlantic Charter, declaring that the people would “stand shoulder to shoulder in seeking to nourish the great ideals for which we fight.” The Atlantic Charter was the basis of the United Nations formed in 1945 with the Charter of the United Nations. Trade, particularly free trade, was associated with this new, liberal strategy from its
“Above them all and weaving them all together into the most exciting flag of all the world and of all history was the triumphal purpose of freedom” (Course Slides p. 4), this adds to the proof that the idea was to make America seem better than anyone else and instill the idea into their people that we need to spread our way of life to the world. Brinkley even goes as far as to state that the events of 2001 might have brought back this idea of the American Century: “The example of the comparable efforts of a half century ago, therefore, can be seen both an inspiration and as a warning” (Brinkley p. 17). This warning could be that history is being set up to repeat itself after WWII. Also, comparing this statement to Vietnam, we have entered at first a very popular war in the Middle East in order to bring down the terrorist that committed that devastation on 9/11/2001, and years later in 2014 just like years after the War in Vietnam popular opinion has swayed and a call for the end of the war rings loudly. Just like how President Nixon ran for office on the notion of ending the War in Vietnam so too did President Obama in a way and so too has he failed. The mood of the nation after WWII and 2001 were similar, with huge popular support for the government and a yearning to instill upon others our way of life. Just like after WWII, when the mood turned to displeasure thanks in part to the Vietnam War and other actions, so too has the mood today in the continuing War in the Middle East and possible threats from North Korea and
On September 19th, 1796 George Washington’s Farewell Address is published in the American Daily Advertise, a newspaper based in Philadelphia. Washington’s Farewell Address alerts the American people of his retirement while at the same time advising the public on what they should do about foreign affairs, or lack thereof. As Ellis Argues “His angle of vision for the new American nation was decidedly western. The chief task facing the next several generations was to consolidate control for the North American continent. Anything that impaired or deflected that central mission was to be avoided at all costs” (Ellis, 133). George Washington advised the public that the new nation was too weak from the revolution to risk delving into other countries’ affairs and instead recommended that the American people explore west beyond the Proclamation Line of 1763 and find new prospects out west. This idea of isolationism is not popular with the first generation of Americans is hypocritical to George Washington and John Jay’s meeting with English representatives in 1795. In 1795 Washington and Jay met English officials and organized Jay’s Treaty which organizes an agreement to pay off English war debt from the revolution in exchange for the evacuation of English troops on the western frontiers; this meeting is also organized as a peace treaty
At this time Americans resorted to nationalism which is as Merton E. Hill stated in 1931