The United States briefly had the temptation of imperialism when it emerged as a world power a century ago, but the interlude of formal empire was not much more. A difference of England, the empire has never been an experience with which Americans feel at ease, and only a small fraction of their military occupations, directly to the establishment of democracies. The US empire is not limited by economics: the US UU they devoted a much higher percentage of their GDP to military spending during the Cold War than they currently spend. The imperial overreach will come rather from the need to monitor more peripheral countries that American public opinion is willing to accept. Indeed, opinion polls in the United States show very little popular appreciation
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.
During the late 1800s and 1900s in various societies, imperialism played a major role. Imperialism consists of a country's domination of an economic and cultural life in another country. Within the 1800s and 1900s, Europe became a large-scale global leader. Europeans set up colonies all over the world, specifically Africa, India, China, and Japan. Imperialism is viewed through two different major points such as the imperialist and colonialist.
Until the late 19th century, America was not an imperialist nation in the sense that the western European nations were. The wars with Native Americans were not so much a colonization effort as it was sheer conquest. Imperialism is an oppression of a foreign land and people for the purpose of enhancing the economy and political prowess of the imperialist nation, as well as enforcing the imperialist nation’s culture and often religion on the native population. The Native American oppression was too domestic to be considered imperialism, and was done strictly for the land and the American belief in Manifest Destiny. In short, the Indian wars were no more imperialistic then the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine Empire or the NAZI invasion of Europe. As a nation, America did not become imperialistic until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, under whom the U.S. acquired its first foreign colony. America did have a significant influence in Liberia, despite a void of military presence. The American government’s allowance of slavery and the ensuing anti-slavery campaign led to the rise of the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1817. The ACS, headed by Robert Finley, bought land on the West Coast of Africa in what is now called Liberia. This project was funded by members of the ACS and the American government, the latter of which donated one hundred thousand dollars in 1819. The ACS had a very strong influence in the American government due to some of its most prominent members, who included James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Francis Scott Key, Daniel Webster, and Henry Clay.
interactions. American Imperialism was seen as proper by almost all Americans except those in those opposed to Imperialism, such as the American Anti Imperialist League. Imperialism by America was seen as a way to make the U.S. the “fittest” in Social Darwinism, and to increase foreign trade and materials for American businesses. Although Imperialism was proper, it contradicted statements in the Declaration of Independence and Washington 's Farewell Address, and violated the Constitution, making it not legitimate. American Imperialism was proper since it benefitted most of America, but it was not legitimate since it did not abide by the many important U.S. documents and
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
Although somewhat annoyed by the weaker United States, Britain chose to not to fight a war. Britain's rich merchant marine was vulnerable to American commerce raiders...
During the late nineteenth century, the United States pursued an aggressive policy of expansion, extending its political and economic influence throughout the world especially Cuba and Hawaii. American imperialism is the most widely used type of expression used by the United States to describe a history of United States foreign policy actions and doctrines that demonstrate an unequivocal intent to interfere in events around the world that favor their own economic, political, and economic interest strategies.
After the civil war, United States took a turn that led them to solidify as the world power. From the late 1800s, as the US began to collect power through Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines, debate arose among historians about American imperialism and its behavior. Historians such as William A. Williams, Arthur Schlesinger, and Stephen Kinzer provides their own vision and how America ought to be through ideas centered around economics, power, and racial superiority.
As shown, America’s rapid change as the 19th century came to a close was supported by a various amount 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.
There is one key difference between America and other empires from the past that I think is the deal breaker. We don’t think of ourselves as an empire. American’s never refer to it themselves as imperialists. We don’t like the word. The British liked the fact that they where an empire. It was a source of national pride that they had colonized nearly a quarter of the globe. To many in Britain today it still is. For the British being an empire was not something you did secretly and then claimed not to be as many accuse America of doing.
Between the years of 1867 and 1900, America adopted the ideas of expansionism and imperialism. Expansionism is the territorial expansion of a nation. Imperialism is the extending rule over foreign countries. The purchase of Alaska, the annexation of Hawaii, and the Spanish-American war were causes of these new ideas for the United States.
Whilst the lack of acceptance of the USA as an empire is self evidenced by the very need for this debate, less sound is the assertion that this is in denial to reality. Cox raises the issue of territorial acquisition and magnitude (2004, p230) as qualifiers for empire, making the point as others have (Meinig 1993), that actions like the Louisiana Purchase demonstrate that the USA meets the qualifications of classical definitions of empire.The distinction of classical definitions is needed owing to the current state of uncertainty surrounding what it is that an empire is.
The United States, during the Imperialism Age, began expanding overseas. Many beneficial factors can influence overseas expansion like how it maximizes profitability, helps better marketing plans for politicians and business owners, and leveraging of expertise which allows more money to come in. The United States during this time was doing what most countries, such as Germany and England, were doing: expanding their land and business and become a big nation power. The more land and business’s you have, the more powerful you are. In the United States’ case, however, was moral idealism or power politics the main motivator for them to expand overseas?
Imperialism had one of the greatest influences on how the United States grew to be. It had set way for global modernization, a bigger wealth economically with trade and improved industrialization for all Americans. Without the belief of Imperialism around, there would have been a possibility we wouldn’t have had the chance to grow stronger. Imperialism is better for the United States as a whole for it benefited us way more than Isolationism had.
... The Costs of US Hegemony: Military Power, Military Spending, and US Trade Performance. Sage.