Was American Imperialism Justified

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In the late 19th century, a new idea of expansionism had interested America. During the Spanish American war, many people were divided over the topic of imperialism. Ultimately, many benefits came with the US territory expanding. Not only did the US get bigger, but many aspects of our nation improved significantly. American expansion abroad was justified because it helped the military and economy advance greatly. The US desired a stronger Military which justifies American expansion. A reason the US wanted to expand was because they tried to increase the size and dominance of their navy. With a bigger navy, we would be able to continue expanding and guarantee the safety of our country . In order to have a strong defense, we needed bases …show more content…

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 …show more content…

In other words, some say America gained a lot of positive things, but other countries were greatly affected. For this reason, people claim that the effect and damage other countries experienced does not justify the expansion of the US. For example, America gained a lot of essential land, but they also took land that did not belong to them. Since the countries they took over were weak, America went in and took what wasn't theirs. In a way, America forced these countries into the government. Nevertheless, America had to expand its territory in order to protect it’s citizens and provide a well structured economy. Any other country would have made similar actions as America to provide a better life for it’s people. The US was only trying to improve their nation which is an understandable reason to

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