An Essay On American Imperialism

American Imperialism has been a part of United States history ever since the American Revolution. Imperialism is the practice by which large, powerful nations seek to expand and maintain control or influence on a weaker nation. Throughout the years, America has had a tendency to take over other people's land. America had its first taste of Imperialistic nature back when Columbus came to America almost five hundred years ago. He fought the inhabitants with no respect for their former way of life, took their land, and proceeded to enslave many of these Native Americans. The impact of the 1820's and 1830's on American Imperialism is undeniable. Although the military power was not fully there during this time period, their ideals and foreign

During the 1820s, America felt they had the God given right to expand westward. Later, they adopted this concept, expanding to nations around the world bringing religion, industry, and technology. This new concept was known as American Imperialism, the economic and cultural influence of the United States on other countries, occurring between 1880 and 1920. During the age of American Imperialism, America annexed Texas and Hawaii. They acquired Florida, Oregon County, Alaska, the Louisiana Purchase, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam. America provided business and industry to colonies, brought civilization and religion, and had a duty to protect nations of the western hemisphere. America’s actions were justified during the age of American Imperialism.

Imperialism is not consistent with the ideals of American democracy. This determined the role the US should have in world affairs because they wanted to extend their power and govern people with little to no power without their consent. One text to support this stance is Document 7: Excerpt from the Platform of the Anti-Imperialist League (1899). In this document, it is clear that the author had disdain for the way America treated Filipinos and other minorities and how the US government tried to overtake weaker countries and rule them in a way that contradicted democracy and was looked at as unruly and uncivilized. This is shown when the author says “A self-governing state cannot accept sovereignty over an unwilling people”.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 is a book written by Alfred Thayer Mahan, published in 1890. Mahan’s book is about his point of view and thoughts regarding to naval warfare and power with histories of naval wars included. Looking back at history, Captain Mahan realizes how much the naval forces around the world had changed over the past centuries. Mahan explains how it is critically important to study the history, elements and experience of naval warfare from the time of sailing ships to the current time of the book, and connects how they are similar and different to each other.

American Imperialism has been a part of United States history ever since the American Revolution. Imperialism is the practice by which large, powerful nations seek to expand and maintain control or influence on a weaker nation. Throughout the years, America has had a tendency to take over other people's land. America had its first taste of Imperialistic nature back when Columbus came to America almost five hundred years ago. He fought the inhabitants with no respect for their former way of life, took their land, and proceeded to enslave many of these Native Americans. The impact of the 1820's and 1830's on American Imperialism is undeniable. Although the military power was not fully there during this time period, their ideals and foreign

Professor Walter Nugent, of “California and New Mexico, 1846-1848: Southward Aggression II,” argues that the Mexican War was indeed an exercise of American imperialism. Throughout his presidency, James K. Polk made a promise to the American people to honor Manifest Destiny, expanding the territory of the United States to the Pacific Ocean. Polk was blinded by his tunnel vision, and was more than willing to pay the cost of thousands of Mexican lives (over twice as many as Americans) in pursuit of his goal. The Mexican government was weak, so, Polk took advantage by sending representatives to monitor, what he considered, the borders between their nations. Polk was aware that this would manipulate the Mexican government to strike, spilling ‘American blood on American soil’. This action resulted in support from Congress to declare war; although, many voted in favor out of fear of being considered unpatriotic. Alternatively, many voted in favor of war in order to expand the amount of representatives opposed to slavery. Polk was not considered a strong nor wise ruler, Isaiah Berlin contends that Polk was “a hedgehog, not a fox,” he explains, “Jefferson, FDR, and Bill Clinton were foxes. Jackson, Polk, and George W. Bush were hedgehogs. Whereas a fox has many ideas… hedgehogs, like Polk, have one.” For those reasons, the Mexican war was an unjust war, and a result of American imperialism.

What is American Imperialism? It is the influences that the United States makes on other countries. Some of the influences are economics, military, and culture. Expansionism is conquering those countries and taking over the land. Without imperialism and expansionism, our county would not be as big and productive as it is in today 's society.

Imperialism has played a large role in U.S history and other countries. Factors that can be changed through imperialism are global power and trade investment in other countries. Imperialism is a natural way of expanding and is beneficial to the U.S. Although imperialism has caused wars, there are many positive results, such as annexation and involvement in other countries, better trade, and the rise of the U.S as a global power. Therefore people believe imperialism is necessary to make the U.S stronger.

After the Civil War, the United States struggled to keep up with other countries in the world. While figuring out how fix the corruption in the American government, the other countries were practicing imperialism. Imperialism is a policy by which strong nations extend their political, military, and economic control over weaker territories. Realizing that we needed to make a change, the United States started working towards the goal of practicing imperialism as well. To do this, our first few targets were Hawaii and Alaska. In 1867, we sought to buy Alaska because they had resources that we wanted, such as lumber and minerals. This was known as Seward’s Folly after the Secretary of State William Seward. In 1898, our desire of Hawaii was fulfilled when they agreed to annexation. However, this was not without struggle. King Kalakaua of Hawaii wanted the white planters to vote, but when he died, his sister, Queen Liliuokalani reversed his decision. She took away the power of whites, which eventually led to her being overthrown with the help of the United States Marines. The Hawaiian people opposed annexation, but when Mckinley became president, Hawaii was declared American territory. Sanford B. Doyle, a white plantation owner who asked for the annexation, became the first governor of Hawaii. This addition into American territory drastically influenced our economy.

Imperialism is the policy of extending the role of authority of a nation over a foreign country, usually in material gain. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the United States went through an era of imperialism. At the time, the US was quite powerful, but was looking to continue to spread their territory, make themselves even stronger, and have multiple trade routes to have all the resources they needed and wanted.

Imperialism is a policy that has positively impacted nations and their development for centuries. This was especially true during the late 1800s and early 1900s, when many European nations began to expand far beyond their borders. Imperialistic policies were not only good for the development of countries that were expanding, but in many cases, the countries that were being expanded into as well.

The United States experienced a period of growth and maturation during the twentieth century. Now, this is not to say that this was the only period of growth, but it was a significant time during which the United States began to establish its military force at an international level. By establishing itself during the twentieth century as one of the world’s largest superpowers, America grew to be respected by most of the world’s nations. America also grew to become much more active in foreign affairs, even in ones that had no relation to the nation. The United States began to look for chances to expand their country, as well as opportunities to benefit financially from these territories. Imperialism is the word that best describes the foreign

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.

Every empire engages in subjugation and expansion. The current social decay in America and American decline lies within the historical nature of imperialism. The Roman Emperors who threw bread to the masses repeats itself in America, in which 46 million rely on food stamps and six corporations provide 90% propaganda news to a clueless and gullible public, with a 14% illiteracy rate.

Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan in his book The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 analyzes the impacts of naval forces upon the world’s past. As Mahan himself was a naval officer, he uses this sea experience to create a theory about naval history that is unlike any other history work written. Mahan institutes sea power as being the most significant element in altering the course of human history. He examines the history of sea power during the Second Punic War to help strengthen his argument and show how the principals of strategy from the past can be applied to present times. This book employs that sea power is more than a deployment of naval forces during a time of war for protection; it is a crucial factor in bringing economic