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American Imperialism - Essay

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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 …show more content…

With this expansion of modern advancements, including Cyrus McCormick's invention of the mechanical mower-reaper, the completion of the Erie Canal, the first railroad, and John Deere's steel plow, it was no question that the united states was modernizing itself, and imperialism was ingraining itself as a quality of American society. Jackson's democrats were committed to western expansion, even though this expansion inevitably meant confrontation with the current inhabitants of the land. More than 125,000 Native Americans lived in the forests and prairies east of the Mississippi. Although many tribes strongly resisted white encroachment on their land, other tribes such as the Cherokees made remarkable efforts to learn the ways of the whites. The Americans were once again sticking to their imperialistic style, and leaving a lasting impact on these small counties which they wished to control and push off their own land. Although certain tribes did seem to be embracing their new ways which the whites had taught them, this was apparently not good enough for whites. In 1828, Georgia legislature declared the Cherokee tribal council illegal and asserted its own jurisdiction over Indian affairs and Indian lands. President Jackson, who clearly wanted to open the land for white settlement refused to recognize the Court's decision, and simply stated that John Marshall had made his decision and it was his job to

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