At the start of the 19th century, America was already expanding its territory. In 1803, the United States of America had bought the Louisiana Territory, it was bought from France which had made the country two times larger. In 1819 Spain had given up their territory of Florida to the United States. President Monroe issued the “Monroe Doctrine” in 1823, its main purpose was to warn the European countries to not enter the Western Hemisphere. In order for America to achieve its goal of becoming an imperialist nation they had conquered other countries economically, culturally, and with a strong military in the late 1800’s. Economically the U.S. had made advances in technology and began to get oversea territories. Culturally they had used the …show more content…
knew that if they wanted to become a respected world power then they were going to need to acquire a global military presence. An American leader by the name of Alfred Thayer Mahan, a naval strategist and the author of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, argued that national prosperity and power depended on control of the world 's sea-lanes. "Whoever rules the waves rules the world," Mahan wrote. To become a major naval power, the United States began to replace its wooden sailing ships with steel vessels powered by coal or oil in 1883. But control of the seas would also require the acquisition of naval bases and coaling stations. In order for the boats to be powered at all times oversea territories would need to support the new navy by having set locations of fueling stations, military bases, and repair stations. If the U.S. navy wanted to compete with other powerful nations and extend its influence globally then it would need to protect new territories and merchant ship trading near new territories.
In conclusion the key factors that led to U.S. imperialism was the desire for a new, profound military strength to compete and gain respect from other countries. The belief in social darwinism and how it could help the less civilized citizens in America. And lastly the desire for a new frontier to settle in order to maintain America’s identity and prosperity. All three of the examples: economically, politically/military, and culturally can simply explain why and how America became an imperialist nation in the late