America's Imperialistic Period

Imperialism was a big impact on the late 1800’s leading into the early 1900’s with counties like the British, Spanish, Russia, and Germany pushing to gain more land in different counties. This would lead to an arms race and the buildup which would lead into World War 1.

Before the 20th century the United States was an isolationist nation but around the late 19th century America decided to convert into an imperialist power. They had numerous reasons to shift into being an imperialist nation. America didn’t want to begin imperializing to settle and live in the nations they were taking over, they already had America for that reason, they wanted to adopt these nations for what they had to offer, which was many things. America saw an opportunity to improving their nation and took it. Even if there were many causes for America to imperialize, three of them stood out the most. Those three reasons being, economy, military, and culture superiority.

Imperialism is not a new concept by any means to the human race. This form of movement has not only made many great empires rise to greatness, but have also made many fall (Roman). At many points in history the drive for imperialism was the only aspect some nations had in common (Cohen). Imperialism is simply the expanding of one’s power and influence by the complete taking over of other’s financial markets, industry, and abilities to be themselves.

A great change United States history was the development of the country as a whole, regarding its magnitude in land mass and overall spread of acquired territory. Also known as the Age of American Imperialism, this significant expansion came about from foreign relations with other nations. Through peaceful negotiations, as well as violent conflicts, the U.S.’s sphere of influence and control expanded across various bodies of water. Increased involvement with world relations triggered a shift in power from one side of the world to the other, which would lead to the establishment of the U.S. as a world power, or an independent entity powerful enough to bring change on a global scale. Foreign relations between the U.S. and other nations during the late 1800s and early 1900s increased and became more complex as their involvement within global affairs likewise intensified. Moreover, major reasons for these increased relations included political, economic, religious, and cultural reasons, and for the purpose of saving the idea of masculinity within American men.

In a time between the beginning of the of the Second Industrialization Revolution and the end of the imperialism movement, there were many changes in America. It is in this context that American ideals changed in the Gilded Age. Farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age from 1865-1900 by forming organizations that allowed for their voices to be recognized and by influencing political parties to help get national legislation passed.

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

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s America started expanding abroad to try and enlarge our borders. However this expansion ended up creating more problems for the US. In the end America lost more than they gained all due to American imperialism.

Flies circle great black lumps as the moist air ravages the corpses. Dried blood soaked into the ground after faceless soldiers brutally destroyed its owners’ lives. These were the stories in the newspapers, the movies, and the films. Horrified by these crimes against humanity, the American public was spurred into action against the Spanish oppressors. the United States invaded Cuba in 1898 to pursue humanitarian efforts.

Colonialism and Imperialism affected our world both positively and negatively. On one hand, Imperialism has often been linked with racial segregation, manipulation, and hardship. On the other, it has been said that many colonial powers contributed much in terms of schools, roads, railways, and much more. Whether this time period was constructive or harmful, it has played a large part in shaping our lives today.

Finally the colonists had won their independence.The war was truly over. It had lasted well over eight years. In September 1782 after the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin, along with John Adams and John Jay, began official peace negotiations with the British. Benjamin Franklin was one of the people to sign the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Paris was a treaty signed by Britain, France, and Spain ending the bitterness between Britain and the colonists.

The imperialistic mentality of the American government after the Civil War, led to some degree to the Spanish-American war that would render a great acquisition of land for the United States. However, imperialism would not be the sole factor that led to the war against Spain, but also the sympathy felt by the American government towards Cuba’s efforts in fighting for their independence; additionally, the United States would seek to protect its commercial interests (sugar) in the island. Therefore, after invoking the Spanish to secede from their brutal practices towards Cuban rebels and attain a peaceful end to the situation, the United States arbitrarily sent a navy ship, “The USS Maine” to monitor the area. The ship and 250 American lives

The Spanish American War was a big step towards American War power and influenced foreign countries greatly with trade, naval power, and territory.

Republican? Democrat? During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it didn’t matter what political platform you were on, all that mattered was the U.S. expansion to new territories and whether or not the U.S. should have stayed within its boundaries. After the U.S. won the Spanish-American War, attention was placed on new countries, such as the Philippines, and the benefits, or downfalls, of American Imperialism. Imperialism is the policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Two main arguments, Imperialism or Anti-Imperialism, arose from the ashes of the war to spark new ideas on what the U.S. should be viewed as.

Throughout the early nineteenth century, the ideas of expansionism swept through the United States The belief in Manifest Destiny, that the United States was destined to spread across the continent of North America, gave reason behind the allocation of new territories and acceptance of new states. However, the debate over the legality of slavery in the national identity, made it difficult to adopt new areas into the control of the United States with ease. In the later portion of the nineteenth century, expansionism was mainly motivated by imperialism. The United States was determined to become a leading world power and the belief in the survival of the fittest, Social Darwinism and the idea of the “Gospel of Wealth”, the rich helping those

During the mid and late 1800s imperialism was alive and well in the United States. It was not enough for America to have acquired massive tracts of land throughout the late 1800s, such as Alaska and Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The idea of imperialism and the Monroe Doctrine called for more land and limited European intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately the imperialistic eye of the United States had to eventually turn to Cuba, an area under Spain’s control that represented tremendous opportunity to fuel the growing imperialist machine that was America. The Monroe Doctrine could not tolerate Spanish control over Cuba, forbidding European intervention in the Western Hemisphere. This factor, coupled with the United States’ desire