Dbq Imperialism Analysis

"Imperialism is a policy that aims at building and maintaining an empire, in which many states and peoples, spread over a wide geographical area, are controlled by one dominant state." The idea of Imperialism is fuelled by the desire for economic and political power over other people and nations and this movement was led by European forces such as Great Britain from the 18th - 20th century. The colonisation of Australia, Africa and the Philippines are all examples of Imperialism, and while there were some positive outcomes for colonising nations such as Great Britain, there were tremendous detrimental effects on the people and cultures of the colonised nations. Racism and the general disregard and mistreatment of the native and indigenous

In an attempt to increase trade and prove itself as an economic and military superpower, the US began to expand overseas and increase its military size; the US believed in International Darwinism and saw these actions as an expansion of Manifest Destiny which led to imperialism. People like William H. Seward pushed to annex Midway Island and purchased Alaska to expand the size of the US. However, imperialism became a controversial debate among the American people throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Expansionists and Jingoists like Theodore Roosevelt wanted to protect and gain control of other nations including Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam, whereas anti-imperialists such as William Jennings Bryan, Mark Twain, and Jane Addams were against entangling the US in unneeded conflicts overseas and depriving other nations of their rights. Thus, while advocates of expansionism wanted to civilize other nations, become a superpower, and improve US unity, oppositions wanted the US to improve domestic conflicts instead of involving itself in foreign affairs and should not force America’s ideals on other nations.

The many Americans that believed Hoover was at fault for the crisis, then began to look at Roosevelt for some sort of solution. One reason Roosevelt was so popular was because he was, unlike Hoover, very much in favor of Federal appropriation. One very important quote from Roosevelt was “Repeated attempts at their solution without the aid of government had left us baffled and bewildered… We knew that we must find practical controls over blind economic forces and blindly selfish men”(Hanes and Hanes 58). This quote is important because it is saying that Hoover 's attempts at trying to fix the crisis without Federal appropriation wasn’t working. It says that there are too many selfish people that would not help out other Americans.

Manifest Destiny, a policy that encouraged americans to spread from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans. There were two perspectives of Manifest Destiny which was either seen as an opportunity to becoming greater or a white man’s greed. Americans were quite fond of themselves, they believed that it was their “destiny” to spread their nation across the globe, that this policy will benefit both sides. Natives were forced to follow under America’s authority. Without full consent they were removed from their homelands to only fulfill selfish idea made from greed.

Today we are making more than we can use... Therefore we must find new markets for our produce, new occupation for our capital, new work for our labor. As our commerce spreads, the flag of liberty will circle the globe and the highway of the ocean - carrying trade to all mankind - will be guarded by the guns of the republic. Many Americans feel it was not only our responsibility and duty but it was also a mandate by God. Mark: if the United States stayed in the Philippines, One would be that Americans would corrupt themselves because of the brutal way in which they had to fight this war that was an immoral war and Americans shouldn't be involved in it.

Individual racism is a practice that reinforces inferiorization based on the beliefs, attitude, and actions of individuals. Cultural racism is the belief of superiority of cultural heritage and exists when there is a widespread acceptance of stereotypes concerning different ethnic or racial groups. As Malcolm progressed from bystander

Why and to what extent was the U.S. an imperialist power at the beginning of the 20th century? The 19th century was commonly known as the ‘Age of Imperialism’, during this time period the United States and a number of other major world powers began rapidly expanding their territory and influence, throughout the world. Many Americans supported the concept of imperialism due to the economic, military, and political influence that came with the annexation of fertile territories. Although this ideology seemed to benefit thriving imperialist powers such as Britain and France, the United States was only an imperialist power to the extent that they extended the U.S. power, but were an empire unsuccessful in controlling the nations under their rule.

97). By using words such as ‘nobler’ and ‘mighty people,’ it shows the superiority Beveridge and other imperialists feel over other countries. Critics of this document would be those against the annexation of the Philippines. These would be people that believe the ideals that America was built on would be lost, and it was not their duty to intervene with another country’s right to self-government. Another possible reason that one might be against the annexation was the fear of changing the economy for worse.

A lot of these effects were based on the US economy and the high amount of money that the US had to spent to annex the Philippines. This was not a smart investment. In William Jennings Bryan 's speech “Paralyzing Influence of Imperialism”, he mentions that “We dare not educate them [Filipinos] lest they learn to read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States and mock us for our inconsistency.” (Doc D). Bryan was running candidate for the president of the United States. Bryan was an anti-imperialist who believed that annexing the Philippines and educating them was very hypocritical because Great Britain had to broken away by only one colony, which was the United States.

While, imperialistic dynasties in Europe struggled to hold on to their waning empires across the globe due to the rise of ideas like nationalism. America was still able to participate in this same imperial structure, and expand its borders, but also look to other social and political movements for legitimacy . The United States made sure there was a difference between its god given right of expansion versus european imperialism. “The distinction they drew between their own “empire of liberty” and contemporary weren’t always concrete.” This quote further exemplifies that the true identity behind Manifest Destiny as Americanized imperialism. Just like its European counterpart, American imperialism took a huge toll on the inhabitants in the West.

One of the major effects that over extended the powers of American foreign policy is that it gave the US a reason to interfere with any war they wanted as long as it involved communism. Therefore, this policy can be easily abused as it can serve for a way to allow the US obtain its national interest, rather than just fighting for democracy. This was a major factor in the Korean War since the South Korean government that stated they were democratic, were actually controlled by a dictator. American policy became highly criticized because it implied that the US only used the policy of containment to satisfy its own

Imperialism is the term used when a country expands its current power and influence through diplomacy or military force throughout other lands and countries that are weaker than their own. Some motives of imperialism is, economic reasons, like industries need resources, and customers to sell to. Another reason would be military factors, and nationalism. Imperialism in the US hasn 't been a failure. The goal was to increase the country 's influence, territory, power, and belief.

Gail Bederman from the university of Notre Dame claims that Theodore Roosevelt, who was the greatest supporter of the attack on Spain and Philippines, had it engineered by both race and gender. These two concepts made him perceive imperialism as being the next stage of growth in a healthy republic. To him, expansion and domination were necessary if America was to civilize the world. For people like Theodore Roosevelt, as the United States advanced, the democratic vision was also progressing (Bederman, 1996). Theodore Roosevelt, just elected to office in 1882, felt that he was very important and had many ambitions.