Essay On American Imperialism In The Late 19th Century

Manila had no purpose besides in the matter of trade to obtain silver and silk. China was an attraction of silver globally for over a

Separate countries trade with each other without having to be annexed in another country, so the US took away the Philippines independence and they did not truly profit. In the end, Annexing the Philippines to profit from trade was

The Monroe Doctrine and the ideology of Manifest Destiny played a significant role in the U.S. policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean in the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century through Imperialism. The Monroe Doctrine and the Manifest Destiny was the byproduct of the Imperialistic system. Imperialism aimed to control over a territory, population, and resources to gain economic benefits and to gain political strength through military tactics. The Monroe doctrine and the Manifest Destiny was an oxymoron with American democratic values. The Monroe doctrine and the Manifest Destiny greatly influenced the outcome of the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War and the Panama Canal with the backing of American corporations.

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. Many different alliance were made if another country would attack another other countries would help with the fight. This would keep peace till the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.

William McKinley in his thoughts on American Expansionism has identified the reasons why America had no other choice but to incorporate Philippines as a part of it. This writing has been lifted from the excerpts of an interview with William McKinley soon after Spain had surrendered in the Spanish-American war. McKinley cleverly talks in this interview about how Philippines just came and fell into the laps of America thereby suggesting the helpless stance of America. He talks about how America’s sole intention and purpose had only been to safeguard its own interests as a country. He had to order that the Spanish fleets in Manila be destroyed because if left unattended, they would have crossed the Pacific and wreaked havoc in the American states

The US did not not have solid reasons to do so besides their own greed, so the US hid behind the idea of Manifest Destiny and tried to justify their actions. John O’Sullivan was the New York City journalist who coined the term Manifest Destiny. He said, “Imbecile and distracted, Mexico never can exert any real government authority over such a country…’’ (O’Sullivan, 8). O’Sullivan and the US suggested that Mexico “needed” the US to come and take over, because otherwise Mexico was going to fall apart. Although this was somewhat true, the US did not try to help Mexico through this difficult time; instead, the US took advantage of Mexico’s weakness and tried to take over completely.

After the war, America was awarded with the philippines, not sure with what to do with them, they looked at the reasons for imperialism, and expanding their own nation. In regard to expanding, The United States, bought Alaska from russia for 7.2 million dollars. And sugar farmers in Hawaii, overthrew the queen, and annexed to the United States. With the philippines, there were 3 main ways to do diplomacy. 3 different presidents each had their own way of dealing with the issues.

In 1899, the United States annexed the Philippines after a short but bloody war with Spain. These rich, plentiful islands full of resources were in great demand. The U.S. saw the Philippines; fighting against Spain so like them when they were rebelling, and decided to step in and aid ‘the spirit of 1776’ (Doc. A). However, the question still remains: should the United States have annexed the Philippines?

One reason was the fact that the United States began an embargo on Japan, ending the trade of Japanese weapons. This limited Japan from obtaining more resources in their expansion. Another reason was that Japan needed oil to help keep expanding and raise their economy. The U.S. Navy was in their way, by controlling the Philippines, which is why they thought they needed to get rid of them. Lastly, both Japan and the U.S. did not agree on each other’s ways of running government.

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

Sandalwood from Hawaii could then be sold to China and all of the profit would go to America, therefore increasing its economy. Hawaii also had sugar to offer. The sugar industry was big and brought in a lot of money, America saw this as an opportunity to obviously increase the economy. Of course,

They saw it as the “perfect stepping-stones” trade with China and the rest of Asia. American business men felt it was necessary for the government to show some authority and capitalize on this opportunity. American saw Manila as their

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. European Imperialism started long before the 1800’s.

The Philippines were in-between Japan and their potential oil supply,(DOC B). A possible and smart tactic for Japan would to attack Pearl Harbor and while the fleet is weak, take over the Philippines. Once Japan had acquired the Philippines they would have a base to take over many nations that have large oil amounts. A major factor as to why Pearl Harbor was attacked was that the Americans were cutting Japan off from their oil supply. Japan, as an island nation, had very few natural resources and were very dependant on the American oil.

The United States should not have annexed the Philippines right after the Spanish american war. Right after we get out of a war we have another the Philippine- American war. United States assumed almost the same role that Spain had played, imposing its authority on a colony that was fighting for freedom. United states forced Filipinos to live in designated zones, where poor sanitation, starvation, and disease killed thousands. This was the same practice that Americans shamed Spain for using in Cuba.