Examples Of Expansion Dbq

Jessica Ho
20 October 2017
Expansion DBQ Feedback
Introduction:
For my thesis, my main problem was relating continuation and departure to similarities and differences. I think the best way to fix my thesis would be to change “similar” to “continuation” and “difference” into “departure” since I can argue the continuation and departure in my body paragraphs.
First Body Paragraph:
My usage of Document 1 is flawed in that it does not directly correlate to the White Man’s Burden. The document talks about how the Anglo-Saxons are the superior race compared to all the other races. I also forgot to address that it is one person’s idea/opinion. Given that the document was written for the American Home Missionary Society, can lead to the conclusion

I want to change my argument because the document supports the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Social Darwinism. With this in mind, I can analyze the document by noting key words and clues to point to these ideas. The mention of Christianity can support Manifest Destiny while the reference at the end of the document of “survival of the fittest” supports Social Darwinism. I can reference that Manifest Destiny was used as justification to expand westward into North America because it was their duty. These were two ideas to justify the expansion of America. This is continued in the turn of the century as people began to justify expansion using America’s rising power because of Manifest Destiny and and Social Darwinism as a reason. At this point I can use document 4, in which Beveridge mentions religion and how America was God’s “chosen people”, who could lead the world. This is Manifest Destiny because he says how it was God’s mission and America’s duty to expand. Also, it can be related to Social Darwinism because it is a competition among races, even though Beveridge makes it clear that America is the “fittest” and most successful. Taking into

In Document 6, it shows a towering Uncle Sam holding a key to China under a literal open door. This represents America being successful in trading with China (presumably because of the territorial gains of the Philippines), and being able to block other countries from trading with China. I should include this in my DBQ next time. Also, I can relate this to the Open Door Note, which was America’s way of trying to make sure no other country could dominate trade in China. This ties back into my argument of a political continuation because it supports America’s constant motivation to prevent other nations from dominating a region.
Third Body Paragraph:
I did not explain why I accepted the league’s position, as their opinion is not a fact. I can support their position with facts about the war, such as the killing of many Filipino civilians and the denial of independence to the Philippines. I can also use this document to argue it was a departure from previous territorial gains because of the creation of this league. The league's creation implies that something changed since the past, which they cites as a new “[destruction] of our institutions”.
The Supreme Court ruling was not against using the Constitution to be applied to unincorporated territories, but rather that the United States could decide whether the Constitution would be applied to the territories. I should fix that