Spanish American Imperialism Dbq

McKinley might not have been able to make it through his second term before his untimely death but during his time in office he still made decisions that had a long term effect on our nation 's’ economy, foreign policy, and presidency itself. During McKinley’s first campaign the decision to keep the gold standard of backing our nation 's currency was a big deal. However, this only lasted until 1933 when our country switched to a fiat money system where the dollars value isn’t linked to an asset. According to a Mental Floss article “Most economists now agree 90 percent of the reason why the U.S. got out of the Great Depression was the break with gold,”. Therefore, it is arguable that McKinley’s decision to keep the gold standard ended up

In the 20th century, many people have helped the US, of where it is now, and some have made it worse. The Monroe Doctrine was to prevent European countries to intervene conflicts between Latin American countries. The Roosevelt Corollary was an addition to the Monroe Doctrine, created by President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt added this addition in 1904 after the Venezuela crisis.

The end of the 1800s marked a turning point in the United States’ engagement on an international level. The United States, a nation previously known to follow the isolationist ideas of George Washington, now started to expand both militarily, and economically. As a result of this expansion came new ideas, and political decisions to be made. A nation previously centered upon self-preservation now turned to the international sphere for the resources to support its exponential population growth. With this change in foreign policy came new challenges, most namely, how the US would address human rights and civil violations across the globe.

The social reaction to expansionism continued throughout both movements because the opposing sides of each argument disagreed on completely different topics. Many during the time of Imperialism believed America was destined to expand due to the believed superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race (Doc 1), and was justified in expanding due to the fact that America would spread democracy and that they were required to expand because it was the “White Man’s Burden” (Doc 1-POV). This is also true for Manifest Destiny, which was built on the idea that God ordained the western hemisphere for Americans.

Imperialism established a framework for the conduct of international relations throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries all throughout Europe and then to America. As the Europeans were experience a massive growth in population, it brought the growth of nationwide economies, including the development in shipbuilding and navigation, so that they could compete more effectively in the mercantile trade, which was gaining momentum during the earliest 19th century. As we discussed in class, that the rebirth of commerce also gave a powerful impulse to the forces of centralization and nationalism, it also builds an authoritative new monarchic nations. These monarchic leaders tried to unite their claims by using power, thus encouraging and promoting the economic development of their nations. European nations involved in the trading system with the wealthy nations of Asia, Africa and the New World, wanted better and more effective routes of transportations.

During the Gilead Age, the rich ruled over the poor and robber barons, 1% of the population, had too much power over the common people, workers, and over politics. Imperialism also happened during this time. Imperialism is when a country takes over another country or territory that has not already been claimed by another country. Most European Countries took over smaller and/or weaker countries in Asia and Africa. Countries did this to be seen as a world power.

The Spanish American war was a product of Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis and the urbanization of America. In 1895, a rebellion broke out in Cuba, as Cuban patriots wanted independences from Spain. Through the yellow journalism, reports of Spain’s cruel military tactics lead to a public uproar in the U.S. However, most of these stories were exaggerated as a form to promote war. After an American battleship, the USS Maine, was destroyed, America was “forced” to start war and stop Spanish occupation.

Causes of Imperialism The acceleration of Imperialism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that greatly impacted the world, is due to multiple economic, political, and social forces. Imperialism, a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force, was becoming drastically more and more important for European and Asian countries. Ultimately, the advancements during the Industrial Revolution made Imperialism easier, and on a very large scale for many European countries. Although there were many factors that contributed to Imperialism by ways of economic, political, and social forces, some proved to be more significant and influential than others.

Prior, to the emergence of America entering World War I the era of Industrialization had finished and continuous conflicts between the ideals of the United States remaining in isolation were brought amongst by President Woodrow Wilson. However, this idea of Isolationism was challenged by the idea of expanding the nation 's borders, also known as Imperialism these two ideas conflicted greatly with each other. Towards the early 1900’s President Wilson was in office when Germany sank The Lusitania in which the United States had a decision to make by choosing to go into the war, around this time film was making an introduction into the world whether it being in the newly built film palaces or somewhere else. When the United States had announced

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.