Expansion has long been a part of American history. From the Louisiana Purchase to the addition of Alaska and Hawaii, expansion has played a large role in the development of our country. However, with expansion playing the role it has in our nation’s history, imperialism was bound to make an appearance at some point. Imperialism is when a nation uses inhibited territory it has acquired to extend its power. It was prominent in the late 1800s and the early 1900s.
By 1607, the British colonized Jamestown, the first successful English settlement in North America. However, the British were so far away from North America. Because of how far they were from North America, they became less strict with their trade regulations with its colonists and ignored whatever the colonists did for the most part. This British policy is salutary neglect and because of it, the colonists were able to create their own governments, create a capitalist economy, and have more religious freedom. These vital principles that are rooted in American society, were uniquely developed by the British colonies to some extent by 1754.
Latin America, in the late 19th century, was a time for the flourishment of independent nation states and a new social and political view for the people that fought for independence. The structure of the colonies, in the colonial period, were established by a system based on race which influenced many aspects of life in Latin America and in the years to come. The Spanish and Portuguese set up administrative systems, such as the cabildos, viceroyalties, and audiencias in colonial Latin America, in order to manage local municipal governing and maintain rule by the crown. In order to extract resources from the colonies, the Iberian crowns set up a cascade system through which laws passed from the crown to be implemented by the cabildos.
Between the 1870s and the 1920s, imperialism increased because of economic, social, and political forces. Economically, many groups were interested in colonizing other countries because of their natural resources. Socially, they wanted to make themselves the highest and they wanted to look the best. Politically, they wanted to make more income and be the richest country. Two groups in particular were the most interested in imperialism.
Throughout the 1930’s, America started slipping from its go to foreign policy: isolationism. America had always favored being isolationists up until the late 1930’s. They stayed out of European conflicts at all costs, and they quickly returned to isolationism after World War I. In 1933, new President Franklin Roosevelt took over the White House and continued this isolationism policy. During this time Americans were focused on fixing the economy, and so was Roosevelt.
The Hudson Bay Company is a Canadian company that is one of the oldest in the world. Their initials HBC, are jokingly said to mean Here before Christ. The company was the major reason for growth in Canada. King Charles 11 of England is the reason the company was established in 1670, he granted the company a fur trade monopoly even though the land did not belong to him or his country. The success of HBC in the early years is due to the First Nations people, the Native American Indians that lived in the area.
Today's society can’t even come closely to the heartache, torment, anguish, and complete misery suffered in slavery. Slaves endured this change their entire lives in mental condition as well as physical, there is no joy being there children and families, who were torn away from them and sold, never to be seen or heard from again. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl uses brief detail and clear language tone, to briefly describe what it is life to live like a slave. In the book, “Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl”, Linda Brent tell us experienced of her life in past twenty years in slavery with her master Dr. Flint, and her jealous Mistress.
Slavery was a deeply embedded part of the American South and its economy, both socially and politically. For many years, most historians argued that the American South was not operating under a system of capitalism, and they believed that the South’s use of slavery in terms of unpaid wages was not that of capitalism due to Marxist thought. But a group of economic historians dubbed the “cliometricians” (Lyons, John S., Louis P. Cain, and Samuel H. Williamson, eds. Reflections on the Cliometrics Revolution: Conversations with Economic Historians. Routledge, 2013.) used an economic analysis to argue that slavery was indeed capitalistic.
After the Civil War, the second Industrial Revolution swept the US and the country began to flourish. Baring the economic prosperity, many Americans grew the urge to expand overseas. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, foreign policy was the hot topic among citizens and government officials. There were two sides to the argument; some Americans pushed for the aggressive foreign policy while others favored for the US to keep their nose out of foreign affairs. Notable figures in government took bold stands for and against foreign affairs.
Canadian Whiskey is the prized, pride of Canada and renowned around the world. Canadian dignitaries and citizens alike, gift bottles of the golden brew when they are wanting to make an impression to international parties. The well-known and finely crafted liquor symbolizes a timely process and centuries of perfection. The often forgotten symbol of Canadian Whiskey’s heritage is the original trade brew that the First Nations called ‘firewater’. A whiskey that is said to be the demise of the First Nation communities in the 1800’s and even today.
Economic Change in America Change is relevant within every time period, however, very substantial changes took place in the Americas following the War of 1812. Future success of the American society was to be dictated by the support the federal government supplied to domestic manufacturing and infrastructure to make drastic improvements economically. The imposition of high tariffs, advancements in transportation and the development of the cotton gin are among the most important changes made in the United States during this time.