An often glossed over and prettily wrapped part of history can be found when examining the colonial era. This was a time of imperial racing to see who could develop the most civilizations and obtain the most land worldwide. What is ignored though is the truth of what colonialism did to the nations and the reality of its impacts on the world as a whole. Colonialism is responsible for the unequal biases toward race, gender, social class, among and within nations. Further, colonialism set into motion exploitation of nations of the global south for the benefit of nations of the global north, and even upon decolonization, with the optimistic idea of independence, imperial powers set up a system to where the decolonized nations were still dependent on them and continued the abuse of the global south nations and their resources for the economic gain, and that system sticks with us to this day.
Following the end of the Industrialist Era and the emergence of countless technological advancements, the United States entered the world stage. The United States was attempting to create an empire by expanding to land outside of its own borders in order to benefit the country’s economic interests. Many citizens, whose views were greatly influenced by their understandings of national identity, saw this overseas expansion in conflicting ways. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, these groups differed in their opinions on the idea of expansion due to either their wanting to remain a democratic country built on the ideals of freedom and liberty to preserve their sense of national identity, or their wanting to expand for economic reasons and nationalism. Imperialism, which is the extension of a country’s power and influence through expansion, began as early as the 17th century, when Britain colonized the New World in order to expand economically and gain natural resources for manufacturing.
The westward expansion that occurred during Jackson’s presidency lead to a shift in America’s economical makeup from a mercantile/market economy to capitalism. This adjustment in the economy brought about the Market Revolution,
Westward expansion caused strains with international relations (Britain and Mexico) but strengthened Franco-American ties, introduced new economic threats and opportunities, highlighted the divide between the Northern and Southern states concerning slavery, and resulted in conflicts with native Americans and among Americans themselves (Civil War 1861). Following the Manifest Destiny, American citizens were determined to see the “land of the free” become a reality. Occasionally, pioneers had the opportunity to buy profitable land peacefully from Native Americans, resulting in political stability as it was cheap and was beneficial to the agricultural economy. Some long-term effects of the political changes led to America becoming a Great Power
Imperialism was a major cause of WW1 because Britain, Germany and France needed foreign markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the industrial Revolution (BBC, 2008). The three countries competed for economic expansion over the whole of Africa. This caused plenty of conflicts between France & Great Britain and between Germany on one side and France and Great Britain on the other side, almost precipitated a European war between the three nations. Sometimes colonies are acquired after a fully-fledged invasion or a fight against the local population. British control of South Africa was established after a series of campaigns and native tribes like the Zulus, followed by two magnificent wars with the Boers (farmers of Dutch extraction) (Quizlet, 2013).
From the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to the time of the Gadsden Purchase, westward expansion was a fuel to the issue of slavery extension to the West, causing sectionalism to increase between the North and South. Although westward expansion was one of the factors that accelerated sectionalism between the North and the South, other factors such as the imbalance between the states, the gag rule, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1850, the tariff of Abomination, popular sovereignty, and many more played their roles in the sectionalism between the North and the South. The more the United States grew and expanded westward, more factors appeared to hinder the growth of slavery, causing the South to threaten to secede from the Union due to their pro-slavery views. Westward expansion was one of the ideas that was thought to bring economic boost, and the very first westward expansion was the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was the very first westward expansion made in the United States under the presidency of President Thomas Jefferson.
Eric Foner places the Gilded Age as having lasted between 1870 and 1890 . The period was marked by rapid industrialization as the country sought to rebuild after the devastation of war. It was also characterized by various social, economic, and political changes as the state adjusted itself to fit the realities of the modern world. The Civil War had resulted in the abolition of slavery, and there was an influx of immigrants into the country who saw it as a chance to gain a better life . There were many divisions as to what direction the country was headed.
In a time when America was coming out of the bloodiest war that was ever fought, against themselves, The Civil War, and when America looked overseas for a new frontier with Imperialism. It is in this context that America started to grow westward with farm land and in industry with the million of workers, but America still felt growing pains. Two significant ways in which farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) were the formation of organizations to protect farmers, and the creation of labor unions and the use of strikes to protect the workers. One significant way in which farmers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865 - 1900) was the formation of organizations to protect farmers. During Westward Expansion farmers fell victims to the low pricing of the crops.
Ever since the Pilgrims and Europeans first landed in America, westward expansion has been a goal of the common people. All groups of people have wanted to move westward to spread religions, establish new colonies, and claim better and more valuable resources. This began primarily in 1845 when president James K. Polk proposed to Congress that we begin expanding westward and coined the term “Manifest Destiny.” After Polk’s proposal, people began to feel the urge to move westward and settle the land for the betterment of the United States. However, it was the actions of the U.S. military against the Native Americans in their western homelands and the establishment of the Homestead Act in 1862 that sparked the massive internal migration movements in the United States.
The north generally brought ideas of the industry while the south brought ideas of slaves and plantations. Both the north and south were very separate from each other, which caused tensions between them. Document 7 shows Americans expanding west, in the background, the north are bringing industries while in the front the south is bringing ideas of agriculture and slavery. This verifies that Manifest Destiny increased tensions between the north and south because the north brings different ideas in which the south disagrees with. If the south disagrees with the north and the north disagrees with the south then it stretches the north and south apart which is the definition of tension.