However, there were people who were against American Imperialism. Some believed that by expanding into islands, they were opening the door to people whom they viewed as lower in race and culture. America, at the time, had many who believed that Americans were superior in race and culture. There were other issues at hand during this time -- tensions between other world powers, an volatile economy -- and some believed that by focusing on expansion, the nation was not facing the real problems that needed to be dealt with right at home.
Anti-imperialist raged about what America was doing when America should be at home tending to the needs of its citizens. There were defenders of American Imperialism who would not have it, however. They saw America as the greatest nation in the world and in order to keep that position, they needed to go out and conquer all the weaker countries (sort of a "Survival of the Fittest" attitude). By seeing themselves as superior in race, some became worried about what would happen when Americans came in contact with other substandard races. Some became fearful of interracial propagation and the weakening of American race and culture because of it. Many Americans at the time believed fiercely in white supremacy, seeing themselves as the species at the top of all other species. Some Americans actually believed that God had given America a very special place in the world (Davidson et al. 2008) and thus came the term "Manifest Destiny."
The American Anti-Imperialist League was founded in the United States in the summer of 1898 to battle the American annexation of the Philippines (Halsell 1997). The anti-imperialist disagreed wholly with this expansion because they thought that imperialism went against the philosophy of republicanism. It was not because they that expansion was bad; when it came to commercial, religious or other humanitarian grounds, they actually believed that expansion was good. What they did believe was that annexation of backward tropical locations would mean...
American Imperialism (APA Citation) American Imperialism in the Late 19th Century There were two main reasons for American overseas expansion in the late 19th century: economic and nationalistic reasons. As America entered the industrial revolution, it wanted to expand commercially, this meant overseas materials and markets. Alfred T. Mahan explained this concept in his 1890 book The Influence of Sea Power upon History, and argued that modern industrial nations need foreign markets
Anti-Imperialist League, formed in 1899 by prominent citizens such as Andrew Carnegie and William James, held the belief that American Imperialism went against the spirit of those that fought the Revolutionary War and participated in the creation of the Declaration of Independence (Halsall, 1997). Specifically, they asserted that the American government's actions in places such as Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico represented a hostile attitude toward liberty and
What were the primary motivations and factors that led to the U.S. shift from isolationism and continental expansion to imperialism by the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Introduction America’s so-called “shift” from isolationism and continental expansion to imperialism by the late 19th and early 20th centuries was really nothing more than a natural evolution of America’s “Manifest Destiny.” Before the US could enter its imperial phase beginning with the Spanish-American War
960). Just as American Imperialists exerted violent pressure to keep control of the islands they wished to inhabit, exploit and control for their own self-interest, the Japanese Imperialists exercised an equal and "undeniable harshness" in its reign over Korea (Schmid, p. 960). But the killing of persons was not the only way to exert power. There was also the killing of a sense of nationalistic pride. Nationalism, it should be
However, to do so would be to engage in a horrible revisionist version of history. The development of modern America was based on the concept of manifest destiny and would not have occurred without the systemic deprivation of the rights of indigenous people. Attacking Native Americans, killing off tribes, killing off of buffalo for sport and thus depriving tribes of their food sources, and forcing Native Americans into reservations
The rise of Progressivism during this era also influenced domestic policy. The threat of Big Business loomed large and Big Government was perceived to be a perfect solution to keep business interests in check (Johnson 634, 636-637). Industrialization created an enormous working class in the United States, generally impoverished and localized in urban centers. Urban Progressives influenced domestic policy and helped enact new laws and regulations designed to protect the
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