Reasons For American Imperialism In The Early 20th Century

Rooted in American exceptionalism, the idea that the United States is different from other countries due to its mission to spread liberty and democracy, America acquired territories like the Philippines. Many Americans accepted the ideology of the white man’s burden; an important factor in the decision to rule, rather than liberate the Philippines after the country was taken from Spain after the Spanish-American War. One of America’s notable examples of American imperialism was the annexation of Hawaii in 1898 which became a state later in 1959. Imperialism greatly effected many nations throughout the late 1800s and 1900s. As countries fought for more power and influence, it became one of the main reasons for WWI in the early 1900s.

As America entered the Gilded Age, its urban population grew, nativists resisted minorities, government corruption was rampant, and immigrant populations increased substantially (Shi and Tindall 626-644). Government corruption was exemplified by the patronage system, under which loyal supporters of politicians were given government jobs (Shi and Tindall 641). Most of the immigrants from this period were from southern and eastern European countries, such as Russia, Poland, Greece, and Italy, and were judged as inferior by many Americans because of their cultural differences (Shi and Tindall 630). Immigrants also caused tension during WWI because of their lingering loyalties to nations on either side of the conflict (Chapter 21 Overview).

Imperialism was a controversial idea that a nation can extend its power outward through means of diplomatic or military force. This often results in a shift of power from one major force currently in control to another. The people of that nation under control conflict may also experience wars, rebellions, or cultural destruction. Looking at some of these events, we see some positives and negatives of imperialistic action taken by the United States, and how it affected the nations imperialized by the United States. For starters, let’s look at Hawaii’s annexation.

One reason why imperialism can't be justified is that when America started the practice of imperialism, it betrayed the principles of the country. Some of these principles of America include;

The economic interest for America was to support the industrial boom of the 1800s the U.S. needed. The United States had limited raw resources and to make more money for new markets. The only way was industries nations by taking non-industrialized nations to use their raw materials and expand markets. America wanted to annex the Philippines

The reason there was an argument for the imperial expansion on the plus side the US got more resources and is able to make more goods that can be traded with other countries. The US would also become bigger with the imperial expansion. The bad side that some people saw was the US was getting to big

For the Americans, imperializing China was a way to keep European countries from colonizing it and gaining too much power. For the Europeans, it was a great economic investment. But from the Chinese point of view, the foreigners were evil and out to destroy their ancient culture. European imperialism has had a long standing impact on Chinese society today, being both good and bad. Before imperialism, life in China was simple and self-sufficient.

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.

And lastly the desire for a new frontier to settle in order to maintain America’s identity and prosperity. All three of the examples: economically, politically/military, and culturally can simply explain why and how America became an imperialist nation in the late

Why Imperialism Was Not Justified Many Americans and Europeans believe that there was many good reasons for imperialism. These people think this because they were the ones that benefited from it. In imperialism, the stronger countries took over the weaker countries and used them for their resources which improved their economy. Most also claim that they helped the countries they were imperializing, but the Europeans were actually hurting them. This led to the natives rebelling which arguably led to World War 1 later on.

The United States and Japan were also imperialist powers; however, neither was involved in colonizing Africa. Economical, political, and social causes were the roots of imperialism. Economical causes included materials and markets. Materials were a cause as countries wanted to depend on themselves for raw materials.

Colonialism and Imperialism affected our world both positively and negatively. On one hand, Imperialism has often been linked with racial segregation, manipulation, and hardship. On the other, it has been said that many colonial powers contributed much in terms of schools, roads, railways, and much more. Whether this time period was constructive or harmful, it has played a large part in shaping our lives today. European Imperialism started long before the 1800’s.

Imperialism has been the strongest force this past century; Enslaving natives, while obliterating civilizations. Imperialism is when a country or civilization swallows another country for its land, labor, and raw materials with influence or military force. Imperialism was both, good and bad. Imperialism was a good thing because it expanded existing civilizations, and allowed people to be more civilized under a large military force. Imperialism was a bad thing because people in charge would become too power hungry and try to gain more of everything disregarding the people who are suppose to be civilized.

Since the early 19th century, many Americans believed that America had an obligation to expand westward and by the end of 19th century, America became an imperialist nation due to her belief in manifest destiny. Imperialism is simply defined as the policy by which a nation dominates another country or nation in order to gain their land and natural resources. America wanted to imperialist for various reason, but the three main factor was due to economical competition among industrial nations such as Europe, political and military power competition including the formation of a naval force which was proposed by Alfred Mahan and Social Darwinism which was to civilize the “inferior races” spreading technology and Christianity. In addition, the United

Overall, imperialism causes a copious number of issues in society that took place in the past and still take place in today 's world. To start with, a few major causes of imperialism are economics, exploration, ethnocentrism, politics, and religion. Economics prompted imperialism due to countries pursuing benefits to improve their economies. Economic benefits mean having control of markets, raw material, and natural resources. Ethnocentrism was a cause of imperialism since its the belief that one race or nation’s values or beliefs were superior to those around them.