Introduction
The US has always had considerable influence on other countries in terms of culture, economy, and technology. The extent of the influence of America on other nations is evidenced by American Imperialism, which usually goes hand in hand with the expansion of global power in other territories. American imperialism refers to the economic, political, and cultural influence of the US on other countries. Imperialism and colonization did not stop after nations gained independence. American Imperialism has existed for some time and continues to exist today. This had numerous positive and negative outcomes in the US and other countries.
Justification of the American Expansion Abroad
Economic, political, and cultural factors contributed to a push of the United States to extend their global power. The United States wanted to expand its power into new territories to give it new markets in which to sell goods and buy raw materials. The anti-imperialists opposed imperialism because they believed it violated the credo of republicanism and the “consent of the governed.” During the second half of the nineteenth century, the US pursued an aggressive policy of expansions. The chief reason for doing this is to expand its political and economic influence abroad.
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Americans faced many challenges during the second half of the 19 th century, but all they wanted was economic, political, cultural, geographic growth. Therefore, I believe that American expansion abroad is justified. Given that it improved the economy of the nation, the expansion part was good. The expansion of the United States abroad was justified because the nation was also able to spread its democratic values across the globe.
Economic Situation of the US in the 1890s
During the last quarter of the 19 th century, the US economy grew tremendously. However, the nation’s fabulous wealth only enriched a few thousand captains. The conditions of the ordinary citizens were deteriorating, and the majority of them were unemployed by 1893. “One of every six American workers was employed, and many of the rest lived on subsistence wages” (Kinzer, 2006). In the 1890s, the fall in agricultural prices killed the agricultural industry, especially of small farmers. This resulted in strikes and labor riots. In 1894, Walter Gresham, the secretary of the state, stated that the “symptoms of the revolution” were spreading across the nation (Kinzer, 2006). This made the US government sought to expand their global power to other nations to find new markets. As a result, the US embarked on expanding its global power into new territories and access new markets.
American Imperialism
The US was composed of small colonies to the eastern side. The US also existed as part of the British Empire for almost two centuries. To become the world’s dominant power, they expanded and exploited across North America. This made the US engage in conflict to become an empire. One notable conflict is the Spanish-American War. The rebel of Cuban against the Spanish initiated this war. At the time, Spain was in control of the Island (Kinzer, 2006). To control the rebels, the Spanish forced the Cubans into concentration, where thousands died of diseases and poor sanitation (Kinzer, 2006). To protect the American citizens oppressed in Cuba, the US sent the warship USS Maine into Havana harbor. The vessel exploded nine days after its arrival and killed 260 American sailors. The Americans believed that the Spanish sabotage destroyed the ship though it was due to malfunction. This made the US declare war against Spain in 1898. The US passed the Teller Amendment where they vowed to help the Cuban people from the oppression (Kinzer, 2006). However, they stated that they would not annex the Island after the victory.
In six weeks, US forces defeated the Spanish and took control of Cuba and the Philippines (Kinzer, 2006). On 12 th July 1898, Spain signed an armistice. As a result, the US secured the Position as Pacific power after ending Spain’s colonial power in the Western Hemisphere in 1898. The war enabled the US to become an empire.
Motives of American Imperialism
Four factors motivated American Imperialism: Economic, political, geographic, and cultural (Cleary, N.d). All these factors are discussed below.
Economic Factors
This is one of the main factors that made the United to expand globally. The US had desired to find new markets for trade. By extending its global power, the United States would have new trading partners and markets. Through this, the US would be able to obtain raw materials and sell their goods to these countries. Additionally, it also made the US closer to new markets; the US opened up trade with East Asia when it extended its powers in the Philippines. This improved the economy of the country significantly as they were able to control the market.
Political Factors
Politically, American imperialism was used to spread nationalism/patriotism. The US wanted to maintain colonies globally. From a military standpoint, it makessense for the US to have colonies in different regions. This will help the US launch their military operation in case there is a need. For instance, during WWII the US had a base in Guam which allowed US military operation to be launched against Japan.
Geographical Factors
Along with its European counterparts, the United States wanted to compete for land. At the Berlin Conference, the European carved Africa into pieces. As a result, they gained land and resources. This made the United States join in on land gain across the globe. The geographical factors tie in with the economic factors; with more land, the US was assured of expanding their trade and also getting resources.
Cultural Factors
Culturally, the United States wanted to extend their way of life and humanitarian globally. They also wanted to extend their influence throughout the world. The US wanted to be recognized as economically, politically, or culturally impoverished through helping out countries. The four factors discussed above are the main motives for American imperialism.
Mechanisms Used to Achieve Expansion
The three main mechanisms used by the US to gain global power are military conquest, political diplomacy, and missionary diplomacy. The US used military influence to expand its economy. This was marked by international conflicts to expand its power and open new markets. Additionally, the US sent missionaries to other countries to civilize developing countries. The missionaries achieved this by spreading the American culture, values, and ideas to those nations. This section will delve at discussing how the US used military conquest and political diplomacy to achieve expansion in Hawaii.
In 1849, through economic treaties, Hawaii became a protectorate of the US. Over time, the business in Hawaii wanted the King to limit voting rights to wealthy landowners. This made the Hawaii legislature be dominated by foreign influence since the majority of the businessmen were foreigners. In 1887, America used military to force the king sign a new constitution stripping the monarchy power of the Hawaii government.
Queen Lili’uokalani wanted to reinstate the veto power of monarchy after ascending to power (Rosenzweig, 2018). This made prominent American and European business people, led by Sanford B. Dole, to seize the power of the Queen and had her imprisoned. Additionally, they wanted Hawaii annexed to the United States (Kinzer, 2006). Hawaii became a protectorate of the US and was made an American Territory in 1897.
Outcomes of American Imperialism
Positive Outcomes
American imperialism paved the way for global modernization. With the help of the US, other nations have developed faster. American imperialism has also helped develop global defense support. The US has established military bases in numerous countries to help give the world some of the defensive support. The US does this by offering training, support and providing equipment and other resources. American imperialism has also brought about industrialization. It has led to the advancement of infrastructure and machinery, helping colonized nations develop (Rajeev, N.d). Through the efficient utilization of resources, economies have been improved. It has also led to a significant increase in competition between the local and the international market.
American imperialism has led to a myriad of technological advancement in several areas, including educational institutions, roads, infrastructure, transportation, and more (Rajeev, N.d). The main focus for American imperialism was innovation, and this has fuelled economic growth in the US and also around the world. As a result, there is development in new products and services in the US as well as other countries.
Negative Outcomes
American imperialism caused a political feud. There were discords among nations that co-existed before imperialism because there is no country that wants to be controlled by another country. American imperialism resulted in a gap of differentiation between nations. It resulted in a foul play and then got worse while imperialism continued (Rajeev, N.d). It also led to discrimination as there were some nations which were forced to adapt to foreign ideas and thoughts despite their protests. Though the exchange of cultures is a good thing, it should not be forced. What is worse is that the US shipped and used people from colonies, especially in Africa, without them agreeing or knowing (Rajeev, N.d). American imperialism caused the exploitation and punishment of the citizens of the colonies for not accepting the beliefs of their superpowers (Rajeev, N.d). Aside from that, the US also exploited wealth as well as the natural resources of these colonies as well. Lastly, given that American imperialism is still present in numerous places around the world with military bases, it will require the US government a considerable amount of money to support the military operations in their defensive forces.
Conclusion
The United States is so powerful due to its size, military might, its economic lead, technological lead, and its global systems of alliances and bases. This is a result of its imperialism. American imperialism contributed to the wealth, culture and economy of the nation and also encouraged political culture and innovation. The US used military conquest and political diplomacy to achieve this. The positive outcomes of American imperialism outweigh the negative outcomes. Therefore, I believe that American expansion abroad is justified.
References
Cleary, V. (N.d). Motives for Imperialism. [Online]. Available at: http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/modernworldhistorytextbook/imperialism/section_2/motives.html . Accessed 29 th March 2019.
Kinzer, S. (2006). Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq. [Online]. New York: New York. Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Rajeev, L. Pros and Cons of Imperialism. [Online]. Available at: https://www.humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01001414/Centricity/ModuleInstance/19211/Pros_and_Cons_of_Imperialism.doc . Accessed 29 th March 2019.
Rosenzweig, R. (2018). What Happened to the Royal Family of Hawaii after the U.S. Took Over? [Online]. Available at: https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/20348 . Accessed 29 th March 2019.
