The Birth of American Imperialism

Introduction 

Over the years, the United States has been seeking to expand its territory and its market base by engaging in military war with other nations. The regime change is not something that the United States started recently, but it has been part of the US foreign policy for over a century. Through its engagement in wars with countries such as Cuba, Iraq, Philippines, and Chile, United States has never hesitated to overthrow the governments that seem to stand in its way of either political or economic goals. Throughout the history of America, it has always used its military to engage in wars with such countries ( Foner, 2017, p 634). Through the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and many other expansionism strategies, the United States has always stood out to overthrow any government that seems to stand against its policies. Controversy has however always been raised over the justification of American imperialism. The U.S. government has always pursued these operations in a way that has had disastrous long term effects on these countries at a time when the main reason for imperialism cannot be justified. 

Motives for Imperialism 

The United States of America had several motives while expanding to other territories. Some of the motives of the imperialism were the political, economic and exploratory motives. The United States had always had the desire to gain power and to show the rest of the world of its military strengths and to gain pride for winning colonies ( Foner, 2017, p 646-57). America has always wanted to remain the superpower and thus by imperialism, it can show the rest of the world of its power and strength. On the economic motives, the desire for the United States has always been to expand its market and control foreign trade. It also aims at creating new markets for its products, obtain raw materials and to compete for investment and resources ( Foner, 2017, p 658-69). After the industrial revolution, the trade thrilled between the industrialized nations and the United States wanted to have control over the trade territories. 

At the same time, the United States wanted to explore the territories that were unknown to them so that they could understand more about it. The focus was to identify any new business opportunities and to seek ways to explore the available natural resources. Despite these motives, the justification for the American foreign policies that led to the expansion and removal of many governments remain in question ( Foner, 2017, p 715-23). 

Justification of Imperialism 

Imperialism can never by any means be justified because it involves one country intervening in the affairs of another country. Imperialism means aspiring the economic and political motives of another country. While gains have always driven America's race for imperialism, there are instances where the country joined the wars that it had no reason to join in the first place ( Foner, 2017, p 739-51). While it can be viewed as a political motivation aimed at expanding the territory, the justification for invading the territory of another nation to show the strength of the military can never be justified given the seriousness of the consequences that results from it. With the overthrow of the Hawaii monarchy in 1893 to the latest invasion of Iraq in 2003, America usually pursues such dangerous foreign policies, and the outcomes are always disastrous, affecting the lives of the innocent citizens the next many years ( Foner, 2017, p 740-51) . Based on such dangerous outcomes, there can never be a justification for imperialism, and even though the US has gained territories and other benefits, the means through which such gains have been acquired are unjustifiable. 

The outcomes of imperialism have always been of benefits to the United States when they win the war. It is a sign of strength and power and a show of pride. America also acquired several territories through its global expansion and controlled more lands ( Foner, 2017, p 768-86). But despite this expansion, invading into the territory of another nation means interference with their political matters ( Foner, 2017, p 774-86). Also, even though it has acquired territories, the approach that is usually taken by the US while expanding its global power is a dangerous approach that has always led to bloodshed. Such means of expansion that only causes bloodshed cannot be justified for whatever motive the country has for its expansion. 

Negative consequences of Imperialism 

Imperialism had serious negative effects on the countries that the US exerted their authority. According to Foner (2017), one of such effects includes a bloody war that can result in loss of lives and destruction of properties. No country wants to be controlled by another, and they will always stand out to resist such attempts. Because America aimed at obtaining natural resources and other economic benefits, most governments revolted against such moves. An example of the serious effects of imperialism was the US expansion into the Philippines ( Foner, 2017, p 905-23). The key motives for US imperialism into the Philippines were for economic, political and ideological reasons. The US gained direct control of the Philippines which resulted from the Spanish-American war. The Filipino revolt against the American rule led to the war that killed more than one million Filipinos. Losing more than a million lives can have serious effects on the lives of the individuals ( Foner, 2017, p 905-36). 

The Philippines also suffered economically for the next decades as a result of the war and loss of lives of many people. Millions of young productive people lost their lives leading to lack of productive workforce. Foner (2017) believes that before the imperialism in the Philippines, the country was one of the richest nations in Asia. Instead, the Philippines became the poorest nation after American Imperialism. The Philippines is not the only nation that suffered as a result of the American imperialism, Cuba also underwent a lot of economic problems that took the government over a decade to transform back to a stable economy ( Foner, 2017, p 954-58). The invasion of Iraq in 2003 is also another area where the dangers of imperialism can be evident. Many lives were lost as a result of the war, and the outcome was a long term disastrous problems that took the country several years to correct. 

Foner (2017) believes that United States has been pursuing its imperialism missions without understanding the countries involved, and this led to many of these countries landing into long term consequences. New imperialism in Africa, which involved both America and European nations, also had serious effects on the economy and lives of Africans (( Foner, 2017, p 954-58). New imperialism marked the period of expansion by the Europeans and US in the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of the resources were taken from Africa and taken back to the United States, and this led to reduced economic growth. The imperialists mainly came due to the rich natural resources that were present in Africa as stated by Foner (2017). This led to Africans staying away from their cultural beliefs and adopting the western beliefs leading to internal conflicts. 

The United States keenness to overthrow any government that it felt was rebellious, and expansion into its territory led to the expansion of its powers to fourteen countries. The overthrow of the Hawaii government in 1893 had serious economic impacts on the country that took years before resolving ( Foner, 2017, p 955-58). Invasion to Vietnam, Iran, and Chile all had serious negative impacts on the lives of the citizens in these nations. Some of these countries still experience the negative impacts of American imperialism many years later. 

Positive effects of Imperialism 

While the American imperialism has had many negative effects on the nations and their population, it also had some positive impacts. Some of the impacts of this were the improvement in education, transportation, and other social amenities during the new imperialism in Africa ( Foner, 2017, p 819-58). As the US and Europe explored Africa, they come with new developments which promoted growth in the region. The US imperialism in the Philippines also had various benefits to the country despite the many negative effects. American government established public education, constructed roads, rails, and hospitals thus improving the lives of the citizens. At the end of their imperialism period in the Philippines, the US assisted the country to become independent. 

Imperialism also helped in the exchange of different traditions, customs and cultural ideologies. The exchange of cultures involved food, language, and religion thus promoting cultural diversity. At the same time, despite the long term negative effects of imperialism, it is worth noting that it brought significant changes in technology development, transportation, and education ( Foner, 2017, p 819-58). 

Conclusion 

The United States of America had long involved itself in the foreign policies of invading the territory and overthrowing any government it felt was against its political and economic goals. While the motives of the US in imperialism have been for economic and political reasons, it has sometimes engaged in wars that were considered unnecessary and that it had nothing to gain. While some of the expansion motives were beneficial, the approach taken by the country to attain these gains cannot be justified. Many lives have been lost due to imperialism and countries subjected to long term negative consequences ( Foner , 2017). During the wars, millions of people lose their lives, including innocent citizens. Such wars have also had serious economic problems on these nations, economic problems that have taken these nations decades to recover. As a result, American imperialism cannot be justified because it is sometimes unnecessary, and even if there are gains, the consequences it leaves to these countries are s serious than the benefits. 

Reference 

Foner, E. (2017).  Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fifth Edition  (Vol. 2): From 1865. WW Norton & Company.