Essays on American Imperialism

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American Imperialism on The Internet

The Internet acts as a tool of communication, a disseminator of knowledge and a provider of services. It has proliferated almost every segment of society and is arguably the most powerful catalyst in the globalization process. There is a growing concern that the Internet will bring about or increase the presence of a “McWorld”. That […]

Pages: 3 Words: 888

An Argument Against American Imperialism

The decision of America to branch out and expand the country is a decision that has been highly debated over the course of America’s history. It was a difficult time in America, around the 1890’s; and America was faced with a dilemma. The working class was poor and most Americans felt it was because of […]

Pages: 2 Words: 555
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A History on The American Imperialism

Since its inception, America as a nation has developed and progressed according to trends of change that collectively define an era. Like all other eras, the time period of 1875-1925 experienced growth, changes, movements, and new ideals. It is the way that these changes came about that defines this era. Americans started to push for […]

Pages: 4 Words: 1058

The Pros and Cons of American Imperialism and The Efforts Against It

Between 1890 and 1913, the United States worked under a thing called imperialism. Under imperialism, stronger nations attempt to create empires by dominating weaker nations -economically, politically, culturally, or military. The reason why this imperialism grew was because of economic factors, nationalist factors, military factors, and humanist factors. Well, in the United States, there were […]

Pages: 2 Words: 461

A History of The Rise of American Imperialism

The idea of American Imperialism had both its advocates and its critics. One only needs to look at a map to see which side won. America has greatly expanded since its own phase as a colony of the greatest European Empire of the time. America became her own Empire through the accusation of vast territories […]

Pages: 3 Words: 927

A Description of The Debate Over American Imperialism

During the late nineteenth century America was a growing and prosperous country. The Civil War had ended and the United States was once again unified. As the United States gained more money and power, it looked to overseas trade to monopolize on their raw materials. The United States began to trade with Japan, China Latin […]

Pages: 3 Words: 832

The Three Major Factors That Started The American Imperialism

The United States became an imperialist nation at the end of the 19th century because Americans wanted to expand over seas with their belief in manifest destiny. The three factors that started American imperialism were political and military competition including the creation of a strong naval force, economic competition among industrial nations and a belief […]

Pages: 1 Words: 416

A Comparison of The Manifest Destiny and American Imperialism

Should the United States expand its territory? This was a great debate in the country from the mid1800 s until the close of the century. Two main ideas stemmed from the debating Manifest Destiny and Imperialism. Both movements helped the United States to grow and adopt new lands, policies, cultures, and people. The policies share […]

Pages: 2 Words: 616

Was The Mexican War an Exercise in American Imperialism?

It is strong debated, even today, who to blame for the Mexican War. Was it something bound by fate to occur due to rising tensions between the U.S. and Mexico? Was it a ploy by James K. Polk to gain territory in a pursuit of manifest destiny? The two authors’ points of view argue two […]

Pages: 3 Words: 869

Rock Music and The Diffusion of Imperialism in America

American Folk Music – as a part of folk culture. American Folk Music originated in Scotland and Ireland in the mid-eighteenth century. American Folk music’s hearth in the US is in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee. American folk music didn’t change during the 18th and early 19th century because of its locational isolation […]

Pages: 4 Words: 1085

“Trail of Tears” – Indian Removal

On the 28th of May 1830, the president at the time, Andrew Jackson, signed into effect a now controversial law. This law was the Indian Removal Act which allowed the removal of Native Americans from their homes to lands west of the Mississippi River. One tribe who was forcefully removed from their homes was the […]

Pages: 3 Words: 879

Trail of Tears – Indian Removal Process

The Trail of Tears started in 1838 and ended around March in 1839. Over 100,000 Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. This land had been passed down for generations but by the end of the 1830’s, very few Native Americans remained. Because the natives […]

Pages: 2 Words: 582

According to the dictionary, the definition of imperialism is “policy or ideology of extending a nation’s rule over foreign nations, often by military force or by gaining political and economic control of other areas.” New imperialism is defined in historical contexts as “characterizing a period of colonial expansion by European powers, the United States, and Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The period featured an unprecedented pursuit of overseas territorial acquisitions.” In addition, old imperialism refers to the “colonialism prevalent in the sixteenth century when powers like Great Britain, France, Spain, etc. began expanding their empires through war and conquest.” The United States of America became involved in this imperialism because of economic, exploratory, ethnocentric, political, and religious motives.

Economic imperialism is when one us of a has a load of monetary power or have an effect on over different countries. It typically takes place when a young, budding country financially manipulates a poorer than itself country. The “mother country”, (the controlling nation) takes all the assets and wealth away from the territory for its personal profit. This can go on in many different ways, such as: loaning money, establishing factories, and investing in the economy. The less lucky nation is now compelled to follow the legal guidelines and methods of the mother nation in order to survive efficiently.

A great example would be Britain’s connections with India. Sometimes, economic imperialism would end up leading to slave labor, which was thought to be encouraged by the people of other lands, even though they were considered to be of “little worth”. In spite of this, European and American powers grew to be prosperous and became even more powerful; the British took gain of all the wealth and riches of China for way longer than a few centuries.

This was too close to enslavement for comfort. India, being a colonial territory of the British for almost two hundred years, was once exploited and in turn, made Britain rich beyond belief. Other European and American powers did the same did all over Asia to every Asian country, and, unsurprisingly, the colonized countries suffered. Imperial governments searched for ways to make larger earning sums. Economic expansion required lower priced labor, access to markets for the sale or purchase of products and herbal sources such as precious metals and land, or manage of them. After the Industrial Revolution, dependent colonies typically supplied to European factories and markets the materials they wanted to manufacture products.

Imperial retailers frequently set up buying and selling posts and warehouses, created transportation infrastructure, and acquired control over the Suez Canal in Egypt, which allowed boats to reduce thousands of miles of tour time between Asia and Europe. Imperial powers frequently competed with each over for the resources, markets, and trade. One of the most famous examples of American imperialism in this age was once Hawaii’s annexation in 1898, which allowed the United States to take possession and manage of all ports, buildings, ports, army gear and public property formally owned by means of the Hawaiian Islands government.

England was called out for starting the industrial revolution in the eighteenth century, because it was the only place that witnessed the industrial age for the first time. The foundation of European capitalist economic system had been established, officially, and it was based on production and exchange of the products. In the 19th century, political, non secular and racial dominance used to be created by way of imperialism thru monetary dominance. Secondly, when it comes to exploratory imperialism, imperial international locations or their residents desired to discover territory their unknowns. Sometimes they did this for the cause of medical or scientific research.

At different times, they did it for the experience of journey or adrenaline. The imperial explorers craved to discover, map and declare territory, partly for countrywide and personal glory and partly to serve their countries. They were determined to fill the empty map sections, they wanted to explore cultures, and they wanted natural resources. They had a strong desire to explore ‘unknown’ or uncharted territory, to conduct scientific research, to conduct medical searches for the causes and treatments of disease, to go on an adventure.

Thirdly, the belief that one’s own country/culture or way of living is superior to another country/culture or way of living is known as ethnocentrism. Imperial nations sometimes believed that their cultural values or beliefs were very superior to other nations or countries and territories. Imperial conquest, they believed, would bring successful culture to far less inferior people. In the late 1900s, for example, European powers preached the racist belief that the inferior races should be destroyed in order to help “civilize” them. It’s a matter of national pride, dignity, and security. Empires sought after territory to make sure they had access for their militaries around the world. The idea that the empire must be defended expanded and political motives were often triggered as responses to threats to the security of the imperial power.

Lastly, religious imperialism doesn’t always involve the intense force of military or police enforcement. Book banning and censorship are often forms of religious imperialism. Similarly profanity laws and the requirement of a belief in a god in order to serve in public office can also be seen as forms of religious imperialism. Another instance of spiritual imperialism is the insistence via some Christians that American students ought to be taught creationism as an alternative to evolution. Quoting Guy Harrison, in his book 50 Popular Beliefs that People Think are True:

“Creationism is most often defined as the religious belief that the Judeo-Christian god created the universe, Earth, and all life as described in the Genesis story.”

During imperial expansion, non-secular people occasionally set out to convert new contributors of their religion and, thus, their empire. Christian missionaries from Europe, for example, mounted churches in conquered territories all throughout the nineteenth century. In doing so, they also spread Western cultural values. Typically, missionaries spread the imperial nation’s language with instructional and religious interactions, although some missionaries helped to maintain indigenous languages. British missionaries led the cost to end the slave alternate in the nineteenth century, while others, such as French missionaries in Vietnam at some point during the time period, wished for their United States of America to take over a nation.