As a lot of Americans call it, the Spanish-American war was a splendid little war. The war caused America to gain a lot and lose very little. Even though there has been a few negative effects as the result of the war, the United States changed history by acquiring more ports, territories and by building bigger navies. American imperialism was what Americans wanted the most. They wanted to extend their political, military and economic control all over the world.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, US expansionism used the same basic principle but was different from earlier expansionism in the way of geography, economics, and politics. They continued to believe that they had a God-given right to branch out. However, they expanded this Manifest Destiny so that, instead of looking just to expand and conquer the West, they were looking to conquer the entire world. Earlier, the United States had gained more land in the same vicinity and wanted to expand from the Atlantic to the Pacific. After completing this task, rather than settling down, they continued to try and gain more land, this time into different places including Hawaii, Cuba, and the Philippines.
Many Americans believe that God give them the power and duty to expand territory, strengthen the United States. The motivation of United States launched this war is a debatable subject. The origin and influence The term Manifest Destiny was popular in the 19th century, some Americans believed they had the destiny to expand American continent Territory, from the Atlantic coast to Pacific Ocean. The ideal of territory expansion is already had before the American Independence, but in 1845, The United States Magazine and Democratic Review editor John O'Sullivan published an essay “Annexation”. “…our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions”[2] This essay reveal John O'Sullivan claim United States had a destiny expansion .
After it was written, the US was influenced by what it contained and Theodore Roosevelt began expanding overseas. The US began gaining ports in Alaska and Hawaii. The book influenced the western world by discussing navel strategies and aiding to the growing of the American navy. The navies began using Mahan’s strategies and ideas of the way a navy should be run. It was said that a nations greatness was derived from a great navy that was ran well and had multiple strategies.
Their accounts of their travels publicized the newly found region of the west and aroused interest in people contemplating the possibilities. By the 1840's, expansion was at its highest. Manifest Destiny was the reason for the revived interest in territorial expansion. With a sense of mission, people were tempted by the boundless tracts and sparsely settled land lying just beyond the borders of their country. There was also the growing desire to develop trade with the Far East.
However not all Americans believed the U.S should become an imperialist country. The Filipinos wanted freedom and annexation violated consent of the governed. Fighting broke out Emilio Aguinaldo appointed himself president of the Philippine Republic. The Filipinos did not fight conventionally; they were not skilled enough in battle, so they engaged in guerrilla warfare.it became a longer and costlier conflict than the one in Spain. The U.S is not justified in annexing the Philippines and fighting a war to keep it because it was just a chance to exploit people and land to earn power and prestige.
Another reason America had an advantage over Britain was that the English citizens were tired of war. The war had begun to turn into years and citizens were getting tired of paying taxes and just the war in general. In my opinion one of the biggest advantages the colonists had was how great a leader George Washington was. American soldiers were outnumbered and not as well trained as the English soldiers, but because of Washington’s brilliance and strategy it helped the colonists prevail over Britain. On the other hand Britain also had many advantages over the Americans.
To what extent was Mercantilism the most important factor in the expansion of the British Empire? Intro * Can be argued strongly that Mercantilism was the most important factor in the expansion of the British empire * Although other factors such as trading companies and naval dominance and subsequent victory in conflict contributed to the consolidation and acceleration of empire * Mercantilism and mercantilist policies and legislature were the ‘launchpad’ that allowed these factors to take place and flourish, thus mercantilism was indeed the most important factor in the expansion of the British Empire, but was not the sole reason for expansion Para 1: Mercantilism * Mercantilist policies were the driving force behind the expansion of empire as they protected British trade and shipping (navigation acts 1696, molasses act 1733), taxed goods coming through British ports and favoured trade to British colonies. Allowed the empire to flourish and develop as they placed emphasis on trade and growth as the key to national strength. * Bank of England 1694 = entrepreneurialism, encouraged stockholders to invest in the empire and in trade which created more funds for further exploration and expansion * Allowed the development of industry and ports to process materials generated by trade such as sugar. Mercantilist legislation passed to expand ports such as Liverpool and Glasgow ensured more exports and imports could be carried out due to the new size and sophistication of the ports = extends trade, revenue and wealth, more funds for war and overseas domination Para 2: Trading companies also played a part in the expansion of empire but could not have flourished without mercantilism.
American Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century As a growing nation, the United States felt the need to continue expansion for the benefit of all citizens. Territorial development allows for growth in population and natural resources to produce goods and supply services for prosperity. To acquire or control territories, forcible means would sometimes be used, otherwise known as imperialism. This paper will describe imperialism more intently. Advantages of imperialism will be discussed, as well as some of the disadvantages.
Also, America is usually willing to help other countries because some of those countries may be able to help us in return. Without these partnerships that we currently have, the United States may no be as strong as it is today. I believe that the United States should not follow this policy in the modern world mainly because of how strong we have become. In the modern world, even if we were isolated I think that war would be unavoidable since conflict is quite common between such different countries. Isolation would not make the citizens happy because some countries do not have all the appropriate resources to live comfortably in a modern world.