American Imperialism Late 19th Century

Imperialism
Intro
During the late nineteenth century, Americans began to see opportunities for expansion beyond that of simply annexing adjacent territories. Although there were factions against it, the majority of the American public began advocating the expansion of the Republic so as to attain military bases and expand their foreign markets, whilst taking advantage of the natural resources offered by the world at large. These imperialistic tendencies mirrored those of Europe, though the rationalization behind the American imperialism was a bit different.
I. How it all started
a. Alaska bought by Seward from Russia- Johnson Admin
b. Hawaii and Cuba= sugar plantations and business interests
c. US business interests used the marines…show more content…
Their desire to protect the raw materials of their industry and expand said markets, as well as their desire to spread Christianity and capitalism, led these countries to (many times forcefully) reach beyond their boundaries and limits of their own society and enslave another for their purposes. They justified their actions by assuming the “White Man’s Burden” of bringing the light of civilization to the underdeveloped areas of the world. While Europe’s powerhouses actively sought and acquired land, the United States ended up with most of their territories as a byproduct of the Spanish-American War (we planned that). Although the methods of acquisition and the justification behind the occupation and manipulation of these holdings were different, both American and European Imperialism had the same results: it stunted the growth of naturally evolving cultures and brought even greater poverty to the…show more content…
American History, A Survey. Edited by Emily Barrosse. Madison : McGraw Hill, 2007.

Werstein, Irving. 1898:The Spanish-American War. New York: Publiahers, Inc, 1966.

Web sites, e-sources
Changel, Yun. “The Birth of an Empire: The Origins of American Hegemony.” library.thinquest.org. http://library.thinkquest.org/17120/data/essays/am_imp/ (accessed February 25, 2009).

Kipling, Rudyard. “The White Man’s burden.” Rudyard Kipling, The White Man’s Burden (1899). http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/kipling.html (accessed February 25, 2009).

“American Foreign Policy in the Late 19th Century: Philosophical Underpinnings.” The Spanish-American War Centinial Site. http://www.spanamwar.com/imperialism.htm (accessed February 25,