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 .
Industrialists wanted trade to expand into new overseas market where American products could be sold. The United States opened their overseas market with Japan. Japan wanted an open trade with America and to approve their military technology. The United States also gained more ports in the Midway Islands and built a naval base in Pearl Harbor. Even though the United States acquired a lot of ports prior to the Spanish-American war, they also gained new territories.
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.
While Japan wanted to expand in Asia-Pacific and build an Empire. America tried to get Japan out of China to maintain the balance of power. As WWII continued, Japan needed resources like oil, which the US imposed economic sanctions on to halt Japan. This meant Japan felt a war with America was inevitable if they were to achieve their goals in the Pacific. These factors led the Japanese to launch an attack on an American shore in the Pacific, Pearl Harbour.
Mahan thought that the country with the most powerful navy would control the earth. He believed we should build a canal, and to protect the canal by controlling Hawaii and Cuba, which he thought was a necessity. During this time, thoughts of Anglo-Saxon superiority were a common "excuse" for imperialism. The political scientist and professor of Columbia University, John Burgess said the Anglo-Saxon races were "particularly endowed with the capacity for establishing national state, they are entrusted with the mission of conducting the political civilization of the modern world." Even before McKinley's presidency, he showed interest in foreign markets for the surplus of American products.
AP US HISTORY Karisha McCray Period 2 Chapter 21-24 Chapter21 * As the American frontier “closed,” many in America pushed for new frontiers of an empire for exploration, settlement, and new markets. America Looks Outward In contrast to prior expansion into contiguous territories intended for settlement and equal annexation, the United States in the 1890s acquired island colonies intended as naval bases and commercial outposts for the expansion and protection of American markets. * Catching the Spirit of Empire Immediately after the Civil War, Americans were concerned almost exclusively with domestic concerns leading to a sense of isolationism. After the 1870s, however, Americans, linked to the world through new communication
“Imperialism,” refers to a country’s policy of extending their rule over foreign countries. Such actions usually arise from said country’s desire to subjugate a group of countries and their resources to establish an empire. On that note, the United States’ actions in the Caribbean region, specifically their invoking of the Platt Amendment in Cuba arises. Historian John Bartlow Martin supports this action by stating that it was conceptualized for the “strategic considerations” (Martin, 1978) of Cuba’s independence. In reality, this was an extension of the United States’ imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Americans also thought that they could take up land as they pleased. Not only was power and control in the mix, but the need for more land for industrial purposes as well. However, Americans haven’t always had the exact same expansionism purposes over the years, in fact; they have changed quite a bit as time has progressed. American Expansionism between the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth- century shared many similarities with previous expansionist ideas and many differences as well. A major difference in the two expansion eras was that Americans felt the need to start expanding overseas and across the ocean.
Numerous factors triggered America’s climb into both economic and social expansion. For example, high tariffs were placed on America-made products, which then gave the US a stable and protected trade interest. In addition the Spanish – American war of 1898 was a major turning point in USA expansion. The war was based on the grounds that Cuba (a colony of both America and Spain) had been declaring independence from Spain, and the USA having created the Monroe Doctrine, which supported the Cubans fight for independence from Spain in The USA, was to be involved for what can only be described as for their own best interest, due to Cuba having a oil supply. And on February 15, 1898, the USS Maine sank in Havana, in which an explosion caused 266 deaths.
Planters in Hawaii were understandably very displeased with this turn of events, so they plotted to make Hawaii an official territory of the United States. With tensions rising between American-Hawaiians and the government of Hawaii, the sugar growers continued to push for Hawaii to be annexed by the U.S. Finally in 1900 Hawaii became an official U.S. territory. I think the annexation of Hawaii is a clear-cut example of American Imperialism at both its finest and worst. All the facts point straight towards imperialism, such as building a naval base on Pearl Harbor and granting favored-nation status to control the economy of Hawaii.