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A Journey into How the United States Become an Imperial Power

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I can explain the economic and cultural factors that shaped American foreign policy at the turn of the 20 th Century I will be able to analyze and compare the actions of the United States between 1896- 1909 to action of the United States between 1945-present.

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When a stronger country takes over an area through economics, politics or military control. By 1900, it was a global trend

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European nations were colonizing Africa By 1900, British Empire controlled a quarter of the worlds land and people Japan joined Europe in competing for control of regions in China

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United States wanted new markets for their goods In the late 1800s, the United States was developing a modern navy and wanted to gain naval based abroad to protect the nations interests The belief by some that American culture was superior and should be spread to other regionsextension of Manifest Destiny

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America wanted to be like Europe and Japan in gaining control of lands beyond the borders of North America By the end of the 1800s, there was a desire for the United States to extend their imperial power into such areas as Hawaii, Cuba and the Philippines

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Late 19 th Century, Africa was the focal point for European expansionconsidered before that as the Dark Continent because the interior was virtually unknown Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Spain desired to gain resources from Africa and create new markets for their goods By early 20 th Century, only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent in Africa

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Great Britain expanded into Africa and Asia, coining the phrase, The sun never sets on the British Empire During the reign of Queen Victoria (1837- 1901), Britain built an empire that included one quarter of the worlds land and people

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Europeans avoided war through diplomatic agreements that resulted in dividing Africa Nations claimed land for colonies, then signed treaties with each other to reserve areas for colonies Mid 1800s, Germany and France called for a conference to discuss African colonization 14 European nations and the United States met in Berlin, Germany in 1884

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Nations agreed to respect each others prior claims for colonies in Africa Agreed to establish rules for future colonial development First international agreement on imperialism in Africa

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Late 19 th Century, Japan had political reform from feudal order to a central government modeled after European nations Japan believed that a strong military would increase industrialization by obtaining raw materials in other areas Japan joined in the competition with Europe for control in China in the 1890s US watched other nations in the 1880s and 1890s gain economic success and had a desire to expand trading opportunities with China

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Extension of the old belief of Manifest Destiny, which had pushed people from the Atlantic to the Pacific With the closure of the North American frontier, by the 1890s, many Americans supported the idea to expand beyond its borders for economic growth

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United States wanted to join in the economic competition with other industrialized nations United States by 1900 had a strong naval force A belief in the racial and cultural superiority of people of English descent

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By the end of the 19 th Century, technology increased the ability of American farms and factories to produce more items Production was more than Americans could consume, so America needed new markets With increased production, the United States needed to find more raw materials for its factories and new markets to sell the manufactured goods

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Belief in the Imperialist view of increased foreign trade would solve the issues of overproduction and economic issues such as employment and the economic depression of the late 1880s

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Senator from Indiana, he was a strong imperialist Advocated obtaining new territories for economic gains Fate has written our policy for us; the trade of the world must and shall be ours.We will establish training-posts throughout the world as distributing points for American productsGreat colonies governing themselves, flying our flag and trading with us, will grow about our posts of trade.

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Exports had total $234 million at the end of the Civil War, increased to $1.5 billion Exports exceeded imports to produce favorable balance of trade Favorable balance of trade led to American economic power

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Admiral Alfred T. Mahan, president of the Naval War College advocated a strong American military expansion Mahans book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783, stressed the need for a strong navy to defend the peacetime shipping lanes, which would increase Americas economy could grow Mahan believed the United States needed to strategically locate bases in areas such as the Caribbean where its fleet could refuel and urged to develop a modern fleet

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Urged the United States to construct a canal across the Isthmus of Panama Increase desire to acquire Hawaii and other Pacific Islands as naval bases and economic markets Between 1883-1890, US built 9 steel-hulled cruisers After the construction of the Maine and Oregon, the US developed the worlds third largest navy

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Cultural factors justified imperialism Social Darwinism: a belief that free-market competition would lead to the survival of the fittestemphasized racial superiority Social Darwinism viewed that it was the US responsibility to spread Christianity and civilization to the worlds inferior people

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Not only racial superiority was encouraged, but this belief supported the idea of defining civilization by one cultures standards

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Believed imperialism as a threat American Anglo-Saxon heritage based on moral and practical concerns in imperial practices Nothing justified American domination over other countries

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Constitutional protections were not granted to newly acquired territories claimed by the US Maintaining a military large enough to enforce American influence and protect newly acquired territories was too high Cost of new territories prohibited American economic growth

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The Americans: Reconstruction through the 20 th Century. McDougal Littell