Imperialism In America Essay, Research Paper

It has been proven time and again throughout history that in order to survive, a nation must expand its borders and become more powerful. This is shown by the European countries’ power at the beginning of the 20th century. They were the strongest countries in the world, and between them they controlled almost the entire globe. Soon after, America also became imperialistic. Three reasons America became imperialistic was to acquire naval bases and refueling stations for their ships, to control new markets in which to sell American products, and to get more raw materials and resources to help feed the growing American industries.

The first reason Americans turned imperialistic was to control naval bases at sea in order to strengthen their military power outside of their boundaries. In 1885, America’s navy was described as a “fleet of washtubs”, and their army wasn’t much better. It was obvious that if America wanted to protect its interests in foreign countries, it would need a stronger military force. The first step was to be able to defend itself should any foreign countries encroach on its territory. Naval bases were the key to this. So, after the Civil War, America looked to the Pacific islands of Midway, Samoa, and Guam, among others, to serve as bases and refueling stations for their navy. All three of these islands held very strategic positions. Midway was in the more northern Pacific Ocean, Samoa protected the southern Pacific, and Guam was the closest pacific island to the Philippines and China.

Another reason America became imperialistic was to get more raw materials and resources. Like any industrial nation at the time, America was pumping out their manufactured products faster than the raw materials could keep up with. In order to keep producing at the rate it was, America needed to find another source from which to acquire their raw materials. An example is West Africa, where America used its Open Door Policy to freely trade. Africa had many natural rubber trees, which was just what America needed for its growing bicycle and automobile industries. Also, Alaska offered many attractive prospects to Americans. It was a huge land filled with a seemingly endless supply of lumber. When gold was found there in the late 1800s, it only increased Alaska’s attraction to Americans. One other area that attracted Americans was Venezuela. Gold had been found there, also, and America tried to step in and arrange a peace treaty with Venezuela and British Guiana. Once America turned imperialistic, many of their raw material shortages were solved, which encouraged more ideas of expansionism.

The last reason for America’s imperialistic attitude was to gain control of new markets in which to sell American goods. The booming successes of American industries, such as Standard Oil Company and Andrew Carnegie’s business encouraged more people to go into business. Many of these new entrepreneurs looked west, to exotic places such as China, Hawaii, and the Philippines, for opportunity. Since China didn’t have any industries of its own, they had to buy their finished products from industrialized countries. Europeans were already profiting greatly from this, and America wanted its share of the profits, too. At first they couldn’t get into China because many European countries and Japan had already established their own spheres of influence there, so Americans then turned to the next closest thing – the Philippines. One reason many American favored annexing the Philippines was because they lay close to China. If they couldn’t have markets in China, they could have markets in the Philippines and sell American products there. Hawaii also held many attractive prospects for American businessmen, but not necessarily to sell products in. Hawaii naturally grew many exotic fruits and vegetables that the continental U.S. couldn’t. These would sell for high prices in the U.S., and many entrepreneurs turned their attention to Hawaii.

Though there were many benefits to imperialism, many people opposed it. Some of the more prominent Americans who opposed imperialism included former Presidents Harrison and Cleveland, Andrew Carnegie, labor leader Samuel Gompers, writer Mark Twain, and reformer Jane Addams. They called themselves anti-imperialists and had many arguments against imperialism and expansionism. They argued that annexing territories was unconstitutional if the residents didn’t want to be governed by the U.S. A particularly heated debate over this concerned the Philippines. The Filipinos, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, didn’t want to become a part of the U.S, but McKinley wanted to annex them anyway. The anti-imperialists argued that this went against the constitution and the right of popular sovereignty. They also said that any territory they annexed wouldn’t have a fair voice in the government and could be taken advantage of. They argued that democracy and imperialism were contradictory principles, and were worried that despotism of this sort overseas could lead to despotism at home. Indeed, the anti-imperialists had many strong points and persuaded many people to their way of thinking.

The Core Democratic Values are held in very high regard in America. They are what our whole system of government and policies are based upon. Therefore, it is important that all actions America takes are backed up and supported by the Core Democratic Values. While many people at the time argued that imperialism violated more Core Democratic Values than it supported, there are nevertheless several that back up imperialism in all respects. The first is diversity. When America first turned imperialistic, there was an immediate increase of foreign goods and people. It just follows common sense that when a country acquires more land, those lands’ peoples and products will become available to that country. Imperialism brought new diverse ideas and people into the U.S. Another Core Democratic Value imperialism supports is patriotism. Patriotism means that you put your country first above everything else. Since imperialism greatly strengthened America’s economy and military powers, it was a source of great patriotism to many.

American foreign policy greatly changed during its alteration from isolationism to imperialism. Before, the U.S. was mainly concerned with just the lands and peoples within its own borders. As they saw more and more countries profiting from foreign trade, however, Americans looked beyond their borders for opportunity. One man who greatly influenced this change was President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt had very aggressive foreign policies, such as the famous “Speak softly and carry a big stick”. In this policy, Roosevelt encouraged a large military to back the country up in case of any conflicts, but didn’t want to bring undue attention to the U.S. if he could help it. He had a very imperialistic attitude, but wasn’t overly aggressive. When people saw how successful Roosevelt’s policies were, it was like the door had been opened to foreign affairs. American businessmen flooded many foreign countries, encouraged by Roosevelt. American policies today are very similar to Roosevelt’s. They are not overly aggressive, but they have one of the largest and most effective armies in the world and will not hesitate to step in and intervene in a conflict if they think it’s getting out of hand or threatening American interests.

In conclusion, there were many reasons America turned imperialistic. Three of the main reasons were to control naval bases, get more raw materials, and gain control of new markets in which to sell American goods. There were many people who were opposed to imperialism and helped keep American aggression in check. Two of the Core Democratic Values that support imperialism are diversity and patriotism. American foreign policy also changed greatly during this time from one of isolationism to imperialism and expansionism, influenced greatly by President Theodore Roosevelt. America changed from a second – world country to one of the major world powers because of its imperialistic attitudes. Imperialism made America what it is today, and the world wouldn’t be the same without America’s past aggressive foreign policies and attitudes.