The Age of Empire: American Imperialism at the Close of the 19th Century

Imperialism is a process by which countries attempt to extend their agency into rising spheres by leveraging their military, economic, cultural, and political advocate over about another(prenominal) land. The roots of imperialism know differed through the ages. Some countries have desire imperialism by conquest, pillaging and plundering another(prenominal) land for pure exploitative economic gain. Other countries have conducted imperialism by colonization, lento infiltrating and yettually assuming control of another land over time by force.For much of European history subsequently the renaissance, the European continent entered an Age of Imperialism that cut British, French, Spanish, Portugese, Dutch, and German amplification across the remote throwes of the globe. the States, however, was a late addition to the fight for imperialistic expansion. Not until the late nineteenth century did the fledgling North American power attempt to move beyond its borders in pursu it of bolstering the national interest.Over the descriptor of some(prenominal) decades, however, America removed the shackles of isolationism and became an rapacious expansionist power primarily in Latin America and the Philippines. While this form _or_ system of government was not uniformly popular, it is important to look because it drastically influenced and shaped American strange policy for the 20th century. During the late 1800s, America engaged in overseas expansion in three main areas Spanish-America, the Philippines, and several Pacific islands. These campaigns were ideologically motivated by the philosophical underpinnings of the Monroe Doctrine.This orthogonal policy standard, true by President James Monroe in 1823, stated that the Western Hemisphere was clearly the domain of the joined States and that American exceptionalism would stop the United States to exclusively deal with affairs of the Western Hemisphere (Oklahoma College of Law, The Monroe Doctrine). Th is principle was the cosmos of a series of events that eventually prompted the United States to invade foreign sovereign nations. racial thought uniformwise perpetuated popular survive for these imperialist invasions.The so-called White globes Burden, which had justified so much inhumanity by European powers was also raised by proponents of American expansionism. This system held that because White men were tamed in contrast to their colored counterparts, it was the ethical duty of Europeans and European descendants to forcibly civilize the uneducated and inferior races of the humans. Coupled with the Monroe Doctrine, politicians have with sensational journalists (often referred to as yellow journalists) to overdress up support for American excursions abroad (American Library of Congress).The first major social movement in the eventual military expansionism that ensued was in Cuba and other parts of Spanish America. This campaign, know as the Spanish-American War, was Cuba. Here, Americans sympathetic to the plight of the Cubans, legitimized a show of force with the U. S. S. Maine, which was eventually sink near Havana, prompting an outcry for struggle. The fight in Cuba raged on in the upshot of that incident, with Congress issuing a settlement of war. Un handle Cuba, which was more of a encroach between two White powers, American imperialism in the Philippines developed into a utmost more systematic form of colonialism.American became an occupying power that asserted its dominance and applied its impost and language on the native population. Indeed, during the build of the war, American brutality was veridical, with an estimated 200,000 Filipinos dying from the conflict, largely in the festering disease-ridden concentration camps. Additionally, some Americans were reported to have carried out war crimes against the local populationshameful acts that were receptive and documented by the Lodge commissioning report (Miller, 184).Simil arly, America extended its reachwith many negative resultsin Guam, Samoa, Hawaii, and other Pacific islands. These particular conquests mark the natural elevation of American imperialist expansion at the close of the nineteenth century. Even though the Monroe Doctrine and the White Mans Burden theories garnered sufficient support from the public to carry out the imperialist campaigns popularly, expostulation against the newfound expansionism did exist. The major opponent of imperialist policies in America was the Anti-Imperialist League.This organization, which prided itself on its basis ideals of liberty and equality for all persons, disregardless of race or geographic location, sought-after(a) to end American imperialist expansionism. As they argued, Americas militarism against the defenseless original populations was nothing more than criminal aggressiveness (Modern History Sourcebook). The League had a substantial relate on the national argue over imperialism, as it had cultural superstars like Mark Twain on its side.Nonetheless, however, even as the League successfully highlighted some of the bankrupt practices of American expansionism, the campaigns were nonetheless carried out. The impact of American imperialism during the late 1890s reverberates distillery today. The Monroe Doctrine has now been replaced by a series of new foreign policy strategies, including the most recent addition of the bush doctrine, which authorizes preemptive attacks anywhere in the world to ensure American security. Our occupation of Iraq presently has its roots and its legacy embedded in the deployment of troops under President McKinley.This particular highlights why early American imperialism is so important to understanding our current foreign policy it is a continuum rather than a series of isolated events. And now, just like then, anti-imperialist groups are being heard passim the country. Only time will see to it how effectively they will be at steering our g overnment from continuing the imperialist legacy started at the close of the 19th century. Works Cited Miller, Stuart C. Benevolent Assimilation the American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899- 1903. New Haven Yale University Press, 1982.340 p Modern History Sourcebook. American Anti-Imperialist League, 1898. usable online from http//www. fordham. edu/halsall/mod/1899antiimp. html. Accessed 17 January 2009. The Monroe Doctrine. University of Oklahoma College of Law. diachronic Documents. Available online at http//www. law. ou. edu/ushistory/monrodoc. shtml. Accessed 17 January 2009. The manhood of 1898 The Spanish American War. The Library of Congress, Latino Division. Available online from http//www. loc. gov/rr/hispanic/1898. Accessed 18 January 2009.