Historical News Paper

Imperialism In All Its Forms:

Did the positives of American expansionism and imperialism outweigh the negatives? 

By Neil Benjelloun

Throughout the latter 1800s, the United States portrayed many acts of military and diplomatic influence towards the weaker and dependent nations of the world. The cause of the start of imperialism was threefold. Firstly, Americans wanted to promote economical growth. Since the US had a very powerful industrial economy, there was usually a surplus of products, which lead to financial panics and frequent economic depressions. Workers and farmers helped to convince business and political leaders into globalizing their markets. This lead to people starting international corporations (like the Standard Oil Trust and the American Telephone and Telegraph) or some people invested directly into companies abroad (Minor C; Keith provided financial services to the Costa Rican government. In return he won long-term leases for lands and railroad lines). Secondly, the US wanted to protect American security. Lobbyists who wanted a strong United States Navy formed a second force pushing for expansion. They wanted to build modern steam powered, steel-hulled ships to protect over seas trade. As Mahan said, the US needed a powerful navy to protect those markets from foreign rivals. Thus, the Congress established a Naval Advisory Board, which would manage the navy’s budget. Finally the Naval Act called for the construction of more battleships, gunboats, torpedo boats, and cruisers. Lastly, the US wanted to preserve their American spirit. People (Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, historian Frederick Jackson Turner, and a young politician from NYC named Theodore Roosevelt) feared that the United States was losing its vitality. They believed that an imperial expansion would restore the country’s pioneer spirit. Social Darwinists believed that expansionism was not only this nation’s destiny but also a noble pursuit because it introduced Christianity and modern civilization to heathens around the world.

Examples Effects of Imperialism:

There were many cases of imperialism during mainly the 1890’s. For example, when the United States confronted Great Britain during an intense dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela regarding the ownership of a piece of territory off the coast of Venezuela. The US intervened and demanded, in July 1895, that Great Britain acknowledge the Monroe Doctrine and submit the boundary dispute to arbitration.

Another example would be when The US government installed a military government in Puerto Rico until 1900. They aided the development of infrastructure and education, and also acted as a police force. The US then removed the military force and established a civil government under US control. 

Also, when McKinley decided to annex the Philippines in order to govern them before they had no governmental structure. His argument was that if he didn’t act quickly, the Europeans would end up taking over the territory, which would lead to newer conflicts.

Finally, in 1878, the US had negotiated a treaty with Samoa offering protection in return for a lease on Samoa’s fine harbor at Pago Pago. This led to a confrontation between Greet Britain, Germany, and the US because the three countries desired possession of that territory.

Effects of Imperialism:

The effects of imperialism both on the US and nations abroad were numerous. For example, Cuban exiles living in the US urged the government to intervene in the Cuban rebellion towards Spain although both Presidents Cleveland and McKinley refused. They were unwilling to spend the money to intervene and feared to be accorded with colonial responsibilities the US couldn’t handle. As a result Cubans threatened to destroy American sugar plantations and mills in Cuba. That led to more business people urging the government to intercede. 

Another effect would be the annexation of Puerto Rico, which resulted in the US granting Puerto Ricans citizenship in order to stem a growing independence movement, although the citizenship was based only on the act of Congress. 

A third effect would be the annexation of the Philippine that resulted in rebel leaders wanting to turn Philippine into a republic although they were ignored by the US. Then, the mounting tension between the Filipinos and American soldiers erupted into a war that ended with the lives of 4,000 American soldiers, 17,000 Filipino soldiers, and 200,000 Filipino civilians.

 

Finally, The negotiation of the treaty with Samoa resulted with a large dispute between Germanic, Britannic, and American leaders. The three nations eventually arranged a three-way protectorate of Samoa in 1889. Britain withdrew their share of Samoa leaving the US and German in control.

 

Arguments For/Against Imperialism:

For: 

Americans turned to imperialism because they were afraid to lose their competitive edge. They also believed that imperialism was a celebration of American tradition and creative spirit. They liked the fact that imperialism widened their market range. Finally, they embraced the strategic military reason for expansion.

Against:

People were against imperialism because they believed it was a rejection of the nation’s foundation of “liberty for all”. They also protested that American laws and flag had to go together meaning that the people living in areas controlled by the US had to have the same rights as the US citizens (e.g. most of Hawaii consisted of labor workers that did not have human rights). Anti-imperialists also believed that imperialism could lead to the revolution of other countries thus resulting in the destruction of the nation’s democratic foundation.

OP/ED:

I believe that the negatives and positives of imperialism are equivalent. Although imperialistic communities take advantage of weak nations by enforcing laws on them and reducing their human rights, they also aid them by providing military reinforcement. Usually communities that get taken advantage of are in need of help to gain their independence, so I think that the US just saw opportunities for expansion and leaped at it.

Bibliography:

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