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LATTER 1800s: WHEN IMPERIALISM DOMINATED!

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Imperialism is the policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force. It has many pros and cons to it. Different people are affected differently due to imperialism, some positively others negatively.

Causes of imperialism in the USA in the latter 1800s were various. There were people promoting economic growth and the expansion of the national markets overseas. They argued that America was undergoing an economic depression because of the overproduction of goods that was too much for only the USA to consume. Many business leaders thought that this problem would be resolved only by expansion of markets. In addition, annexation of land permitted the USA to come closer to other countries, which made trade facilities easier and less costly.

Militarily, people supported imperialism for the American expanded navy. They argued that this large navy had to be present to support to the nation’s markets abroad. They basically wanted to protect overseas trade.

Preserving American spirit was another factor that lead to imperialism. This is because some people were afraid that the USA was loosing its strength. “Worried that the closing of the frontier would sap the nation’s energy, they argued that a quest for an empire might restore the country’s pioneer spirit.”(356) Prentice Hall American Pathways to the Present. These people took the excuse of Social Darwinism to takeover new territories. Social Darwinists believed that it was the nation’s destiny to takeover land and expand their own religion (in this case Christianity). At this time there was cultural superiority.

Imperialism was well demonstrated in the USA in the latter 1800s. For instance, the USA fought for Cuba’s independence from Spain. In return they demanded for their ships to be kept on the Cuban coast. They did the same with the Philippine’s tricking them into thinking they were here to support them when they were actually helping them for their own benefit. On the other hand, they annexed Hawaii using the USA’s world trade protection as their main argument to support them. In 1898, Congress approved the Hawaii annexation.

The Panama Canal and the open door policy are other examples of imperialism. A $10 million payment was given to the Panamanians in return for the 10-mile strip of land for a Canal Zone over which the USA would have complete sovereignty. The Panama Canal made a shorter route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. This connection between two oceans made global shipping much faster and cheaper. It would also allow the US Navy to move faster overseas in times of war. On the other hand, the open door policy was a policy that was made between America and China. This policy allowed foreign countries in to take part of the national local markets. This means that the USA opened its markets in China, which helped expand its economy overseas.

The effects of imperialism on the USA and other countries in the latter 1800s were numerous. The USA thought they were becoming superior to others after annexation. This created more competition between countries. The USA thought that it was their Manifest Destiny to have imperialism causing them to look forward to annexation. Unfortunately, there was inequality and racism in the annexed territories. The national markets didn’t work as well as they worked before. This is because the USA provided a broad choice in the national markets due to open door policy or annexation. This was a positive for the USA because they expanded their economy. However, this was a negative for the local market’s business because the consumers were taking the best choice, which was usually found in the American markets. This is exactly what happened to China with the open door policy that allowed the USA to participate in the national markets.

Imperialism is beneficial for the American economic expansion and opportunities. The expansion of the markets overseas allowed them to have high economic benefits. They could have their ships in the ports of a specific country. This means that the navy was growing which would reinforce the military force for not only the market protection but also for the USA protection itself. The USA had military that were ready to act anytime and quickly (using the Panama Canal) overseas.

Unfortunately, imperialism wasn’t as beneficial for the USA as was for the other countries. This is because imperialism caused racism and inequality due to the feeling of cultural superiority in the USA. The national local markets were highly affected because the USA took part in them, which wasn’t beneficial to the country that was annexed or that was allowing foreign countries to get involved in their local markets. This is because the USA had a broad choice of products, which caused the consumers to buy from the US markets instead of their own national markets. This means that the USA brought an economic competition to the countries and because it was strong its markets would always gain more money than the national local markets. Though imperialism dominated, it affected other countries negatively.

Though the positives were only beneficial to the USA they didn’t outweigh the negatives because there was way too much negatives for it to be outweighed. People who were colonized were suffering consequences of the imperialism, some economically others socially. Many countries were in crisis at the time of imperialism while the USA was at benefit because it could spread its industries overseas. This increased competition and since the USA was stronger it always defeated the others economy. On the whole, the positives of imperialism were too little to outweigh the negatives.