NEW IMPERIALISM
Imperialism
• Definition- either acquiring territory or
gaining control over the political or
economic life of other countries
Causes of “New” Imperialism
• Worldwide markets for its growing
industrial and agricultural surpluses
• Sources of raw materials for
manufacturing
• Social Darwinism: applied to competition
in the business world and among nations.
Causes Continued
• Religion and race:
*Josiah Strong’s Our Country:
– “God is training the Anglo-Saxon race for its
mission, a mission of bringing Christianity and
civilization to world’s weaker races.”
• The U.S. had to demonstrate its strength
by acquiring territories overseas.
Naval Power
• U.S. Navy Captain Alfred T. Mahan wrote
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History
(1890) in which he argued that a strong
navy was crucial to a country’s ambitions
of securing foreign markets and becoming
a world power.
• Using Mahan’s arguments, U.S. Navy built
modern steel ships and grew to be the 3rd
largest navy in the world.
Spanish American War
• Causes
• Results