The Promise of Imperialism
1 The American economy in the 1890s seemed to encourage imperialism
by the United States. The decades leading up to the Spanish-American War
were marked by violent labor disputes, farmers’ discontent, and a series of
economic depressions. With each depression, more American businesses looked
overseas for trade. Banks also looked to foreign markets for investments.
2 Many people believed that Americans could achieve an economic
empire peacefully. Among the chief advocates of this idea was Senator Albert J.
Beveridge. His speeches used economic arguments to justify American
imperialism.
From “The March of the Flag,” 1898
3 …[Shall] we occupy new markets for what
our farmers raise, our factories make, our merchants
sell…?
4 …The resources and the commerce of these
immensely rich dominions will be increased. … In
Cuba, alone, there are 15,000,000 acres of forest
unacquainted with the ax, exhaustless mines of iron,
priceless deposits of manganese, millions of dollars’
worth of which we must buy, today, from the Black
Sea districts. …
5 The riches of the Philippines have hardly
been touched by the finger-tips of modern methods.
And they produce what we consume, and consume
what we produce. … They sell hemp, sugar,
coconuts, fruits of the tropics, timber of price like
mahogany; they buy flour, clothing, tools, implements,
machinery and all that we can raise and make. Their
trade will be ours in time. Do you endorse that policy
with your vote?
From “The Philippine Question,” 1900
6 …But to hold [the Philippines] will be no
mistake. Our largest trade henceforth must be with
Asia. The Pacific is our ocean. More and more
Europe will manufacture the most it needs, secure
from its colonies the most it consumes. Where shall
we turn for consumers of our surplus? Geography
answers our question. China is our natural customer.
She is nearer to us than England, Germany, or
Russia, the commercial powers of the present and the
future. They have moved nearer to China by securing
permanent bases on her borders. The Philippines
give us a base at the door of all the East. …
The Promise of Imperialism
1. What did Beveridge hope to gain from the new territories?
2. Why was Beveridge more interested in nations across the Pacific than in
those across the Atlantic?
3. Beveridge’s imperialism was tinged with racism. If you were a politician
who opposes his views, how would you respond to “The March of the
Flag”?