A Journey into How the United States
Become an Imperial Power
I
can explain the economic and cultural
factors that shaped American foreign policy
at the turn of the 20th Century
I
will be able to analyze and compare the
actions of the United States between 18961909 to action of the United States between
1945-present.
 When
a stronger country takes over an area
through economics, politics or military
control.
 By
1900, it was a global trend
 European
nations were colonizing Africa
 By
1900, British Empire controlled a quarter
of the world’s land and people
 Japan
joined Europe in competing for control
of regions in China
 United
States wanted new markets for their
goods
 In
the late 1800s, the United States was
developing a modern navy and wanted to
gain naval based abroad to protect the
nation’s interests
 The
belief by some that American culture
was superior and should be spread to other
regions—extension of Manifest Destiny
 America
wanted to be like Europe and Japan
in gaining control of lands beyond the
borders of North America
 By
the end of the 1800s, there was a desire
for the United States to extend their imperial
power into such areas as Hawaii, Cuba and
the Philippines
 Late
19th Century, Africa was the focal point
for European expansion—considered before
that as the “Dark Continent” because the
interior was virtually unknown
 Britain,
France, Belgium, Italy, Germany,
Portugal, and Spain desired to gain resources
from Africa and create new markets for their
goods
 By
early 20th Century, only Ethiopia and
Liberia remained independent in Africa
 Great
Britain expanded into Africa and Asia,
coining the phrase, “The sun never sets on
the British Empire”
 During the reign of Queen Victoria (18371901), Britain built an empire that included
one quarter of the world’s land and people
 Europeans
avoided war through diplomatic
agreements that resulted in dividing Africa
 Nations
claimed land for colonies, then
signed treaties with each other to reserve
areas for colonies
 Mid
1800s, Germany and France called for a
conference to discuss African colonization
 14
European nations and the United States
met in Berlin, Germany in 1884
 Nations
agreed to respect each other’s prior
claims for colonies in Africa
 Agreed
to establish rules for future colonial
development
 First
international agreement on imperialism
in Africa

Late 19th Century, Japan had political reform
from feudal order to a central government
modeled after European nations

Japan believed that a strong military would
increase industrialization by obtaining raw
materials in other areas

Japan joined in the competition with Europe for
control in China in the 1890s

US watched other nations in the 1880s and 1890s
gain economic success and had a desire to
expand trading opportunities with China
 Extension
of the old belief of Manifest
Destiny, which had pushed people from the
Atlantic to the Pacific
 With
the closure of the North American
frontier, by the 1890s, many Americans
supported the idea to expand beyond its
borders for economic growth
 United
States wanted to join in the economic
competition with other industrialized nations
 United
States by 1900 had a strong naval
force
A
belief in the racial and cultural superiority
of people of English descent
 By
the end of the 19th Century, technology
increased the ability of American farms and
factories to produce more items
 Production
was more than Americans could
consume, so America needed new markets
 With
increased production, the United States
needed to find more raw materials for its
factories and new markets to sell the
manufactured goods

Belief in the Imperialist view of increased foreign
trade would solve the issues of overproduction and
economic issues such as employment and the
economic depression of the late 1880s

Senator from Indiana, he was a strong imperialist

Advocated obtaining new territories for
economic gains

“Fate has written our policy for us; the trade of
the world must and shall be ours….We will
establish training-posts throughout the world as
distributing points for American products…Great
colonies governing themselves, flying our flag
and trading with us, will grow about our posts of
trade.”
 Exports
had total $234 million at the end of
the Civil War, increased to $1.5 billion
 Exports
exceeded imports to produce
favorable balance of trade
 Favorable
balance of trade led to American
economic power

Admiral Alfred T. Mahan, president of the Naval
War College advocated a strong American
military expansion

Mahan’s book, The Influence of Sea Power Upon
History, 1660-1783, stressed the need for a
strong navy to defend the peacetime shipping
lanes, which would increase America’s economy
could grow

Mahan believed the United States needed to
strategically locate bases in areas such as the
Caribbean where its fleet could refuel and urged
to develop a modern fleet
 Urged
the United States to construct a canal
across the Isthmus of Panama
 Increase
desire to acquire Hawaii and other
Pacific Islands as naval bases and economic
markets

Between 1883-1890, US built 9 steel-hulled
cruisers

After the construction of the Maine and Oregon,
the US developed the world’s third largest navy
 Cultural
factors justified imperialism
 Social
Darwinism: a belief that free-market
competition would lead to the survival of the
fittest—emphasized racial superiority
 Social
Darwinism viewed that it was the US
responsibility to spread Christianity and
civilization to the world’s “inferior” people
 Not
only racial superiority was encouraged,
but this belief supported the idea of defining
civilization by one culture’s standards
 Believed
imperialism as a threat American
Anglo-Saxon heritage based on moral and
practical concerns in imperial practices
 Nothing
justified American domination over
other countries

Constitutional protections were not granted to
newly acquired territories claimed by the US

Maintaining a military large enough to enforce
American influence and protect newly acquired
territories was too high

Cost of new territories prohibited American
economic growth
 The
Americans: Reconstruction through the
20th Century. McDougal Littell