Prior to the late 19th century, America played a minimal role in worldly matters. However, this isolation would change due to imperialism, which is the political, military, and economic control of powerful countries over weaker territories. European nations and Japan initially started the race of acquiring new territories in the 1800s, and in due course, America would join in on the competition as well. The taste of Empire is in the mouth of the people even as the taste of blood in the jungle. Made by a Washington D.C. newspaper, the statement refers to the connection between imperialism and military technology. The two correlate since a way to display a nation’s authority is through how advanced its military is. Advanced military technology within a nation demonstrates to other countries that it is a force to be reckoned with and asserts that it will use its advantages to its benefit when necessary. Military historian and officer in the U.S. Navy, Alfred T. Mahan, published ‘The Influence of Sea Power Upon History in 1890’. In this book, he stressed the importance of America improving its navy and stated that it was necessary to obtain foregin bases so ships could refuel. Mahan’s work ultimately transformed America’s military technology as the nation grew to have the third largest navy in the world within the next ten years. The United States upgrade of their military stood as a threat to any nation that attempted to impede the goal of dominating territories and countries all around the world.
New Manifest Destiny, also known as American expansion, was justified in numerous ways. The main reasoning for American imperialism was Social Darwinism, a concept that describes that only the fittest who encounter life’s competitive struggles are bound to survive. This notion is implemented in New Manifest Destiny as it formulated that America, a superior country to most others, has a duty of civilizing, educating, and governing those nations considered to be incapable. Josiah Strong was a religious missionary who wrote ‘Our Country’, where he explains that it was America’s responsibility to expand their values, specifically religious beliefs (Christinaity) to weaker nations. His book influenced other missionaries to spread Christinaity throughout the world in hope of gaining converts. Frederick Jackson Turner wrote ‘The Significance of the Frontier in American History’. In the essay, he explained that the frontier, which was so unique to the U.S., had been closed, and it was pivotal for Americans to have a vast area of land in order to flourish. Turner’s piece of text affected imperialism as well because it pushed Americans to expand overseas so that they could succeed. The aforementioned justifications for New Manifest Destiny all differently targeted why imperialism was salient for America to progressively become an influential leader in the world that had much power.
The Spanish-American war was fundamentally triggered because Cuba wanted to be free from Spain. Though, because of America’s growing influence in worldly affairs, the nation ended up getting dragged onto the battlefield. Americans pitied the Cubans as it had evoked their own revolutionary heritage, while others had concerns regarding their economic interests in Cuba. Another cause for the Spanish- American war was the confidential letter written by Enrique Dupuy de Lome toi Washington, D.C., which got leaked to William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was a newspaper publisher who made articles that evoked a sense of dislike among readers towards the Spainsh government. He published Enrique’s letter that used words to bash President McKinley by describing him as a weak and stupid politican. These adjectives brought about a sense of jingoism, or aggressive and warlike nationalism amongst the American people. The Spanish-American only an eight day war, but it had significant outcomes for the primary countries involved. The war also occurred due to Spanish General Valeriano Weyner as he forced the rural Cuban population into reconcentration camps, where they were deprived of basic resources needed to live. Spain eventually agreed to get rid of these camps and make other compromises, but America had already made its decision to consider war. The Spanish- American war only happened for eight days, but it had significant outcomes for the primary countries involved. The bloodshed ended with the Treaty of Paris and within this treaty, Spain sold the Philippines to the U.S. The Teller amendment (passed by Congress before the war) blocked the U.S. from owning Cuba but did not appeal to the Philippines. The Platt amendment were terms under which Cuba was allowed independence and permitted America to do whatever necessary when necessary maintain order in Cuba. Both of their purposes were to show a prime example of America’s flourishing and developing power within the government to institute such acts to control other nations and territories. Spain’s selling of the Philippines and the Teller amendment sparked debate whether or not the islands should be dominated by the U.S. President McKinley was one.
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries acted as an age of growth for America. Through imperialism, the nation came on top and demonstrated to the rest of the world that it was powerful and set a precedent for future leaders to deal with foreign matters.