Arguments Against American Imperialism
William Davidson
Mrs. Powers
US History Honors
30 January 2015
Support and Opposition of American Imperialism American Imperialism is the idea of the United States taking over smaller countries for certain interests. American’s chose to be isolationists throughout their early history until 1898 when President McKinley became president of the United States. This led to Americans having an influence in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hawaii, and trade influences in China. This American influence led to controversy among American citizens on whether American Imperialism was the right thing to do. Imperialists wanted the American government to continue to take over smaller nations for several reasons while Anti-Imperialists wanted the government …show more content…
Imperialists thought that the cultural beliefs and government of these smaller nations was inferior to the cultural and political aspects of American life. These ideas that American beliefs should be spread led to Americans changing Hawaii from a monarchy to eventually becoming an American state in 1959. Albert Beveridge justifies the American government’s acts to govern countries like Hawaii and the Philippines in “The March of the Flag’: “Would not the people of the Philippines prefer the just, humane, civilizing government of this Republic to the savage, bloody rule of pillage and extortion from which we have rescued them?”(Beveridge). This statement from US Senator Beveridge explains the thought process of an Imperialist reasoning the idea of spreading democracy to other smaller nations in the Pacific Ocean. This idea that the people in Hawaii and the Philippines should be governed by the United States is directly from the interpretation that they could not govern themselves. Due to these theories about the people in the Pacific Ocean, many American Imperialists believed that the United States government should have continued in their territorial expansion of the Pacific …show more content…
Although both Imperialists and Anti-Imperialists had a just reasoning for imperializing or being an isolationist, the American government continued to practice Imperialistic ideas throughout its surrounding smaller countries in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Trade interests gained while supporting Imperialism helped to bring natural resources for industrialization in America and it opened up new markets to sell American-manufactured products but it also led to people being forced into a government that they did not choose. This can be displayed as defying democratic ideologies that the people decide their outcomes in government. Due to both of these points it can be concluded that Imperialistic ideologies both could be supported and opposed in many different
Mrs. Powers
US History Honors
30 January 2015
Support and Opposition of American Imperialism American Imperialism is the idea of the United States taking over smaller countries for certain interests. American’s chose to be isolationists throughout their early history until 1898 when President McKinley became president of the United States. This led to Americans having an influence in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hawaii, and trade influences in China. This American influence led to controversy among American citizens on whether American Imperialism was the right thing to do. Imperialists wanted the American government to continue to take over smaller nations for several reasons while Anti-Imperialists wanted the government …show more content…
Imperialists thought that the cultural beliefs and government of these smaller nations was inferior to the cultural and political aspects of American life. These ideas that American beliefs should be spread led to Americans changing Hawaii from a monarchy to eventually becoming an American state in 1959. Albert Beveridge justifies the American government’s acts to govern countries like Hawaii and the Philippines in “The March of the Flag’: “Would not the people of the Philippines prefer the just, humane, civilizing government of this Republic to the savage, bloody rule of pillage and extortion from which we have rescued them?”(Beveridge). This statement from US Senator Beveridge explains the thought process of an Imperialist reasoning the idea of spreading democracy to other smaller nations in the Pacific Ocean. This idea that the people in Hawaii and the Philippines should be governed by the United States is directly from the interpretation that they could not govern themselves. Due to these theories about the people in the Pacific Ocean, many American Imperialists believed that the United States government should have continued in their territorial expansion of the Pacific …show more content…
Although both Imperialists and Anti-Imperialists had a just reasoning for imperializing or being an isolationist, the American government continued to practice Imperialistic ideas throughout its surrounding smaller countries in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Trade interests gained while supporting Imperialism helped to bring natural resources for industrialization in America and it opened up new markets to sell American-manufactured products but it also led to people being forced into a government that they did not choose. This can be displayed as defying democratic ideologies that the people decide their outcomes in government. Due to both of these points it can be concluded that Imperialistic ideologies both could be supported and opposed in many different