Taking Sides

Arguments For Imperialism:

Imperialism is what caused the US to strengthen politically, economically, and religiously over 

the foreign territories. There were four major factors contributing to imperialism that made 

United States stronger than even before. These include economic factors which caused 

growth of industry and increased the demand for raw materials and other markets.  

The second factor is a sense of nationalism that was competition with the European 

countries to control and conquest empires made up of less stable countries. The third factor

is a military factor which advanced the weaponry and the navy which was ranked as the 3rd 

strongest in the world by the 1890. The fourth factor is the religious factor which includes

spreading knowledge about religious scripture and law. Imperialism was essential and 

inevitable to make America a leading and competitive world power therefore it holds 

great importance in describing the nature of American policies.

Sources: 

1. Jones, Jacqueline, Peter Wood, Thomas Borstelmann, Elaine May, 

and Vicki Ruiz. Created Equal. Brief Third. 2. New Jersey: Prentice 

Hall, 2005. 441-443. Print.

2."American Imperialism." 123HelpMe.com. 20 Oct 2010 

<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=22933>. 

Taking Sides

There are many well put arguments for and against imperialism. It may be that the most

powerful of countries are not satisfied with being just that- a strong empire; but they see 

other countries as frail and would like to take control. Control for a moment or control 

forever, but control nonetheless. Thus brings on the term imperialism. Imperialists were 

countries who took over other countries for their natural resources or raw materials to 

advance their economic and military benefits. Though it was thought of more 

as “expansion”, the undeniable is clear: the more power a country had, the easier it was 

to dominate a lesser country. 

Arguments against imperialism:

 -Two countries may not have the same religious beliefs.

-Too aggressive – for no good reason other than monetary.

Wars During Imperialism

William McKinley said, “War should never be entered upon until every
agency of peace has failed.” But that didn't stop many wars from
breaking out during America's stage of imperialism. America invaded many
lands to wipe out pirates or smugglers or to protect the interests of
America. The regions include: Puerto Rico, Greece, Falkland Islands,
Sumatra, Argentina, and Peru. There were many wars during America's
imperialism and I am going to comment on them.

Most of the wars that I read about have been for America citizens and
in the name of American's well being. But couldn't they have just left
these other countries alone? I can understand the Mexican-American War
but to go so far as Hawaii and Japan I believe that it was just
overkill. America didn’t need any of these places they just, in my
opinion, kept wanting to find power for themselves. Like in Japan the
trade between them and the U.S. Was dwindling over the last century so
we decided to do something about it and show them our power, which was
100 times greater than theirs at the time. We basically pointed a gun at
their head and forced them to trade with us. Much like with Mexico, even
though I believe the war was entirely acceptable since we didn't go
looking for a fight on lands we had no claim to(Pilgrims cough cough).
That war was a power struggle between two nations that were in close
proximity with each other. But we did eventually force Mexico to sell
their northern territories at the hefty sum of 15 million dollars.

There were wars based on the protection of the United States of America
and there were wars that got rid of a couple of pirates. But in the end
when we look back on it, was it right? Was taking Hawaii such a great
thing? The Kanakas (native Hawaiians) lived a peaceful extremely
friendly society before Americans came and commented that they were to
lazy and had no need to further their industry, technology, and economic
system. Basically that they were lazy. Until America put a stop to the
Kanakas' ability to pick food from trees whenever they wanted and still
have enough to share with neighbors which apparently made them lazy.
They overthrew the peaceful Queen by force and demanded some type of
government. Did any of this need to happen? Did we really need to
disrupt these people's lives and build all sorts of companies and
industrial sites there? There were many wars, yes. But did half of them
need to happen? You be the judge.
Works Cited
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/timeline-and-history-of-american-imperialism.html

Dollar Diplomacy

Dollar Diplomacy was led by President William Howard Taft, who for many years had 

served as Teddy Roosevelt's Secretary of War. When Taft won the election, Roosevelt had 

thought Taft would continue to carry out his plans. Taft had no intentions of fulfilling 

Roosevelt's plan, and soon he was appointing corporate lawyers instead of activist 

reformers to his cabinet. Roosevelt's foreign policy was also abandoned and Taft replaced 

it with "Dollar Diplomacy," substituting ballots for bullets. This appealed to the public and it 

made money for investors. Taft wanted to ensure financial stability of a region while 

protecting and extending America commercial and financial interests. 

Did Dollar Diplomacy work?

It did increase the level of U.S. financial involvement abroad but it was not always right 

for profit. Taft had persuaded bankers to invest in railroad projects in China, Russia, and Japan. 

However Russia and Japan became united in efforts to block the influence of America.

Many investments were lost in China when the Revolutionary movements had opposed 

U.S. influence. Dollar Diplomacy had also created some enemies  in Latin America when local 

revolutionary movements opposed U.S. influence. 

Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, 

especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of 

other areas. This is what Taft was trying to do with Dollar Diplomacy. So in the end, 

Roosevelt and Taft had produced anti-colonialism abroad and anti-imperialism at home.

Sources:

-www.blueladder.com/education/ushistunit9notes5.html

-Novik Frank."Imperialism and Anti-imperialism."The United States and Imperialism. 

Blackwell Publishers Inc, 2001. Online Book, 2010. Web. 2 Oct.2010.

American Imperialism and "Colonial Rule"

Colonial rule, or colonialism, is “the control or governing influence of a

nation over a dependent country, territory, or people,” according to

Dictionary.com. For the longest time, British colonies in the United

States were under colonial rule by Great Britain. Once reaching an end

of the American pioneering era, America had to start looking to foreign

markets and businesses to keep afloat with the world around it (Source

2). So then, once under the influence of foreign markets and businesses,

America was really under colonial rule by other countries because

America had to conduct international business and trade with those

markets on their terms to survive. This is because those businesses and

corporations had what America needed- jobs, goods, and services. It can

be concluded that the U.S. was going to have to conduct international

business or it was going to take a war to get the American economy

revived and an empire going (Source 2).

America’s pioneering era ended because in the 1890s there was so much

industry development that took place (Source 2). After three centuries

of roaming the frontier, the original lines of territory vanished

because America was now a whole country with a whole continent (Source

2). Although industries had been created all throughout the land and

provided folks with jobs, it can be inferred that the economy was not

able to survive because there was no demand. There was not a demand

because there was not a hefty population. Theodore Roosevelt once told a

friend in 1897, “I should welcome almost any war, for I think this

country needs one,” (Source 2). Whether the generations of people today

know it or not, America found its hope in the Spanish-American War as

the answer to economic problems.

It would be this war that would bring America to the power that it has

possessed for over the last century and more. A wise action to take is a

brief pause to think about how colonial rule has been in force in

America. It was earlier stated that colonies in America were first ruled

by Britain before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

America had to go to businesses in other countries to keep its own

economy afloat. Now America would be the country to get to be in

colonial rule of other countries after the war would end.

Many details involving America in the Spanish-American War are mentioned

in various descriptions. But the turning point for America getting

involved was when the U.S.S. Maine was blown away by a massive explosion

caused by Spain in 1898 (Source 3). It was only a month and a half after

the attack, which President William McKinley would declare war on Spain

(Source 3). America was also in the battle to purchase Cuba and to

conquer other Spanish territories. The greatest lesson to learn here is

that American troops were persistent. America lost 3,000 lives and paid

$250 million by the time it was over, but persistence led America to

achieve most of what the leaders and the country wanted (Source 3).

The peace treaty that was signed in Paris on December 10, 1898 granted

freedom to Cuba (Source 3). Puerto Rico and Guam were handed to the

United States, and the U.S. could purchase the Philippines Islands for

$20 million from Spain (Source 3). Though the war lasted only four

months, it still involved strategy and expert decision-making by U.S.

leaders (Source 3). Simply because it didn’t last very long is not an

excuse to dismiss it. In fact, it should only be studied and reviewed

even more above other history subjects pertaining to the United States.

After the Spanish-American War, America had its first territories. Prior

to the war, Americans had probably been so used to being under colonial

rule, but after the war, it allowed them to stand on the other side for

once. It empowered them to bring this nation to the top of the world. In

answering the question on how colonial rule and American Imperialism are

related, we first saw that America was divided and under colonial rule.

First, it was the thirteen colonies under control of Britain. Secondly,

America was under colonial rule by giving itself out to businesses in

other countries to survive. Thirdly, once attaining territories from

Spain, America had changed sides of colonial rule. Now it would be where

immigrants from those countries would come to America for opportunities.

We still see it going on today. It can further be inferred that American

Imperialism grew globally as it acquired territories and began to

befriend neighboring countries of those territories to make America’s

economy the best and top economy of the world.

Sources:

1.      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/colonialism 

2.      http://www.shmoop.com/spanish-american-war/ 

3.      http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/intro.html 

4.

http://www.shmoop.com/spanish-american-war/botw/images.html?d=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/trhtml/trrr.jpg

-This source is a picture of Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders

Regiment on San Juan Hill, Cuba in 1898. Information on this photograph

retrieved from http://www.shmoop.com/spanish-american-war/images.html

How Yellow Journalism Aided Imperialism in America

Yellow journalism is considered overly “exaggerated writings that are disguised as fact.”

Taking a factual story and distorting the meanings and the incidences of what really 

happened.  It is used in many stories to bring more excitement and sometimes fear or to 

gain sympathy from a reader.  William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were the two 

men first associated with yellow journalism.  They contributed to the use of yellow 

journalism through their newspapers , which were the two largest selling papers in New 

York City at the turn of the century.  The term yellow journalism stemmed  from a fight 

the two papers were having over a  cartoonist who created a  character named “Yellow 

Man,” made out of a no smudge yellow ink. Hearst took the cartoonist away from Pulitzer , 

so he hired another cartoonist and soon the battle of the yellow man was on... it was out 

of control to see who could sell the most papers.  Soon the papers started  altering the 

facts to make the headlines even more exciting and eye catching to sell more papers than 

their competition.

Hearst and Pulitzer both had a huge influence in how Americans saw the Spanish-

American War, how they viewed Cuba and what they thought was going on. Both papers 

called for the US intervention and swayed the American involvement in the war. Yellow 

journalism has been used in every war the US has been in since then and it has been 

used for political gain and altering public opinion.  Yellow journalism helped America strive 

to build itself into the country it is today.  It motivated the markets for profitable 

investments and helped intensify sales of newspapers and gain profits for many 

companies in the early part of the 1890's both in the country and abroad. 

Sources:

Michael Streich. American Imperialism in the 1890's. web.10 January2009.

http://www.suite101.com/content/american-imperialism-in-the-1890s-a89283

Richard D.Olson.R.F. Outcast, The Father of the American Sunday Comic, and the truth 

About the Creation of the Yellow Kid. http://www.neponset.com/yellowkid/history.htm

Understanding Imperialism

When the word imperialism comes to mind several thoughts run through the brain like

superiority, expansion, and conquest. All these are important elements in shaping the 

United States and making it a world power. But how exactly did we get to this point? What 

all did imperialism encompass? Was imperialism essential? These are critical questions to 

understanding the complex issue of imperialism in the United States. 

In the 1890s, the United States began to expand its political and economic horizon to other 

parts of the world. Americans looked beyond their boundaries into unique cultures and 

experiences. The trade industry made United States stand out as a member in foreign 

affairs. During this decade United States would become the most important industrial 

power in the world. The strongest reason for imperialism was the economic surplus. 

America was searching for markets to expand overseas. There was great economic 

potential in Hawaii and in the mines of the Philippines. America negotiated control over 

both Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the harbor at Pago in Samoa because it was clear that if 

Unites States wanted to become the dominant world power it would have to control the 

seas. 

American Nationalism was at its peak in 1895 when they signaled to Great Britain that 

they were prepared to go to war and to dominate the world. As America grew it was 

essential to protect the territories that were overseas. America acquired Alaska, Hawaii, 

Guam, and Samoa which greatly expanded the perimeters and national security became a 

major concern. For national security, America needed a strong military and navy to 

maintain its superiority.  The navy was a major catalyst in the growth on the United 

States. To see how much United States developed in just a decade we can compare that in 

1880, US was ranked 12th in the world for the strongest navy but by the 1900, US was 

ranked 3rd and this achievement greatly affected expansion and provided the US with a 

strong sense of national security. 

Dominating economically and politically were major aspects of the US but there were also 

religious reasons to imperialism. Missionaries wanted to convert foreign territories by 

convincing them that their faith is better. They wanted to Christianize the colonies that 

were conquered to prove their racial and religious superiority. 

During this crucial time period, United States had proved through conquest that it was the 

emerging world power and that no threat could stop its expansion. Imperialism is what 

shaped America as we know it today: a world power. 
Sources: 

1. Jones, Jacqueline, Peter Wood, Thomas Borstelmann, Elaine May, and 

Vicki Ruiz. Created Equal. Brief Third. 2. New Jersey: Prentice 

Hall, 2005. 441-443. Print.

2. "American Imperialism." 123HelpMe.com. 20 Oct 2010 
<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=22933>.