American Expansion in the Nineteenth Century

Table of Contents

Introduction
Economic Factors
Strategic Factors
Ideological Factors
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The United States passed a long way to become todays world giant. The country had to struggle to strengthen its global position with the help of colonial policy, though the ambiguous legacy of such decisions re-echoes now. Thus, various factors, including economic, strategic, and ideological, shaped American imperialism in the late nineteenth century.

Economic Factors

To clarify and understand the broad context, one should remember that the nineteenth century was not the beginning of the U.S. imperial expansion. In the period between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the European countries were led by the desire to expand their commercial routes to the Far East against the background of settling in the territories of North and South America. The Europeans established trading points in Africa and China and protected their economic interests through the local rulers (The Age of New Imperialism). These times called Old Imperialism, along with the Industrial Revolution, gave momentum to the New Imperialism characterized by the expansion of the U.S.

As one can see, until the nineteenth century, America did not significantly influence the global economic and political arena. Chinese per capita income surpassed that in the Western countries, which made China the greatest economic champion in the Asian area (Lippert and Perthes 12). Later, industrial and technological advancements that took place in the U.S. allowed for producing more goods than the population could consume. It was the moment when America needed more raw materials and new markets to move its overproduction.

In addition, the U.S. also saw opportunities in other geographic directions. For instance, after purchasing Alaska, America looked at the Hawaiian Islands as a crucial part of economic success because, in the late nineteenth century, it was a stopping point for American merchants on the way to Asia and East India. As Henry Cabot Lodge once said, America needed to control Hawaii to retain its commercial supremacy in the Pacific region and influence in Samoa (Lodge 1). Nevertheless, economic factors also had their strategic political aspects, which facilitated American imperialistic appetite.

Strategic Factors

The strategic factors of the American New Imperialism can also be regarded as military and political ones. Against the background of the expansion of influence in the Pacific, the U.S. needed to build and protect the Nicaragua Canal due to the continuous threat from England to the American Atlantic seaboard (Lodge 1). Furthermore, Cuba represented another potential point for building a naval station (Lodge 1). Thus, the need for military bases and national security were the main factors contributing to American imperialism.

Moreover, such views laid the foundation of the American intervention policy, and thus the U.S. decided to help Cuba in its war for independence from Spain. Primarily, President McKinley wanted to avoid a serious conflict with Spain through diplomatic means. From a particular point, it was the reason why America also needed to hold its pride-nationalism and reputation. In his letter leaked to the newspapers, de Lôme, the Spanish Ambassador to the U.S., called the then-President weak and a hunter for the admiration of the American citizens, which ignited the support for intervention in Cuba (De Lôme Letter). Thus, McKinley was forced to send the military to Cuba not only due to the high strategic importance of those lands but also because of the necessity to prove that the U.S. had a strong leader.

Ideological Factors

From the ideological perspective, America began to see itself as a superior civilization, which made the country seek ways to justify its imperial expansion. Here, the combination of Social Darwinism and the idea about the superiority of the white race led America to the conviction about its responsibility to civilize inferior and illiterate populations of the colonies through the instilment of Catholicism (Davidson et al. 344-346). However, it is worth emphasizing that Social Darwinism was the core part of the imperialistic ideology since it distinguished the Western approach to affairs as the most favorable for survival.

Moreover, the U.S. ambitions had other paths to achieve in addition to the interventions to potential colonies. Guided by the belief in its superiority, Americans, similar to their competitors, perceived the enculturation of overseas inhabitants as a moral responsibility (The Age of New Imperialism). Although this phenomenon received the title of the white mans burden, Western civilization, including America, shared medical advancements, implemented laws, and disseminated Christianity (The Age of New Imperialism). However, it became a ponderable cause of disrespect to non-Westerners, which also contributed to slavery. Nowadays, the legacy of those practices in the form of racism and discrimination remains even today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, all the economic, strategic, and ideological causes of the intensive development of American Imperialism were dictated by the need to strengthen the U.S. position in the colonial rivalry. One can suggest that the nineteenth century, especially the second half, was a time of economic successes as well as political difficulties, which still made America one of the most powerful influencers in global politics. However, the ideological factors gave rise to racism and discrimination that continues to exist in the U.S. even today.