Unpacking American Imperialism: a Critical Analysis

Would you spread your ideas if you thought they were superior? Imperialism in the United States was desired by many due to their belief in which everyone should be civilized nations, however, it was based on American standards and did not reflect the wants or needs other nations faced. Reasoning was clear to some leaders of the United States, wanting to expand its horizon because they saw it as an opportunity to help other countries and peoples to become as successful as they saw themselves to be, contrarily, it seemed to others that the United States wanted to expand and force their ideas onto nations, rather than to help them become independent. Some agreed with the idea of Imperialism and other’s thought it went against the very foundation the United States was built on.

One can infer from Josiah Strong, an Anglo-Saxon advocate, many opinions of imperialism were a necessary action because of religion. His view was that the world was in need of Anglo-Saxon interference because they were the noblest race and could help other nations experience civil liberty as they had. In the case of the Philippines, the United States made the decision that the Filipino people desired a western lifestyle, when they sought independence after being under the control of Spain for hundreds of years. However, by attempting to force the nation to accept their views, they ended up in a war. The war brought forth mainly death, famine, and false hopes of freedom.

One illustration of Theodore Roosevelt exemplified the United States as the world’s police, showing characters, representing countries, bringing forth an item explaining the problem their countries faced. Roosevelt would help settle the issues and bring the world closer, especially to the U.S. Unlike the big business side of the United States’ expansion, individuals, such as Lottie Moon, sought to influence countries on a religious aspect. She spent years teaching the Chinese of Christianity out of purely the love for the Chinese and Jesus.

On the other hand, many Americans questioned why the United States would take over a country and force their beliefs on them out of simply wanting to have more land. Anti-imperialists sympathized with countries the United States were trying to forcefully influence because their ancestors had to fight England for freedom. It was clear that the U.S. was playing the “The World’s Constable”, yet they sought out nations to take control over. Many were becoming greedy because of the success of the U.S., it seemed like a clear choice to expand. In the image by J.S. Pughe, Uncle Sam is a very large man, with the names of States and territories the U.S. had come to own. Three men are trying to get him to take anti-fat medicine, which is in a container that says “Anti-Expansion Policy”. Depictions of Uncle Sam only gets larger as time goes on and as the Unites States expands to other nations in another anti-imperialism photograph. As with many deals at the time, the U.S. was putting themselves in the position to get the upper hand; after the Spanish-American war, The Teller Act was put forth when the U.S. obtained Cuba, therefore on paper, Cuba was free, but American forces still controlled many aspects of Cuban life and trade.

To conclude, Both Roosevelt and Taft used demeaning ways to get what they wanted, as The Big Stick Policy and Dollar Diplomacy, they used the United States’ strength in their favor. They obtained nations through various means and acted as if they were helping the world but were wanting to seem superior to other nations. With the growing Navy and growing economic strength, it seemed to some that Uncle Sam wanted control of the world.

Bibliography

1. httlis://kctcs.bnedcourseware.com/#/classes/01dd624a-873b-4eb5-b575-d0037949d87a
2. httlis://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/war
3. httlis://elearning.kctcs.edu/bbcswebdav/liid-25722364-dt-content-rid-175378337_2/courses/SMC_4176_HIS_109_E0Z1_87941/03%20The%20Age%20of%20Imlierialism%20liictures.lidf
4. httlis://elearning.kctcs.edu/bbcswebdav/liid-25722364-dt-content-rid-175378336_2/courses/SMC_4176_HIS_109_E0Z1_87941/03%20The%20Age%20of%20Imlierialism.lidf httlis://www.imb.org/who-was-lottie-moon