Imperialism: The Origins Of a Global Power

1. Why did American plantation owners and U.S. Marines topple Hawaii’s queen in 1893? Why was Hawaii considered to be a valuable prize? What was President Grover Cleveland’s reaction? Do you agree or disagree with his quote on page 1?

For many years before 1893, Hawaii had been involved in U.S. business affairs. The islands were considered a highly valuable prize - they were the perfect refueling point for ships crossing the Pacific Ocean to Asia, not to mention the fact that the islands were chock full of natural resources. Many U.S. businessmen had invested in these tropical crops, and for the, an American annexation of Hawaii would have been immensely profitable. In 1893, their urging to place Hawaii under U.S. control pushed through, and with the help of the Marines, Hawaii's monarchy was toppled. President Grover Cleveland did not agree with these actions, though - he withdrew the treaty that would have granted the US control of Hawaii. He thought that the US had treated the Hawaiian queen unfairly, and that this would reflect poorly on the US.

I agree with his quote. Yes, it was not America's right to annex Hawaii, and yes, it was a stain on the nation's morals. If powerful countries abuse their might to gain as much land as possible, how can the world possibly function? It is not appropriate for a country that preaches justice for all to storm into an innocent land and re-haul everything that the native people have ever known. The US made a mistake with Hawaii, and it needed to be fixed.

2. Identify five important changes that transformed American in the nineteenth century. How did these five changes affect Americans?

1) Immigration: As more and more immigrants poured into the country in the late nineteenth century, America's demographic began to change. No longer was America made up of northwestern European descended citizens - as conditions grew more crowded and oppressive in Europe, immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe began to flood the country as well. This not only raised America's population significantly, it boosted America's ethnic diversity by far.

2) Urban growth: With the growth of its population, America began to develop larger and larger cities. With these cities arrived significant problems: disease, overcrowding, poverty, rising crime rates, etc. As city living became more popular, agriculture lost its appeal. American became a city-centralized nation.

3) Manufacturing: By the time the late 1800s had rolled around, manufacturing was far more popular than farming. These factories often drew immigrant workers, who were willing to work for close to nothing. The iron and steel industries boomed, and technological advances happened every day. A "new kind of immigrant" cropped up - these Southern and Eastern Europeans worried many Americans.

4) Trade: With manufacturing came many exportable goods. America was making a fair amount of money from exports to Europe. The kinds of things the US exported changed, too - advances in transportation boosted the transportation of agricultural goods, and the US soon became just as heavy a name in the trading industry as most European countries were.

5) Growing economic power: The US began to look to buy overseas markets to receive American goods. This worried many European nations, and caused them to raise their tariffs. This meant that America began to export its goods to less powerful countries, such as those in Latin America and Asia.

3. How did the economic depression that began in 1893 deepen the divisions in American society? Which groups suffered the most during the depression?

The economic depression of 1893 only served to deepen the divisions already made in American society. It affected factory workers and immigrants, as well as poor farmers, most heavily. This made these lower class workers realize that they did not have a strong foothold in the world of American business. It was the big business men and factory owners who held all the power - if the workers struck, they lost their jobs; if they did not strike, they were barely earning a living as it was. The depression also split America into two groups - those who were in favor of cheap money (farmers in debt who supported a boost in the money supply) and those who favored tight money (stated that an increase of the money supply would cause awful inflation).

4. What were the values many Americans attached to the frontier? Why did many Americans fear that the closing of the frontier would harm America’s national character?

America had always viewed the frontier as a beautiful, plentiful, empty expanse of land. To explore the frontier was to be brave, strong, charismatic, American. White Americans thought of themselves as brave, pragmatic, ingenious, egalitarian, patriotic, individual and resourceful. All of these values were displayed in exploring the frontier, or so they thought. The frontier was also seen as a place of economic opportunity. Many Americans, especially old generation White Americans, feared that closing the frontier would mean an end to true American values. How could the country continue to grow in such a charismatic way if it could not expand into the open frontier?

5. Why did some Americans suggest greater involvement overseas?

Over the years, America had grown to be just as powerful as many European nations. With the general unrest in the country about losing American values, many US citizens felt that being more aggressive overseas would give America the air of toughness and bravery that the lack of a frontier to expand into had depleted. Other Americans simply saw the lands overseas as areas of economic growth. EIther way, it was clear that Americans had hunger to move up and out and make their presence known in the world that could not be stopped.

6. What policy did expansionists say would ensure the economic success of the United States? What did imperialists say?

Expansionists thought that, in order for the US to succeed economically, it would have to build an empire across the ocean. Some wanted to simply open American ports in other countries, but others pushed for the US to legitimately create an empire. The latter, called imperialists, insisted that it was America's mission to expand throughout the world, bringing American values to every savage or inferior nation.

7. How did the theories of social Darwinism and scientific racism lend support to the cause of American imperialism? How were these pseudo-scientific theories used to justify racist policies and imperialism? Are they still used today?

Imperialists used social Darwinism and scientific racism to back up their urging for the US to take over other countries. In the eyes of the Imperialists, some nations were simply more advanced and intelligent than others - as social Darwinism would say, some countries were higher up on the evolution chain than others. Scientific racism helped to support these claims but using supposedly medical and scientific means to determine that certain races were inferior to others. Of course, the Imperialists pointed out that the US came out on top in these theories, so what was the problem in taking over poorer, stupider countries? There was nothing wrong with it; on the contrary, Imperialists thought, the US would have been doing these countries a favor. Although these false scientific practices no longer hold real merit, there are unfortunate amounts of people in our modern world who still believe that some races and countries are vastly superior to others, for no apparent reason.

8. What did many Protestant churches say was America’s role in the world?

Many Protestant churches insisted that America's role in the world was to help save the people of "downtrodden" nations. They sent missionaries all over in order to apparently save the souls of "savages" in other countries. Some religious leaders even believed that god favored Americans, and that imperialism was god's plan for the human race. Some people even believed that if the Protestants and the US could spread their influence all over the world, world peace would be achieved.

9. Why did the United States become involved in several Latin American nations in the nineteenth century? Summarize why the United States became involved in Samoa, Hawaii, and other Latin American nations.

In the nineteenth century, the US became involved in several Latin American countries. There was big push to "stabilize" troublesome countries in order to make the world a safer place for American commerce. For example, in 1878, the US signed a treaty that promised to aid Samoa in exchange for free access to Samoan harbors. After the US agreed to this, Britain and Germany tried to take over parts of Samoa. The US held true to its promise and helped defend Samoa. The US did the same sort of thing in many other nations, specifically Hawaii. It offered protection or aid in return for easier trading access; in many cases, the US ended up annexing the very countries that it had originally offered aid to.

10. Why was the United States concerned about British involvement in Venezuela? What concept did U.S. Secretary of State Richard Olney invoke in response?

The US was concerned about British involvement in Venezuela because it was afraid that Britain would begin to colonize Latin America in the same way that it had colonized Africa. This would completely cut off American access to South America. Olney invoked the Monroe Doctrine in response - this caused much tension between Britain and America, but eventually things were resolved, although without the involvement of any Venezuelans.