The Life and Times of American Influence; A Study of American Expansionism in Two Eras Andrey Rainchik AP US History Sloma

January 10th, 2013

In the years before World War I, the British Empire had two periods of intense colonization. These two distinct periods were similar in that they were both focused on land gains and the betterment of the British; however, they were different in that the original land grabs in Ireland and what would become the United States assimilated the conquered peoples, but in later expansions in India and Australia, the new territories and people did not become part of British life and culture. This parallels the land grab attempts of the United States. Late nineteenthcentury and early twentieth-century United States expansionism was, to equally great extents, a continuation of and a departure from past United States expansionism. Supporters of United States imperialism, along with other issues, contributed to the similarities. Reasons for the expansionism, as well as other factors, contributed to the differences. The similarities stem from supporters of expansionist efforts, false pretenses to support these efforts, and critics of United States imperialism. Supporters of expansionist efforts in the earlier periods of expansionism include such people as John O Sullivan, who promoted the idea of Manifest Destiny as a reason for United States to expand westward. Similarly, Josiah Strong wrote that God is preparing the Anglo-Saxon race to spread over the Earth and civilize other races. (Doc B) His claims are an extension of social Darwinism and the survival of the fittest. Another similarity is that of the false pretenses used to gain land from other nations. In the mid nineteenth-century, the United States entered a war with Mexico for the purpose of gaining land in the West. In a similar fashion, the United States entered a war with Spain to gain control of lands in the Caribbean and Pacific. The

American press exaggerated Spanish cruelty and hostile actions to the point that the United States had no choice but to take military action to take Cuba off of Spanish hands. A final similarity is that of the critics of expansionist efforts. During the westward expansion, groups such as the Conscience Whigs opposed the MexicanAmerican War on the grounds that they believed it was an attempt to expand slavery in the West. This parallels the actions of the American Anti-Imperialist League, who were highly critical of American efforts to expand internationally. They believed that American interests at home outweighed any interests for expansionism abroad. (Doc D) Obviously, the two eras of expansionism had much in common. The differences between the two periods of expansionism included such subjects as reasons for expansionism, the treatment of the conquered citizenry, and the methods of expanding United States influence. Past expansionism was done for the purpose of gaining land, such as when the United States made the Louisiana Purchase. However, expansionism in the late nineteenth- and early twentiethcentury was performed for the reason of enriching the nations Americans saw as less advanced. (Doc F) This represents the white mans burden as proposed by Rudyard Kipling. Another departure from the early era of expansionism was the treatment of the people who were already living on the land America took control of. In the earlier era, the Native Americans living on the land were allowed to be assimilated with the Carlisle Indian education schools. In the later era, the natives were not allowed to be assimilated into American culture. (Doc H) With American intervention in Cuba using the Platt Amendment, the Cubans were allowed to have

some control of their countrys politics but they were not allowed to be part of the American empire. Another departure from the early era of expansionism is the methods of expanding the influential sphere of the United States. The era of previous United States expansionism was also different from the later era in the way the expansionism was carried out. Expansionism in the earlier era was performed by buying the needed land, as evidenced by the Gadsden Purchase. In the later era, the United States of America waged war with a built up navy to become the imperialist power it needed to be to compete with other countries. (Doc C) This was evidenced in the time of the Spanish American war, when Theodore Roosevelt ordered George Dewey to sail into Manila Bay to capture the Philippines. Evidently, the two eras of expansionism had much that differed. The British Empire had two great periods of expansionism that had much in common and much that differed. Late nineteenth-century and early twentiethcentury United States expansionism was, to equally great extents, a continuation of and a departure from past United States expansionism. Similarly, the two eras of space exploration, governmental and private, had much in common, such as the upholding of the Outer Space Treaty, and much that differed, such as the technology offered.s