Elizabeth Lanning
The Age of Imperialism
His 204: American History Since 1865
Donna Hinsey
June 22, 2008
The idea of American Imperialism started in the late Nineteenth century. This idea however was not supported by all Americans. It was the opinion of the Anti-Imperialist league founded in 1899 that we should not be getting involved in the affairs of other nations. Most Americans however found that Imperialism was a necessity in order to build a country that would be a power house among nations. Imperialism was not only practiced by our nation but many other nations that sought power and prestige.
In order to understand why most Americans thought that Imperialism was a necessary evil we must first understand the ideology behind imperialism. Imperialism is the idea that one must seek to expand ones territory by taking control or influencing a weaker party to give up ones territory. Through the years America has sought to take over land and control it in almost every instance of going into another countries territory. Americans first taste of Imperialism was when Christopher Columbus came to America about five hundred years ago. The Americans fought the inhabitants of the land at the time and took control of their land by force. This idea became the corner stone in which our country has been built.
Imperialism was adopted because America needed some way to expand its territory and gain power and prestige. Imperialism gave America a way to expand its territory in a more times then not in a threatening way. A great example of American imperialism was the over-throw of the kingdom of Hawaii on January 1893. Queen Liliu'okalani announced a plan to change the constitution of Hawaii that would restore more power to the monarchy and the American business men did not like that idea. So the Americans came up with an idea to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii by any means necessary to take position of a very important piece of territory. This example of...