Blowback: The Costs And Consequences Of American Empire

Born out of the independence of a subordinate nation, the United States of America aggressively pursued a desire for expansion of power and influence in other countries through diplomacy and force so that they could gain political or economic power – or both. In this brief paper we will discuss the ambition for the U.S. to overthrow the government and economy of other nations, how it was rationalized, and which countries were subject to the foreign policies that the U.S. was going to subject them to; willingly or by force.

It had a comic book quality about it: two elderly men drunk and quarreling about Pershing (who Valerian had actually seen), neither one mentioning then or ever the subject of exile or advanced years which was what they had in common. Both felt as though they had been run out of their homes. Robert Michelin expelled from Algeria; Valerian Street voluntarily exiled from Philadelphia.

The 1890’s was the age of America’s new imperialism. The idea of imperialism resulted from the belief of Manifest Destiny, the idea of expanding America’s frontier from coast to coast was destined by God. The continuation of filling up western land created a closed frontier, pushing America to expand to other places outside of the mainland. The principle of expanding to other areas was to help America become a world power.

the war of 1898, but only 379 of them were killed in battle. The rest fell

The imperialist spirit of the United States was inherited from England after the U.S. broke away from its mother country in 1775. The young country wanted to spread its ways of living across its landscape, creating defined boarders on both sides that separated it from its English predecessors. Thus America’s New Frontier was born. America built up its imperialistic nature throughout the 19th century and on into the 20th century, flexing its muscles and establishing itself as a new world superpower. The modern United States no longer finds land to claim, but instead is involved with a Cultural Imperialism, which has affected how other countries around the world feel about the United States.

Why was the United States interested in expansion in these areas? Why was America building a global empire? The America Imperial aimed at the extension of political, economic, and cultural control nation boundaries that were weak. I was four ways for it to be accomplished by military conquest; by treaty or simply lending money to a weak country or recipient country that are unable to pay. The United States engaged these activities to get higher authority. They required a good will and good retentions and expand markets through out the east and west hemisphere. But, was not efficient enough to be successful because, of the intervention they had caused among the affected countries caused by resentment and bitterness. “Imperialism grew in America because of three major reasons- the first reasons are economic interests, the second reasons are military interests, and the last reason is cultural superiority. If we hadn't become an imperialist nation, then we would have never gotten the islands of Hawaii or Alaska. We also helped the Cubans and Philippines to gain their freedom and got Puerto Rico as a territory too. Imperialism was a much better foreign policy than the Monroe Doctrine.”

One of the major reasons why American expansionism began at the turn of the twentieth century was the idea of Manifest Destiny. Originally, Manifest Destiny was described as the god given right for the United States to expand its territory from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. However, Americans believed that Manifest Destiny also included extending American control into other regions in the Western Hemisphere. This new Manifest Destiny became one of the justifications for the continuation of American Imperialism. Another idea that helped push for American Imperialism was Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism essentially states that “the strong will survive”, and that those who are meant to hold power in this world will do so. John Fiske, a

This part of the story began, not in the Americas, nor in Europe, but in the Middle East. Carrying the message of the new prophet Mohammed out of the Arabian Peninsula, Muslims began making major inroads into western Asia and northern Africa in the seventh century, eventually encroaching on Europe’s southern and eastern frontiers. In 1095, Pope Urban II responded to a request for aid from the Byzantine emperor, whose dominions were under attack by Muslim invaders, launching the era of the Crusades. For two centuries, European-based Christians battled with Muslims in the Holy Lands and elsewhere. For the elite classes who engaged in crusading, provincialism died away, replaced by new information and contacts in the wider world. Soon Europeans would begin turning this new knowledge and these new tools against the people from whom they were appropriated.

The US, for most of it’s history had an isolationist tendency. Part of which stemmed from being physically separated from other nations by two oceans and the rest came from tradition. Washington set a precedent for foreign policy with his farewell address which called the nation to “abstain from foreign entanglements, avoid large naval commitments and expenditures, and refrain from absorbing peoples of ¬¬alien race and tradition” (The National Experience, 1993). Washington’s advice would be mostly abandoned in favor of economic and political pursuits, but similar xenophobic trends would present themselves in immigration policy; the successful growth of American Imperialism can ultimately be linked to the might of the United States’ navy and military might, to quote Alfred T. Mahan “Whoever rules the waves rules the world.”

Some Americans supported imperialism from a moral rather than an economic opinion. They saw much of the world as living in darkness. It was the duty of the United States, in their view, to bring the light of freedom and Christianity to those dark places. Josiah Strong, a Christian missionary leader, was a leader of this group (Anglo- saxon civilization). Josiah Strong was a prominent leader in the movement to apply Darwinist principles to society (Social Darwinism). He, along with others like Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge believed that the Anglo-Saxon race was superior and was destined to rule the world or a large portion of it. In his influential book Our Country, Strong wrote that the United States had a “divine mission” to

The United States saw its territory more than double in the first three decades of the 19th century. Bursting with nationalist fervor, an insatiable desire for more land, and a rapidly increasing population, the western frontiers of the United States would not remain east of the Mississippi. The eventual spread of the American nation beyond the Mississippi into Native and French land, referred to as “Manifest Destiny” by John O’Sullivan, was rationalized as a realization of their God given duty. The Louisiana Purchase set the precedent for unrestricted westward expansion in America, and allowed for others to follow in his footsteps. Characterized by racist overtones, a lack of the “consent of the governed, and ethnic cleansing, there is no

As the United States was gaining international power by involving themselves in foreign affairs and wars in the late 19th century, the idea of imperialism was becoming more and more popular. Imperialism is the expansion of governments control over foreign territory (usually forcible) with no intent on it being an integral part of the nation (in Americas instance a state). As people slowly began falling in love with the idea of Manifest Destiney, coupled with the actions our government was taking against foreign countries and their consistent involvement in them, was quickly paving the way for the U.S. to be an Imperialist nation. Manifest Destiney was a belief that the United states would take over and expand through “the Americas” (North and South) and not only was that expansion justified, but inevitable. And regardless of what the United States government was saying about Imperialism (The Monroe Doctrine) it was becoming clear we were operating as an Imperialistic country.

For half a century, a belligerent and imperialist America ran headlong through the world, causing untold misery and death to millions. From

After a long period of reconstruction and isolation, the United States became increasingly imperialistic by the end of the nineteenth century. After the Spanish American War, the United States focused their diplomacy onto Latin America in hopes of aiding them and protecting any economic investments. During the first decade of the twentieth century, the political desire to expand the power of the United States caused a deep resentment among the inhabitants of Latin American nations which ultimately led to the existing animosity among the relationships between the two regions.

The United States has undergone significant changes since the Founders signed the Constitution in 1787 and created the largest federal republic at that time. When drafting the Constitution the Founders created checks and balances to limit the power of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Since 1787, however, the executive branch has accumulated a massive amount of power and authority over the other two branches. More acutely, the President has gained the authority to control the financial sector as well as the military industrial complex, and thus dictate how many Americans live their lives. This accumulation of power and authority has been systematic and cannot be considered an accident. The President of the United States