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Imperialism
Imperialism
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Most of America's imperialist expansions between 1890 and 1914 resulted from political
ambitions. In his 1899 painting, "School Begins," Louis Dalrymple used the cartoon that
depicted Uncle Sam (the U.S. government) towering over various countries referred to as his
students to show America's wish to have overseas territories by its political might; hence, it used
those places among others such as Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines for this
purpose. This essay argues that political expansionism was the primary force behind American
imperialism at the turn of the century, as government leaders sought access to strategic territories
and resources to project U.S. military power globally. However, debates over historical
interpretations and evidence relating to the period between 1890 and 1914 reveal that American
imperialism during this era was driven by politics and power projection that pushed Americans
Teddy Roosevelt and William McKinley had political ambitions behind the imperialistic
expansion of the United States of America between 1890 and 1914. Some of those calls were
based on the need for more substantial political influence and increased military power
projection across its borders, like annexation of the Philippines, intervention in Latin America,
and campaigns for navy modernization. In their opinion, America's power was supposed to be
symbolized by strategic lands for the manifest display of her might through control over
resources. In 1903, McKinley frankly admitted that the Philippines were being kept under
American dominance due to power struggle factors, “We could not give them back to Spain –
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that would be cowardly and dishonorable; we could not turn them over to France and Germany –
our commercial rivals in the Orient – that would be bad business” (Rusling, 109).
peoplehood, citizenship, and national identity were altered during these years through increasing
economic activity, foreign military engagements, and a massive wave of immigration from other
countries (p. 27). In this respect, the author uses official political papers and fiction books,
higher learning, and works of art, among others. Consequently, the writer interprets the
relationship between American expansionism on the one hand and migration on the other,
thereby bringing together two areas usually treated separately. It is thus an insightful and
persuasive story that reconstructs American politics in its true spirit. Barbarian Virtues
demonstrates how specific issues gave rise to what we now call "Americanism.”. The Roosevelt
administration’s focus on naval primacy and appropriation of the Midway Atoll by executive
order in 1903, which marked a political empire cemented through military conquest, showed the
American Yawp's chapter on the American Empire aptly demonstrates that America was
driven into imperialism by political ambitions for power and might in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. This chapter also underscores how gaining overseas territories or expanding its
imperial presidency meant naval supremacy and strategic locations like Latin America and the
Pacific mattered. “Roosevelt wanted to expand American influence. For instance, he advocated
for the annexation of Hawaii for several reasons: it was within the American sphere of influence,
it would deny Japanese expansion and limit potential threats to the West Coast, it had an
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excellent port for battleships at Pearl Harbor, and it would act as a fueling station on the way to
imperialism was fueled by political reasons aimed at power and control at this time. It was
published in Judge Magazine by Louis Dalrymple, who drew Uncle Sam, showing these new
colonies as sad schoolboys post-Spanish-American war, wherein the U.S. had taken over some
Spanish territories like Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Dalrymple's sketch manifests
these developments as dictatorial politics. In the proper historical context, Dalrymple was
responding to the Philippine-American war that was viewed as a revolt by Filipinos who opposed
a new colonial government imposed by McKinley without their consent. He was against political
annexation because he belonged to the Anti-Imperialist League, and his cartoon presents an
underprivileged schools under the influence of Uncle Sam's paternalism. In conclusion, a quote
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on the blackboard: "The U.S. must govern its new territories with or without their consent,"
An explicit critique of the cartoons shows how Republican leaders expanded their powers
at home and abroad by acquiring those islands under McKinley. Dalrymple saw democratic
principles as jettisoned for political strategies and territorial ambition without considering
indigenous peoples. This is displayed in his cartoon through areas that must accept these
impositions of political authority, which also violate the principle of consent itself. So, both
visually and textually, political tropes have been used by Dalrymple to emphasize his perspective
on American foreign policy. He referred to this period as the 'era of imperialism.' The cartoon
became incredibly popular in Judge Magazine in 1899 and was celebrated as an infamous
The facts and interpretations reveal that the main contributing factors to American
imperialism between 1890 and 1914 were political reasons. The need for military power
projection abroad came from a requirement to dominate strategically vital territories and
resources commensurate with its increasing global status; this was true during the Roosevelt
administration when the building of the navy at the outset was conceived in terms of deployment
over Pacific and Caribbean regions even as it formed the backbone behind state formation.
Consequently, scholars argued convincingly that only political causes among them led the
otherwise insular nations into such zealous pursuits for nothing else but the imperialistic dreams
of that time. This sense of urgency on the part of America, specifically against self-government
elsewhere, demonstrates faith in such expansionist destiny based on expediency rather than
Works Cited
Ellen Adams and Amy Koho. "American Empire." The American Yawp, Stanford University
Press, 2018.
https://www.americanyawp.com/text/19-american-empire/#IV_Theodore_Roosevelt_and
_American_Imperialism
General James Rusling, “Interview with President William McKinley,” The Christian Advocate
January 22, 1903, 17. Reprinted in Charles Sumner Olcott, The Life of William McKinley,
https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/19-american-empire/william-mckinley-on-
american-expanionism-1903/
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/school-begins-by-louis-dalrymple-1866-
1905-1899-news-photo/1162716332?adppopup=true
Matthew Frye Jacobson. Barbarian Virtues. The United States Encounters Foreign Peoples at
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780809016280/barbarianvirtues