History of United States Imperialism
The neutrality of this article is disputed.What was to become the United States of America had existed for almost two centuries as part of the British Empire, the United States of America first emerged as a nation with the Declaration of Independence. While it was founded in the Enlightenment spirit of the American Revolution, many who believe that the United States is or was an imperialist would argue that from the first decades of its existence, the nation embarked on a legacy of conquest and colonization much like its mother country's.
According to this interpretation, the first step on the road to imperalism was the conquest of the Native American peoples who inhabited North America, reducing them from nations that occupied most of the continent into a small remnant of the population, herded onto reservations. Although conflict with Native American tribes in North America had occurred frequently for the British colonies, the first major conflicts with Native Americans occurred in the 1790s. A series of Native American insurrections against the United States led to victories against isolated armies in the early 1790s, in part due to the large coalition formed between various tribes. However, the Native Americans were decisively defeated by a large U.S. army at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and their villages and crops were razed. They were forced to sign the Treaty of Greenville, which ceded modern-day Ohio to the United States. Although the conflict was initiated by Native Americans, many who believe in the imperialist and expansionist nature of the United States during this period point to it as the first step in a cycle of conquest and territorial displacement that led to the near-destruction of the native peoples of North America.
During the later 1790s, American settlers began to flood into the Western United States. Without unified leadership, the Indian groups began to crumble apart and moved farther and farther west. Although publicly the ascendent Jeffersonian party of the era condemned the destruction of the Indians, there was a strong anti-Indian sentiment. As early as 1780, Thomas Jefferson himself, acting as governor of Virginia, wrote that "If we are to wage a campaign against these Indians the end proposed should be their extermination, or their removal beyond the lakes of the Illinois River. The same world would scarcely do for them and us."
The Louisiana Purchase, the 1803 transaction of the gigantic western Louisiana Territory from France (Napoleon Bonaparte) to the United States (Thomas Jefferson), is often considered the first major event in American expansion, although it is rarely cited an act of imperialism. However, the Louisiana Government Bill that followed it, although less well-known, is often cited as an early instance of heavy-handedness and hypocricy in the early United States.
After the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson signed the Louisiana Government Bill, which denied the new United States territory the right to self-government. Instead, it was to be ruled by military officials under direct orders from the capitol. Since most of the population of the territory consisted of non-whites and Catholics, Jefferson felt that the government should suspend its right to self-government until enough white settlers moved west to command a majority. Modern-day critics of this choice point out the irony in the fact that Jefferson, who had decried British denial of American self rule in the Declaration of Independence, was now issuing the orders to deny self-rule in an American territory, issuing commands from half-way across the continent.
Some would argue that the actual owners of the bulk of land was neither France nor the United States but rather the Native Americans who had resided on it for centuries and who were not consulted about this transaction. Others would reply that this would be to apply a 20th-century viewpoint to 19th-century circumstances, and to assume a concept of ownership of land not actually held by Native Americans.
After the Treaty of Greenville, white settlers quickly rushed in to settle territory reserved for the Native Americans under the terms of the treaty. Many Native American groups in the region were weakened by disieses brought by the whites; others were persuaded to "sell" the land for trinkets, claiming to speak for a whole tribe of Indians, who would then be forced off the land.
Resistance to this process which was slowly eating away at the Native American community of the region was led by the Shawnee warrior Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa ("The Prophet"). They encouraged a purification of the Native American culture, specifically avoiding alcohol and extensive contact with whites, in order to hold on to their land.
The War of 1812, described as some as the "Second American Revolution," was a conflict in the early 19th century between the young United States and Great Britain in a struggle for a degree of respect and a recognition of sovereignty from mother to daughter country.
Many Native American groups sided with the British in Canada, giving the United States a direct cause for war against them. Tecumseh, after taking his followers into Canada, was killed by future President of the United States William Henry Harrison, effectively ending the dream of a unified Native American resistance against the United States.
The War of 1812 also led to a strong surge of nationalism in the 1810s and 1820s which some point to as one of the causes of the intensification of relocation and slaughter of Native Americans during the period.
At the time of the United States Civil War many Southerners looked on the Union's action as imperialistic. Tracing their ideals back to the American Revolution, the Confederacy proclaimed that they had the right to self-government just as young America did in 1776. Some Southerners today still refer to the Civil War as the "War of Northern Aggression."
With the Spanish-American War the United States greatly increased its international power.
The Spanish-American War took place in 1898. The Treaty of Paris (1898), ended the Spanish-American war, giving the United States possession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Cuba in exchange for $20 million.'
The early decades of the 20th century saw a great amount of interference in Latin America by the US government, often under the guise of the Monroe Doctrine, but often actually in aid of US corporations.
Views on the concept of United State Imperialism have often been influenced by the opinions of the well-known historians of that period, who, in turn, are often influenced by the cultural and social attitude of their eras.
Historians known for their views on the topic include:
Earliest Conquests from Native Americans (1776-1794)
The Louisiana Purchase and the Louisiana Government Bill
Post-Greenville Conflict with Native Americans (1794-1812)
The War of 1812
The Civil War
The Spanish-American War
1899: Uncle Sam balances his new possesions, which are depicted as savage children. The figures are identified as Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Cuba Philippines and "Ladrones" (the Mariana Islands).
Early 20th century
US Imperialism after World War II
Those more recent events are still disputed and many (especially in America itself) believe that they were not imperialist in nature. However, the same was true during earlier periods of imperialism, which was rarely admitted to when it was practiced; for example, the imperialist nature of the Spanish-American War is hardly questioned today, although at the time it was claimed by the U.S. government and its supporters to be of a defensive nature.Historians
Things to Incorporate
Events
Key Figures
Ideas
See also
