19th Century American Imperialism

My potential thesis focuses on American religious imperialism towards Cuba in the late 19th century and early 20th century. I plan on concentrating on Protestant missionaries, more specifically the Presbyterian sector and the use of aspects of social Darwinism through the use of Christian churches. A few of the ways that I want to approach this topic involves understanding how Presbyterian missionaries used Manifest Destiny coupled with Social Darwinism and how they were able to use these aspects to disguise their intentions through the act of building churches and providing humanitarian aid in the war of 1898. Paul T. McCartney in Power and Progress: American National Identity, the War of 1898, and the Rise of American Imperialism (Baton

Baer in God and the Nation: Protestants, Patriotism and Pride in Cuba: 1890-1906 (International Journal of Cuban Studies, Spring 2016) argues that “the transnational nature of associations between Cuban and American Protestants influenced the manner in which Cuban Protestants, specifically Presbyterians, addressed social and economic problems in Cuba, adapted their religious organization and beliefs from Protestant denominations in the US and the way they perceived Cuba’s relationship to the US ”. The main points that Baer argues in his article are that Cubans who increasingly leaned towards the Protestant religion did so because of the American Protestant sympathy to the rebels in the war of 1898. He also states that the mixture of American ideals in Cuban society through the church had more intentions than simply opening churches; but wanting to fix the considered backwards Cuban peoples who needed American intervention to help them. Baer relies on the works of Margaret Crahan and Matthew McCullough who are main figures in the field. He also uses many important primary sources such as, American newspaper clippings, monthly journals from the Foreign Missions of Presbyterian Church in the United States. Baer focuses on the Protestant missionary movement as a whole, as opposed to just focusing on the Presbyterian movement, but showcases the study from both a Cuban aspect including Evaristo Collazo, Cuban Presbyterian minister, and an American side formulating around

Baer uses the dissertation of McCullough which is the first chapter in his book. McCullough also uses The War of 1898 by Louis A. Perez Jr., Power and Progress by Paul T. McCartney and Matthew Jacobson’s Barbarian Virtue. Although these sources are found within one another they do not all focus on the same particular aspects of American religion in and after the war of 1898. All of the sources do however touch on key players like Josiah Strong and concepts of social Darwinism, manifest destiny and/or white man’s burden. These are crucial to my potential argument involving the concepts of religious imperialism and the feelings that these ministers had, especially when dealing with the concept of imperialism which many were not fond