American Imperialism Dbq

From the moment settlers came to America and took over inhabited land, they used imperialism to achieve what they wanted. However this would be far from the last time America used imperialistic qualities to attain their goals. This event merely sparked the United States’ path of expansion and world domination in the 19th and 20th century. American imperialism became a significant part of the nation, and led the United States to expand its territory, destroy traditional cultures, and grow its economic and political power worldwide. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several factors played a role in the continuous and overpowering imperialism by the United States. Americans were inspired by the idea of creating a powerful nation and

Document 12 portrays Americans attempting to “civilize” the children from Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. This document shows the dehumanization by Americans to the people they conquered, and how imperialism helped the United States impose its culture on the people living in the territories it conquered. Unfortunately in many cases, this cost many cultures to be wiped away, and erased from history forever. In the “Struggle for Hawaiian Cultural Survival” it is said that, “After annexation, Hawaiian cultural practices declined in observance due to Western rule and influence over their land. Native Hawaiians lost their homes, health, resources, and people as capitalism, expensive healthcare, new laws, and foreign disease overwhelmed their land and culture. Today, Native Hawaiians have become a minority population in Hawaii, and are in the worst state of health out of all the residents of Hawaii” (Osorio). Similarly to other territories conquered by the U.S, Hawaii’s traditional culture was destroyed and replaced by Western customs and influence. These irreversible changes have left a major impact on what our world looks like today. Unfortunately Hawaiians weren’t the only ones who experienced the horrendous impacts of American imperialism. In 1901 William Fulbright wrote, “The Struggle on the islands has been naught but a

People were exploited and used for labor, but American also exploited the colonies’ wealth and natural resources (Editor in Chief). The United States didn’t care about saving the Cubans, Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans, or Filipinos, but simply used this idea as a justification for coming into their country and exploiting their citizens. The Chicago Labor World said, "This has been a poor man's war -- paid for by the poor man. The rich have profited by it, as they always do.” The United States succeeded by imperialism, while the conquered people suffered in numerous ways. The effects of the exploitation would impact the colonized people and transform their culture and way of life. Imperialism destroyed societies, altered both ethnic and religious groups, and ended many cultures (Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism). Imperialism was a scheme by Americans to achieve what they wanted, with no care to what happened to the people they viewed as inferior. Americans genuinely believed that they were superior to everyone else, and that the territories they conquered wouldn’t be able to govern themselves. They dehumanized Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Hawaiians and Filipinos, and treated them as if they were worthless. The scientific racism at this time contributed to the mistreatment of the colonized people, and the reason why