Expansionism in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shared many similarities and differences to that of previous American ideals. In both cases of American expansionism, Americans used the theory of manifest destiny to justify their conquests for new territory. Later, Social Darwinism was added to the mix, which made Americans even more big-headed. Both of these theories caused Americans to believe that the United States was superior to other nations and that all lands were theirs for the taking. However, there were also many differences between the two expansionist periods because some people supported imperialism while others were highly opposed to the idea.
It was evident in both cases of expansion that the United States was a stubborn nation that would take what they wanted at any cost. Americans risked war and national safety for the purpose of gaining land, or simply proving their dominance as a World Power. Americans pushed aside the Native Americans who inhabited the land they wanted in the early years of expansionism. They believed that the land was
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Jane Addams, the speaker in Document 4, criticized the Spanish-American War and the militarism it encouraged in the United States. This gave many people the idea that maybe imperialism wasn’t such a great idea. They shunned the idea of using violence in order to grow the American Empire. William Graham Sumner, also criticized imperialism (Document 2). He believed that assimilating people to American culture through military force would cause the United States to seem violent like Spain. Furthermore, the speaker in Document 6 also challenges imperialism by condemning the U.S. acquisition of the Philippines and by stating that America should be a republic, not an empire. He thinks that the United States has violated the theory of a republic by colonizing other