The 19th Century in AMerica was a time of internal expansion. Half of the 1800s was dominated by “isolationist foreign policy” and the westward move to the frontier. The end of the century was focused on the fight against slavery. During this time, across the ocean, the European powers - Britain, Spain, and France - were continuing to expand their influence outside of their countries through colonization. In order for the United States to join them as a world power, they had to imperialize and shift their societal mindset from colony to colonizer. In the process, America had to shift their way of thinking, strengthen internally, and assert themselves into the same position as their former colonizer and competition, Britain. In order to imperialize,