ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast American Foreign Policy In The Gilded Age And The Progressive Era

938 Words4 Pages

Dani Nelson
2/25/2017
Dr. Jones
American Foreign Policy in Gilded Age and Progressive Era (1880-1920)
HIST111: United States History After 1877

Over 100 years ago, the United States was looking to become the international power it is today. Establishing foreign policy through territorial expansionism in Hawaii, interventionism in Cuba, and imperialism in the Philippines was the major reason for the United States becoming a modern world power between 1880-1920. Before the 1880s, the United States had never really had foreign policy with any countries on the other side of the world. Policy had always been based upon the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that European nations were not allowed to interfere with nations in the Western Hemisphere, …show more content…

However, in 1891, King Kalakaua died and Queen Liliuokalani took over. She was insulted that the white Americans had control of her government and decided to make a new treaty to give power back to the natives. The American residents fought back and called on the United States to help them. The U.S. Boston was sent to help them and Queen Liliuokalani surrendered. The United States immediately tried to annex Hawaii, but the Senate wouldn’t sign the annexation treaty. A joint resolution was passed in 1898 by President McKinley for Hawaii to officially become …show more content…

The U.S. was given more land to control, including the Philippine islands, which McKinley found to be a problem because the islands were so far away and expanded over thousands of miles. Eventually, McKinley decided to annex the Philippines, and American support for the foreign policy soon followed. American imperialism was embraced by many because it allowed for the United States to get closer to becoming a major player on the world stage. Some believed it was their duty to “Christianize” the Filipinos; others believed it was a stepping stone for trade with China. Those in opposition of annexing the Philippines, especially the Anti-Imperialist League, believed that it didn’t align with American

Show More
Related
332 Words | 2 Pages

One very strong piece of writing,”Queen Liliuokalani’s letter of protest to McKinley,” written by Queen Liliuokalani herself, is a letter protesting how her and her fellow Hawaiians should have an ability to vote on the regards of Hawaii’s independence. This letter was written in July of 1897. Back then, Hawaii was not part of the United States. The purpose of this writing was to change the treaty sent to the US. In her letter, Queen Liliuokalani discusses how in eight months she would “give” the Hawaiian islands to the United States with a treaty.

Read More
781 Words | 4 Pages

Pres. William J. Clinton signed a fiscal year 1993 appropriations act that conveyed title of the island back to the state and entered into a memorandum of understanding with the state about cleaning up and controlling the land. In 1993, Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii sponsored Title X of the Fiscal Year 1994 Department of Defense Appropriation Act (PL 103-139, 107 Stat. 1418.

Read More
544 Words | 3 Pages

Foreign Policy, 1890-1920s”, n.d.). These progressives, such as Roosevelt and Wilson, saw no conflicts in this approach to imperialism as it was a way to improve, uplift, and reform our government’s ways here at home and all around the world. Other Progressives opposed this foreign intervention and imperialism as they feared it would reduce domestic and social reform here at home and within the Republican Party. Democratic President Wilson followed the same path for the most part as Republican Roosevelt. He did have greater reservations in all foreign interventions; yet, he gladly intervened in the Mexican Revolution as well as used military intervention in Haiti and the Dominican Republic due to the possible German

Read More
447 Words | 2 Pages

Many Americans thought occupying foreign countries, like the Philippines after the Spanish American War, was a bad idea because it contradicts the American values of equality found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. (Doc D) However, a majority of America sided with people like Senator Albert J. Beveridge who believed people were chosen by God to expand into China and the Philippines to open more Asian markets. (Doc E) This was a continuation of past expansionism because acquiring land for money Manifest Destiny have been motives for expansionism for

Read More
159 Words | 1 Pages

The United States was not interested in having people with different cultures, languages, and religions where an older generation of moralists thought it violate a core principle of republicanism, while a younger generation believed that the United States had a role to uplift backward societies. When the foreign policy changed after 1890, the US became an imperialist nation. After the United States bought Alaska from Russia the US quickly decided to look into overseas. Their plan was to take over other foreign lands and slowly gain an empire, and soon become a world power. The two major causes for US expansion after 1890 were for economic benefits and military control overseas.

Read More
667 Words | 3 Pages

The United States has inflicted imperialism on the island Hawaii on January 17, 1893. They did this by overthrowing the government which was a monarchy and its ruler was Queen Liliuokalani. Then by overthrowing the sugar planters who overthrew the Queen, President William Mckinley was able to obtaining the territory for the U.S after the Spanish-American war. The U.S wanted to obtain Hawaii because of its monopoly on Sugar and its Sugar exports to The United States. The United States wanted to obtain the territory also to get rid of taxes on them and the business, and wealthy people were losing their ability to manipulate the government and wanted it as a naval base like pearl harbor.

Read More
843 Words | 4 Pages

The reasons did United States foreign policy change between 1920 and 1941 was mainly because of World War II. In the 1920’s, historians have considered the United States to be an isolationist country. Presidential candidate Warren G. Harding said that he opposed the League because it does not correspond with our constitution, even saying it would be a “deadly blow at our constitutional integrity”

Read More
1203 Words | 5 Pages

pro-imperialist conflict in the United States, the decision to annex the country was made without any of their input. Hawaiians became victims of American imperialism, which drastically changed their economic and cultural landscape. Acts of protest from Native Hawaiians went ignored by the United States government when they were considering annexation, and no attempts to compromise with them were made. According to petitions made by Native Hawaiians of the Hui Hawaii Aloha Aina (Hawaiian Patriotic League) and its female counterpart the Hui Hawaii Aloha Aina o Na Wahine in 1897, the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani and the prospect of Hawaii’s annexation to the United States was strongly opposed by Native Hawaiians, as they contained signatures from more than half the Native population. In 1897, Queen Liliʻuokalani herself wrote a formal protest to the annexation of Hawaii to President McKinley, In which she stated, “I, Liliuokalani of Hawaii...do hereby protest against the ratification of a certain treaty, which, so I am informed, has been signed at Washington by Messrs, Hatch, Thurston, and Kinney, purporting to cede those Islands to the territory and dominion of the United States.

Read More
374 Words | 2 Pages

William McKinley in his thoughts on American Expansionism has identified the reasons why America had no other choice but to incorporate Philippines as a part of it. This writing has been lifted from the excerpts of an interview with William McKinley soon after Spain had surrendered in the Spanish-American war. McKinley cleverly talks in this interview about how Philippines just came and fell into the laps of America thereby suggesting the helpless stance of America. He talks about how America’s sole intention and purpose had only been to safeguard its own interests as a country. He had to order that the Spanish fleets in Manila be destroyed because if left unattended, they would have crossed the Pacific and wreaked havoc in the American states

Read More
662 Words | 3 Pages

As a result of the Spanish-American War, the United States decided annex the Hawaii in order to use Hawaii as a military base to fight against the Spanish. The United States has remained in the Hawaiian Islands and the Hawaiian Kingdom has since been under occupation to the present, but it continues as an independent State and remains intact under international law. On January 17, 1893, Queen Lili'uokalani, was removed in a coup d'état led by Americans who were against Queen Lili'oukalani's attempt to establish a new Constitution. The coup efforts were supported by the U.S. Marines which further proves why it was unfair since Hawaii had no defense against the

Read More
426 Words | 2 Pages

Hawaii gained statehood on August 21,

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

Before the 20th century the United States was an isolationist nation but around the late 19th century America decided to convert into an imperialist power. They had numerous reasons to shift into being an imperialist nation. America didn’t want to begin imperializing to settle and live in the nations they were taking over, they already had America for that reason, they wanted to adopt these nations for what they had to offer, which was many things. America saw an opportunity to improving their nation and took it. Even if there were many causes for America to imperialize, three of them stood out the most.

Read More
1292 Words | 6 Pages

The United State’s annexation of Hawaii in 1898 led to the gradual destruction of the Hawaiian culture and the almost-extinction of native-born Hawaiians. The majority of the Hawaiian natives opposed the annexation of Hawaii and wanted to maintain their sovereignty. Although the Japanese could have taken over the Hawaiian islands if the United States had not, the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. was unjustified because of the treatment of the monarchy and natives, the infringement of the natives’ self-established culture and government, and the natives’ overwhelming opposition to the U.S’s involvement in Hawaii. From 1795 to 1874, the Kamehameha Dynasty ruled over the kingdom of the Hawaiian islands. Up until the death of Kamehameha III, the U.S. had stayed out of interfering with the islands.

Read More
1618 Words | 7 Pages

Those that were for annexing the island based it on the business interests and industrialization of the United States. Which made perfect sense to them as all they wanted to do was expand and more than anything that didn’t want to lose out on the Philippines to Japan of Germany. Of course, there those that were against the annex stated that islands were 6000 miles away from the Pacific coast, so what good would have the island do

Read More
976 Words | 4 Pages

Exploitation is wrong, but there have been multiple times in history where men have “justified” exploitation with progress and expansion. The real question is if their claims were entirely true. In the past, America used its power to exploit, conquer, and gain a foothold in foreign continents like Asia. Some may think that America’s exploitation was completely unjust, while others think that exploitation was needed for progress. America’s exploitation during imperialism was definitely unjust.

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast American Foreign Policy In The Gilded Age And The Progressive Era

Related Topics

Open Document