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Did The Us Become An Empire In The Late 1800s Essay

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Group 5: Did the United States become an Empire in the late 1800s?
Blake
When analyzing the question of whether the United States became an empire during the late 1800s one must consider the Monroe Doctrine and how it affected U.S. imperialism and its involvement in other countries. The Monroe Doctrine itself shows a fundamental shift in American values. Before the passage of this doctrine Americans widely believed that isolationism was the best course for the U.S. After its passage, however, Americans realized that their influence could be extended into other countries.

During the late 1800s many European nations and some Asian nations were expanding there spheres of influence and becoming worldwide powers. America was also becoming a world …show more content…

The White Man’s Burden was the belief that the people in other countries needed American influence and it was the duty of Americans to “help” the people in these nations. This pushed the idea of imperialism to the American people as a sort of humanitarian aid effort rather than the conquering of other countries like the Europeans. Americans wanted to be thought of as better than the Europeans and as unlike them as possible. While they saw the term “empire” as another word for exploitation, Americans wanted to believe that they were helping people. They did not see themselves as an empire like the Europeans but more of a benevolent world …show more content…

It was a widely held belief that it was the predetermined destiny of the United States to expand beyond its borders and to project its culture on that of other civilizations. The belief that the American way was the better way was the theme of this time. As Manifest destiny turned into International Destiny, American businessmen believed that America should extend its authority over other countries. They believed that the way to expand America’s economy was through imperialism and should be the main effort of America during this time. The Monroe Doctrine and The White Man’s Burden promoted the ideas of Manifest Destiny in ways that justified its reality. It perpetrated the belief that these ideals are right because it was America’s destiny and was ultimately predetermined and

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