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Early American Imperialism

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One of the unique challenges of studying history is that there is never a single right way to interpret the events of the past. Oftentimes, it is difficult to compile a disparate range of people and places into a single theme. Likewise, in the early days of colonial america, there was no single narrative that could describe the vast differences in the society, behavior, and beliefs of early American settlers. However, as America continued to grow and expand, a common narrative developed around the dreams of settling a new land, and the ways in which this was accomplished. All of this shaped a collective identity that came to revolve around a tool that unexpectedly shaped the course of history: the axe. The axe not only forged a new American identity centered around a rejection of European establishment and culture, but also became a profound symbol of a new country that was shaking off the influence of Great Britain and discovering a new role model in the American frontiersman. …show more content…

For centuries, the economic and cultural systems of Europe had been based upon mercantilism, the idea that resources should be extracted from undeveloped colonies and transported to a home country for manufacture into valuable goods. For many years America was trapped in this system, but after gaining independence the new country finally had a chance to grow and develop unimpeded. As it began its increasingly rapid expansion to the west, it began to enact its own version of mercantilism, one that incorporated a specific set of values and came to form a new American

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In the 1992, book A Spirited Resistance: The North American Indian Struggle for Unity, 1745-1815 Gregory Evans Dowd takes an academic approach to Eastern Native American history. Dowd follows the same study identity and cultural transformations by focusing on two Eastern Native ideologies known as nativist and accommodationists. Elaborating on the outlooks, he argues that the monograph does not tell “history from the Indian point of view” and does not focus on a “single Indian outlook.” Advancing his argument the author states that his monograph provides historians with the many perspectives surrounding the Native American history in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds.

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Part one allows John Grady Cole to act as the often romanticized western hero incomplete in a constrained life off the open fields without horses. Part two continues perpetuating the mythic West through John Grady Cole’s ability to demonstrate his heroic skills of horse training, as the work’s true western hero. Part three’s introduction to blatant violence with Blevins’ death finally breaks the myth of the perfect west for John Grady Cole, introducing him to the inevitability of violence accompanying the western hero. Finally, part four demonstrates John Grady Cole’s rugged individualism as the western hero, estranged from his friends and family despite trying to reconcile the old aspects of his life in Texas. John Grady Cole’s evolution ultimately demonstrates the collapse of the frontier hypothesis at large, questioning if the notion of the frontier as central to American identity can take root in a modernized America.

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In the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, Industrial Revolution occurred in Africa and Asia. Industrialization was an improvement of technology and factories which led to the need for more materials such as textiles. The existence of factories took away job opportunities from people which forced them to work for the government. Colonial powers did not let anyone trade with anyone in Europe, meaning they were limited to Africa and Asia. Therefore, as materials became more requested, more hard unpaid labor was done in those areas.

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Smith 1 Jessica Smith Mr. Dearie AP U.S. History February 5, 15 Imperialism DBQ By 1901, the U.S. acquired exceptional overseas control, the title of a world power, and the third-largest navy in the world. These accomplishments were all mainly because of the current imperialistic philosophies of the age. This caused expansion, colonization, and fierce competition between countries like France, Japan, Britain, and Germany.

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Gail Bederman from the university of Notre Dame claims that Theodore Roosevelt, who was the greatest supporter of the attack on Spain and Philippines, had it engineered by both race and gender. These two concepts made him perceive imperialism as being the next stage of growth in a healthy republic. To him, expansion and domination were necessary if America was to civilize the world. For people like Theodore Roosevelt, as the United States advanced, the democratic vision was also progressing (Bederman, 1996). Theodore Roosevelt, just elected to office in 1882, felt that he was very important and had many ambitions.

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Even though, the French and the British came to North America in order to get power (Imperialism) their got opposites views and/or ways on how to get it. The British came seeking land because they thought that North America has a great vacant wilderness where the native American were frequently seen as wild savages. The French wanted to exploit North America’s riches through trade. So, the English and French were competing for trading rights and lands in North America. This conflict and/or manifestation of same forces and pressures that exploded in The Seven Years’ war which was about imperialism, In North America was known as the French and Indian War.

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A. Describe American Westward expansion during the nineteenth century and analyze two key features of this process in relation to questions of American national identity. Introduction The history of the United States is a history of westward expansion. In the early 19th century, the United States purchased the rights to landmasses west of the inhabited East coast of America. This is known as the Louisiana Purchase, and was arguably the event that set of the century of exploration, settlements and war, known as the Westward Expansion.

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United States Imperialism in the late 19th century was very selfish time. Many people in that time, debated about whether are not benefiting our country was the right way or the wrong way. The motiving factors that impacted our imperialism are economic, military, and cultural. These factors impacted the American Imperialism from 1890-194 by having control over weaker territories meeting our expanding needs.

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Leading up American Imperialism was an era defined by change and monopolies. Prior to Imperialism was the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was an era dominated by monopolies and “Titans of Industry” like JP Morgan with banking, Andrew Carnegie with steel, Cornelius Vanderbulit with railroad, and John Rockerfller with oil. Each of these men dominated their industry eventually creating a monopoly over them, they did this with the process of vertical/horizontal integration where companies would buy out their competitors then eventually all steps of their production process. There were many developments in the age of Imperialism however the biggest was the American shift from Isolationism to Interventionism.

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The American Age of Imperialism was the time period that took place after the Gilded and Progressive Eras, as they emerged as a great power with new economic opportunities that resulted from those times. In the early 1900s, American Westward expansion had ended as the frontier was considered closed. However, Americans wanted more so they looked elsewhere for land. This is when they entered into imperialism when a country expands its policy through diplomatic or military means. To America, this meant taking control of small islands to the south considered inferior, expanding trade into Asia, and justifying with the belief racist supremacy belief that America is “saving” them.

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Shawnee leaders refused to submissions and US forces destroyed villages and fields while murdering women, children and old men all because the establishment and conquest of land. Yet with all this occurring, from the perspective of this book, President George Washington did not do anything that help the people of the land, so this raises questions as to whether Americans should also debate about the removal of his statues and impact on American

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TASK # 1 MERCANTILISM Since its founding, the United States of America has been characterized by mercantilism. Due to its ability to increase commerce, production, and foreign investment, mercantilism was a key factor in the early years of the country's economic prosperity. In an effort to make colonies dependent on British goods and services, it was also one of the fundamental causes of the American Revolution.

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Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. It is a great way to strengthen the economy and gain power and territory for countries that practice it, though it often failed and resulted in war and the deaths of innocents. Four intellectuals that played a big part in influencing American imperialism were Frederick Jackson Turner, Alfred T. Mahan, Herbert Spencer and John Fisk. All of these influencers had different ideologies and came together to justify American imperialism. They believed America needed to expand power and gain territories.

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Economically the U.S. had made advances in technology and began to get oversea territories. Culturally they had used the

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The origins of American imperialism were small in the beginning with just 13 colonies on the East Coast. As America grew they wanted more. According to Henretta, "Many citizens embrace an ideology of expansion and proclaimed a God-given duty to extend American Republic to the Pacific Ocean"(Henretta, pg. 377, 2015). As time went by Europeans moved west, and they put an idea into place called manifest destiny. Meaning they called it conquest.

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