Imperialism was a controversial idea that a nation can extend its power outward through means of diplomatic or military force. This often results in a shift of power from one major force currently in control to another. The people of that nation under control conflict may also experience wars, rebellions, or cultural destruction. Looking at some of these events, we see some positives and negatives of imperialistic action taken by the United States, and how it affected the nations imperialized by the United States. For starters, let’s look at Hawaii’s annexation. The United States saw Hawaii as a location of both strategic and economic opportunity, for both a naval base and sugar farms. Times began to grow difficult for American farmers with the Hawaiian government, so they decided to overthrow the monarchy. The queen ruling at the time, Liliuokalani, decided it would be best to leave her position as queen as a means to prevent any bloodshed from …show more content…
As we saw in Hawaii, the United States jumped into the sugar farming and tourisms, removing the voice and votes, since the corporate businessman came first. This was also without fair consent, and was to be investigated by President Cleveland. Yet in Panama, we witnessed a major change occur with United States interaction; we saw the decline of yellow fever. With the aid of Doctor Gorgas, the village people were given a sanitary sweep, wiping out most mosquitos and dropping the infection rate heavily. With Panama’s approval, the Panama Canal was also constructed, creating an economic opportunity for Panama as well as making travel and trade between the United States and Asian nations quicker. Imperialism is a risky decision to make, because it could have terrible after effects that were not calculated, even if it brings in revenue for your