Imperialism Dbq Essay

The social reaction to expansionism continued throughout both movements because the opposing sides of each argument disagreed on completely different topics. Many during the time of Imperialism believed America was destined to expand due to the believed superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race (Doc 1), and was justified in expanding due to the fact that America would spread democracy and that they were required to expand because it was the “White Man’s Burden” (Doc 1-POV). This is also true for Manifest Destiny, which was built on the idea that God ordained the western hemisphere for Americans. The annexation of Texas and Hawaii were both conducted under expansionist philosophies. American Texans expressed their desire to become a part of the

This sentiment continued far into the late 19th century during the annexation of Hawaii. Many American businessmen and entrepreneurs had emigrated to Hawaii, making them important to Hawaiian society. Their ties with the American economy made annexation beneficial to the United States. These ideas of American expansion continues throughout the course of American history. However, opposition to expansion also continued throughout the period of expansion. For example, Americans opposed the Mexican-American war on the grounds that the annexation of Texas was not worth waging war, and that the desire for Texas to become a state was rooted in slavery. These types of disagreements were continued well into the 19th century when anti-Imperialist movements fought against Imperialists, arguing that international expansion goes against fundamental American ideology (Doc 3) and they attempted to preach their ideas to common Americans and legislators, denouncing Imperialism as unconstitutional and in violation of American birth rights (Doc 3-Intended Audience.) The continuity of expansionist ideas continued due to the belief of the superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race due to global expansion of European countries. However, the disagreements over the justification of expansion continued due to the fact that the majority of American expansion within the periods of Manifest Destiny and Imperialism was inspired by individual interest and economic gain