Essay Example Dedicated to U.S. Imperialism

Define Imperialism

The history of many nations is ebbed in painful recollection of the terrible times they suffered in the hands of their respective colonial masters. The colonial period saw instances of aggression and violence between one state and another. Imperial periods were characterized by extensive authoritarian rule coupled with the assertive and dictatorial tendency (Morefield, 2014). Imperialism, therefore, is the act of forceful rule through an emperor. Imperialism emanates from the Word Empire or authority thereof.

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Imperialism period started in the period around the 1870s when the European states established expansive control in African countries. The drive was to gain global influence and to assert themselves as the ultimate political masters of all times (Pas, 2014). The Imperial period saw massive transgression of human rights, such as the slave trade and the master-servant relationship between the Europeans and their subjects. Imperial Africa was also widely spread in the Asian nations around the same time. The Asian states experienced a firsthand brutality and subjection to humiliation and physical assault. The victims were put through massive tortures and women raping.

Prior to the imperial period, sodomy was unheard of in many of the victimized states. However, with the arrival of the colonial masters, male children were sodomized; their fathers were put through forced labour, racial segregation as well as economic exploitation. The imperial period expansively brought much suffering and regrets to the Africans as well as the Asian nationals who lamented rued the day they welcomed the foreigners into their land. They lost their ancestral land which went with their culture and religion. The subjects were forced to worship Western religion such as Christianity. Churches were built, schools and the introduction of new sporting activities (Morefield, 2014). Imperial Africa and Asian is something that the world lives to regret to date, especially coming from the onset f the tough economic times that was characterized by illiteracy and permittivity to the victims. The imperial masters showed no mercy at all to their subjects; they dominated them in all spheres.

U.S. Imperialism in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America

Imperialism was not an exclusive reserve of the European powers; the Americans also had their share of the spoils in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. The US burst into the Asian territories in the centuries ago as their defacto imperial power. Their explorative expedition did not end with the Asian exploitation but they expanded their dominance to the influence in the Latin America in the early 20th centuries. The desire to understand the global politics provides sufficient chance to investigate the drive for high the Americans drove into the Asian and the Latin regions of the globe (Brantlinger, 2013). Their entrance on the Asian territories was at the expense of Spain from whom they grabbed the Philippines territory from. The clear factor is that the U.S wanted to assert itself as a competent member in the global economic dominance as well as to have a say in the control of global politics.

Economic Transformation and Foreign Policy

The emergence of the United States in the Asian and Latin territory was as a result of the expansion of the US economy. The economy expanded massively towards the last quarter of the 19th Century, thereby creating demand for raw materials as well as the need for the creation of additional resources and labour to fit in the demand for expansionary measures of the US economy to its very best. The period towards the end of the First World War saw the Latin American states disappear into the social and economic changes that were speedily sweeping across the globe (Pas, 2014). the spread of the industrial revolution that spilled from the European powers spread to the United States land, thereby changing the business and farming practices from the small scale; single managed business and farming to large and expansive agricultural practices.

The emergence of a large and newly developed professional and qualified management system contributed largely to the creation of an independent system of workers that defined the American policies at the dawn of the 19th century. According to Morefield (2014), the dynamism of the American foreign policy during the 19th Century was overlooked by some of the prominent personalities such as Robert Wiebe and Martin Sklar. They suggested the restructuring of the American policy to take into account the bureaucratic aspect of the American Economic aspects.

The development and growth of the American Economy during the early 20th Century was highly volatile, leading to the loss of the largely energetic and influential and disruptive in the grappling and struggle with the maintenance of the tough anomic conditions. The severe economic downturns were often followed by massive booms, particularly in the 1800s. The great depression, however, sunk the American economy to turmoil. The workforce and households felt the pinch. The leadership could hardly manage to keep the industrial sector alive; they were lost for options and choices. The local resources were running out and the citizenry was getting agitated and worried. The local peace and political unrest were setting in. the challenge was for the leadership to find an alternative source of revival to the once promising economy. According to Brantlinger (2013), the only promising thing was to start looking away from home, the nation had to go on a searching expedition for resources, land, and labour to revive its economy. The Latin America and Asian regions proved likely destinations for the country as they seemingly had vast resources lying waiting to be put into use. The leadership efforts in the importation and the influence on the American foreign policy were to ensure that the country remained afloat especially in the 1pproach of the 19898. Imperialism was inevitable; America had to fight to stay true to its name and status at the time.

The Drive for New Markets

The American drive for expansion in the late 19th century was due to the economic imperative, the desire for political need as well as commercial ambitions. The root of American expansion was the duration during the mass 'industrial revolution' era that led to an uncontrolled desire for new markets as well as the needs for new markets for the industrial manufacturers. The American economy in the 19th century was largely driven by advanced technologies as well as electricity inventions. The industrial leaders at the time such as Andrew Carnegie and Rockefeller John were of the argument that the American economic life relied on the expansionary policies and trends that it intended to put in place. The industrial masters claimed that the failure to create new markets for its products would spell doom to the already ailing industrial sector (Pas, 2014). There was an urgent requirement to ensure that American produces were consumed overseas. This was heightened by the rising radicalism, as well as lack of unemployment that threatened the security of the nation at the time.

With the expansionary policies taking shape in the early 20thC, the easiest route for the nation was to take control of their neighboring states, Latin America. The US had o throw away its diplomatic approach to foreign policies when they set foot in the Asian regions. T the time, Spain had dominant control of the Asian spheres; however, the arrival of the American imperialism meant that they had to be edged out (Brantlinger, 2013). The U.S took control of the economic drivers of both the Asian and the Latin regions asserting their influence in such a way that no other country would dream of overthrowing them from the helm. The new markets meant that the American farmers, traders, and industrial producers had every reason to further their activities. After all, the market would later make America the global economic superpower.

Imperialism and Foreign Policy

The foreign explorative nature of U.S in the 19th and 20th Centuries was driven by the foundation of new foreign policy. The imperialism aspect of American venture to the Asian and Latin America regions clashed with the diplomatic ideologies which they held so firmly in the period before. Americans had imperial responsibilities in the Cuban Islands and the Asian regions; this was slightly in contrast to American diplomatic policies in the period preceding World War I (Morefield, 2014). America's approach in its imperialism was less brutal as compared to the European masters such as Britain. They actually created a patron-client approach of treatment to their subjects thus their rule was less brutal.

Conclusion

Imperialism was a factor that spontaneously took effect in the 19th and 20th C. the Americans were subject of the tough economic times, thus the need to expand to the Latina and Asian regions to save itself from the impending economic turmoil (Brantlinger, 2013). The continued demand for expansionary measures to cater to the industrial revolution prompted the country to venture into Asian and Latin regions.

References

Brantlinger, P. (2013). Rule of Darkness: British literature and imperialism, 1830-1914. Cornell University Press.

Morefield, J. (2014). Empires without imperialism: Anglo-American decline and the politics of deflection. Oxford University Press.

Pas, N. (2014). The Masculine Empire: A Gendered Analysis of Modern American Imperialism. Emergency as Security, 3, 47.