American Imperialism
The United States became an imperialist nation at the end of the
19th
century because Americans wanted to expand over seas with their belief
in
manifest destiny. The three factors that started American imperialism
were
political and military competition including the creation of a strong
naval
force, economic competition among industrial nations and a belief in
the racial
and cultural superiority of people of Anglo-Saxon decent. The
Spanish American
War marked the emergence of the United States as a world
power. This brief war
lasted less than four months from April 25 to August
12, 1898. A number of
factors contributed to the United States decision to go
to war against Spain.
These included the Cuban struggle for independence,
American imperialism and the
sinking of the United States warship "Maine". As
a result of the war Spain
ceded Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the
United States. The United
States in turn, paid Spain $20,000,000 for
public property in the Philippine
Islands. The United States gained
colonies on both sides of the Pacific
including Hawaii. On August 12, 1898
Congress took control and proclaimed Hawaii
American territory, and
issued the open door policy, which were messages that
president John Hay sent
to Germany, France, Russia, Britain, Italy and Japan
asking the countries not
to interfere with the United States trading rights in
China. The United
States had long been interested in a Central American canal to
link its east
and west coasts, expand trade and for military interest. In
1902
President Theodore Roosevelt decided on Panama over Nicaragua and
negotiated a
treaty with Columbia giving the United States permission for the
canal project.
The Panamanians had authorized Philippe Bunau-Varilla an
official of the French
Canal Company to negotiate the terms and sign the
agreement. The treaty also
gave the United States the right to control the
Canal Zone as if it were United
States territory, and to annex more land
if necessary for the Canal. The United
States agreed to grant Panama’s
independence and pay $10 million, plus an
annual fee of $250,000 per year.
The total cost of the construction of the Canal
was nearly $400 million
dollars. On August 15, 1914 the Canal opened for
business. Control of the
Panama Canal enhanced the power of the United States,
however the way the
canal was built damaged United States-Latin American
relations. Imperialism
has proven both destructive and creative, for better or
for worse, it has
destroyed traditional institutions and ways of thinking and
has replaced them
with the habits and mentality of the Western world