Imperialism DBQ

The U.S. overseas expansion in the 19th and 20th centuries were aimed towards creating a global presence on the world stage. The U.S.’s military interests to extend their control lead to their intentions of assimilating foreigners into the “best” culture because of the influence of the Progressive Movement that was taking place.
Based off the idea of Social Darwinism and Anglo Saxon, this lead people to believing that the U.S. should civilize these “savages” through spreading Christianity and democracy. They assumed that they were the best race and that everyone else was uncivilized. Document C mentions that “the highest civilization will spread itself over the earth” and “this competition of races will be the survival …show more content…
was not justified in being an imperial power. The three factors that fueled the emergence of U.S. imperialism was the desire for military strength, thirsts for new markets, and belief in cultural superiority; although, these were not valid reasons for justifying their actions. Because of the Progressive Movement, there were many negative effects (i.e. overcrowding, depression, sanitary issues), but this wasn’t an excuse to cruelly take over other countries. The growth of the economy depended on exports, which was a reason why they needed to imperialize both politically and culturally to keep foreign markets open. Yellow journalism played a major role in the event because it caused a huge commotion. An example of this was when the U.S.S. Maine exploded. Despite the facts that proved Spain was innocent, the people were stubborn and did not change their mindset. Document F also states, “under the Declaration of Independence you cannot govern a foreign territory, a foreign people, another people than your own...you cannot subjugate them and govern them against their will, because you think it is for their good, when they do not.” George F. Hoar critically says this because he represented the Congress and wanted to stay true to the values that America was built upon. As a senator, he might also be trying to rally up more votes to remain in office longer. Finally, there were violent events that took place in order to take control of the territories such as the