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American Exceptionalism In The 19th Century

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American Exceptionalism In The 19th Century
In the late 19th century Americans fully embraced the concept of American exceptionalism, believing the “United States had a destiny unique among nations to foster democracy and civilization.” With this ideology, Social Darwinism, Anglo-Saxon, naval expansion, and the need for market promoted the rise to imperialism in the United States. When the Americans moved west and defeated the Native Americans they felt matchless because of all the technological and social developments they had over the Native Americans. Americans were able to trade and exchange guns, agriculture, and animals with Europe and Asia. The Americans thought God was making room for them but Social Darwinism is what vindicated the Whites ruling over weaker races. The wealthy used a scientific theory as a …show more content…
You had to be a strong spiritual Christian and have a brain for colonizing. You also had to possess a great liveliness toward your own kind. Strong insisted that the Anglo-Saxons spread Christianity and share their material godsends throughout the world. The group was predestined by God. Strong believed that in order to spread out, there needed to be form of connection between the United States and the Philippines. The United States would bring the gospel of Jesus to the unfortunate races. To gain supremacy in the Pacific, they needed to build a canal across Central America. The Anglo-Saxons needed to obtain power over the Pacific to complete the works of God and the United States needed the islands because Russia’s effect on Korea was growing rapidly. In 1901, expansion became a certainty. Mahan believed the United States economy would be incapable of receiving the vast amounts of industrial and commercial goods being manufactured locally. He then guaranteed the United States an assured access to international

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