American Imperialism In The Late 1800s

By the late 1800s, countries in Europe had already started imperializing places around the world; such as many countries in Africa. America, now industrialized, decided that they were strong enough to do it as well. America had already achieved Manifest Destiny and they were ready to expand outward. It had gained its own expansionism and it was going to change the country forever. The competition for power and land would be one that America did not want to lose and it impacted the country in many different ways but most importantly; it affected the country politically, economically, and socially.
Politics-wise, before imperialism, the United States kept to itself and didn’t meddle in the affair with other countries mostly. That all changed after the Spanish American War; the war ended up being very favorable to America, giving the country access to Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. A seemingly isolated United States found itself with more power and more land and more political opportunities; quick to act on these, America gained control of Cuban Affairs by creating the Platt Amendment. This Amendment protected Cuba’s independence but also allowed access to all of Cuba’s internal
America didn’t only want to trade with its territories, it had plans for trading with the Chinese. America created the “Open Door Policy” in hopes of trading with the Chinese markets by opening up their ports equally to everyone. In 1903, America was allowed access to finish building a canal in Panama, due to the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty. This treaty came about after the Colombian government refused but Panamanian ambassador, Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, and U.S. secretary of state, John Hay, signed off on the treaty, giving the U.S. a 50 miles long and 10 miles wide area of land to finish the canal, allowing for much better trade and travel