Imperialism In The Late Nineteenth-Twentieth Century
The United States acquired many nations during the Age of Imperialism, which led to very invasive foreign policy in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Imperialism caused the US to have a paternalistic attitude, and a craving to expand- which shaped their selfish policy. The United States derived an overbearing feeling of paternalism from imperialism that bled on to their foreign policy during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The US felt that they were a superior nation and that they had a duty to better underdeveloped nations. They saw themselves as the police of the west and wanted to protect the peace, “Chronic wrongdoing or any impotence which results in the general loosening of the ties of civilized society […]
require intervention by some civilized nation”(Document B). The US felt that if they did not have a hand in every country, the smaller and less developed nations would destroy themselves, “we could not leave them to themselves-- they were unfit for self-government [...] there was nothing left for us to do but take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift them and civilize them”(Document A). The United States took it upon themselves to, “maintain the independence of Cuba”(Document E). The US treated Cuba as a little brother, backing them with a full military and acting as a deterrent from outside threats. The United States made it their mission to protect ‘weaker’ countries from, “Germany, England, Japan, hungering for them […] [or] a self-rule tragedy”(Document H). In doing such they also made it a part of their foreign policy to put down other powerful nations in order to boost themselves up. “We denounce the slaughter of the Filipinos as a needless horror. We protest against the extension of American Sovereignty by Spanish methods”(Document G). The Spaniards were cruel in to the Filipinos while they occupied the Philippines, the US uses that fact to recognize Spain’s cruelty while simultaneously creating a positive image for their policy by promising to be less aggressive than Spain had been. The United States aimed to create an image of reliability, power, and compassion through their policy. They did not care what other nations they put down in the process.
require intervention by some civilized nation”(Document B). The US felt that if they did not have a hand in every country, the smaller and less developed nations would destroy themselves, “we could not leave them to themselves-- they were unfit for self-government [...] there was nothing left for us to do but take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift them and civilize them”(Document A). The United States took it upon themselves to, “maintain the independence of Cuba”(Document E). The US treated Cuba as a little brother, backing them with a full military and acting as a deterrent from outside threats. The United States made it their mission to protect ‘weaker’ countries from, “Germany, England, Japan, hungering for them […] [or] a self-rule tragedy”(Document H). In doing such they also made it a part of their foreign policy to put down other powerful nations in order to boost themselves up. “We denounce the slaughter of the Filipinos as a needless horror. We protest against the extension of American Sovereignty by Spanish methods”(Document G). The Spaniards were cruel in to the Filipinos while they occupied the Philippines, the US uses that fact to recognize Spain’s cruelty while simultaneously creating a positive image for their policy by promising to be less aggressive than Spain had been. The United States aimed to create an image of reliability, power, and compassion through their policy. They did not care what other nations they put down in the process.