States expansionism departed from old ways and into new ways, too. Imperialistic standards for expansion grew and so did the US military and navy, additionally we gained control of land that was not directly connected to North America, and we attained the desire to control trade worldwide. As the United States continued to expand, Americans’ concerns about the constitutionality of gaining territory grew. As stated by the Platform of the American Anti-Imperialist League in 1899, “Those who dispute about standards of value while the foundation of the Republic is undermined will be listened to as little as those who would wrangle about the small economies of the household while the house is on fire.” While this is an extreme statement in itself, the message is clear as it debates the league’s opinion of how expansion of territory should be determined by the US Constitution. This issue can be compared to original Constitutionality problems that first arose with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 as part of US Westward Expansion. The Anti-Imperialist League also addresses the way the United States commonly treats the native people of land we acquire. They described our encounters with the Filipinos as “ruthless slaughter” comparable to the treatment of Native Americans when Europeans first arrived in the US and the establishment of the Indian Removal Policy by Andrew Jackson. In some ways, the political cartoon by Thomas Nast, "The World's Plunderers," which was published in 1885, displays expansionism in ways similar to how the US expanded during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in addition to representing the ways US expansion changed following the rise of US Imperialistic standards.
The cartoon does not show the Americas nor an American “grab bag.” Those reasons show similarities to early expansion because the image depicts the other nations fighting over land and the US is not in the picture -- showing how we were concerned with only the land near or part of the Americas. However, it also shows the differences in expansionism because in the past the US was only involved in expanding in North America, but during the late nineteenth century the US was motivated by competition between other nations to expand in other parts of the world, such as in the Pacific Ocean. Representing expansionism driven by religion, Josiah Strong of the American Home Missionary Society wrote of the push for Americans to expand for purposes of religion. He wrote, “let us hope, of the largest liberty, the purest Christianity, the highest civilization . . . will spread itself over the earth.” His words obviously show the common belief that the spread of governmental territory will also bring potential for religious expansion. As Europeans had attempted to convert Native Americans to Christianity and Protestantism when first arriving, many US citizens attempted to convert the natives of Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines to these religions, too -- even though spreading religion was not the priority for expansion. This same passage also expresses the idea of spreading US power around the globe, “If I read not amiss, this powerful race will move down upon Mexico, down upon Central and South America, out upon the islands of the sea, over upon Africa and beyond.” In the past, the US has only dealt with territorial expansion in the lands most
directly to us such as expanding to the west coast (California), and we were only concerned about land that was near us as the Monroe Doctrine originally kept the US out of European affairs. As Imperialism took off in nations worldwide, the United States needed to show strength by improving the navy. As stated by Alfred Mahan in The Interest of America in Sea Power, a “naval force [is] the arm of offensive power, which alone enables a country to extend its influence outward.” Unlike in the past, the US was expanding into areas that were not connected to the mainland. It became necessary to protect those who lived on new lands and it became essential that we show our influence and power by controlling not only our land, but our waterways as well. The military build up acquired during this time can be compared to the era before and during the Cold War, where the military was actively building to supply the men needed to protect our nation. After helping negotiate peace between Russia and Japan, Roosevelt sent the “Great White Fleet” -- US Naval Forces -- as a warning to other countries. Our need for naval build up was also related to our increase in global trade. As depicted in the political cartoon from the American Diplomacy, connections within Asia, specifically China, are key. This idea is confirmed by Senator Albert J. Beveridge in his speech to 56th Congress, “Our largest trade henceforth must be with Asia. The Pacific is our ocean. . . . And the Pacific is the ocean of the commerce of the future. . . .” These ideas, the idea that trade is ruled in the Pacific Ocean, came shortly after our expansion to Alaska, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Prior to holding these territories, trade was mainly with European nations simply for convenience, cost, and control. However, new lands opened the door for new opportunities to be made with the other third of the globe. Additional concerns arose as the US expanded to new, not-connected-to-the-Americas, land. A major concern of many Americans, whether they were for or against the matter, was the determination of if the new territories would become states and what rights the people of those territories received. The Supreme Court Decision Downes v. Bidwel told Americans “it is doubtful if Congress would ever assent to the annexation of territory” as well as “in all these cases there is an implied denial of the right of the inhabitants to American citizenship until Congress by further acti'on shall signify its assent thereto. . . .” The issue of statehood and rights granted are completely new concerns being brought upon by imperialistic expansion, as in the past westward movement was for the increase in land for American citizens. Expansionism throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries held on to the belief that we were destined by God to expand our empire, followed suit in the way we treated the natives of lands newly attained, and Americans continued to question the constitutionality of expansion. Be as that may, imperialism jumpstarted new ideas, ways, and reasoning for expansion. The want to control land that wasn’t part of North America became an attainable desire by many, and with our expansion to new lands the US needed to increase the size of its Navy to show power as a hopeful world power, to help establish power the US began to trade globally. The United States was quickly establishing itself as a world power, and imperialistic expansion was just the beginning.