RationaleForEmpire

Essay “The Age of Imperialism”

When you hear the 1850s-1920s being referred to as the “Age of Imperialism’ there are several inferences that immediately come to mind. Everyone knows what imperialism is, but the remarkable characteristics of this time period come when you articulately read between the lines. Most people think of expansion and dominance when they hear “imperialism,” but manifest destiny and religion are not commonly thought characteristics. Economics, military power, and foreign competition are a few broad factors in The Age of Imperialism.

Naval and Military Powers (1890-early 1900s) Our military held a strong influence over our expansion in The Age of Imperialism. Without those men we couldn’t have possibly defended all the land we were trying to conquer. Alfred T. Mahan was an important factor because he built-up the U.S. navy. A strong navy required bases because ships can’t run forever. He brought up the idea of movement to build bases in foreign territories. This was mainly the Pacific Islands with good harbors.

Competition with European Powers The United States was competing with a bunch of different European Countries for expansion. In the 1890's Great Britain, France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, and Japan were all collecting colonies from North Africa to the Pacific islands. Each nation wanted an empire.

Corporate Business and Economic Interests The United States needed to trade with other countries. They introduced an idea called “safety valve” which was for explosive pressures in the US economy. The Secretary of State James Blaine said in 1890 that US productivity was expanding. He insisted that American Businesses need to look into trading with other countries.

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny is a term that someone lacking a strong history background may never have even heard of; however, manifest destiny was a huge contributor to The Age of Imperialism. Depending on whom you ask, manifest destiny was either an excuse or a driving force for America’s vast expansion during this time period. It was basically a common belief that America was divinely ordained to expand into the entire North American continent. The Age of Imperialism was a time where god was still a substantial political factor, and people respected all things holy. The controversy comes when asked the question of whether or not this strong religious factor was taken advantage of as an excuse for this imperialistic time period.

Social Darwinism A more modern explanation for all this expansion is social Darwinism. For those who say this expansion was unjust, and manifest destiny isn’t enough for them, the argument of social Darwinism is made. Darwin discovered many years before The Age of Imperialism that all organisms basically work off survival of the fittest. So in theory we, being organisms, function off the same principals, henceforth their expansion and domination was to show just how “fit” they were. In laymen’s terms, social Darwinism is a scientist’s way of explaining The Age of Imperialism.

Missionary and Christianity interests (late 1800's- early 1900's) During the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s Americans began to try and convert people to Christianity. By around 1900 the percent of missionaries in Asia jumped from 1 percent to 10 percent. The belief throughout America was that we were a superior species and it was are duty to try and convert the people of Asia to Christianity. Josiah Strong was one of the leading voices in the movement. The Chinese did not typically accept this movement. American missionaries began to force the belief of Christianity onto the people.







Sources

"The Enduring Vision: A History of American People"