Preview

American Exceptionalism In The 19th Century

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
871 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Ipmerialism DBQ

    • 3415 Words
    • 10 Pages

    During the 19th and early 20th centuries, “New” Imperialism accelerated due to economic, political, and social factors within Europe. Firstly, the Industrial Revolution stirred the ambitions of European nations, with such advancements in technology, caused these nations to spread their control over the less-developed areas of the world. These economic, political, and social factors were mostly responsible for this spreading of control from the world powers.…

    • 3415 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author begins with famous quote lines as a clear example of “American exceptionalism” and the idealistic descriptions of the United States, especially over the last two centuries. As the author notes how American exceptionalism is similar to other nations that claimed exceptionalism as well. He clears out there are no differences between them when it comes to their self-assertion conduct, many which resulted in a righteous attitude that leads them to think they are positive role models to the world. A believe that makes the Americans with their privileges and unique qualities to think they are superior than others, when in fact they are no less different.…

    • 605 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Between 1870 and 1914, imperialism, the policy of powerful countries seeking to control the economic and political affairs of weaker countries or regions began to occur in the US. Many European countries had been engaged in this practice for a long time, and the US finally decided to join in. The causes of this were Manifest Destiny, the need for more money and trade, and competition between the European countries for power and land. This eventually led the US deeper into the intervention of world affairs.…

    • 2118 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Imperialism is "the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.” (Johnston 375) By the 1890s, many Americans leaders started to have new attitude towards imperialistic adventures abroad. There were numerous reasons for the U.S. to turn to Imperialism at the end of the 19th century, mainly the economic, political, strategic, and humanitarian motives.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “ The public perception of the “closing of the west”, along with the philosophy of social Darwinism, contributed to a desire for continued expansion of American culture”,…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the end of the 19th century after the war and trying to recuperate, America had gone into a state of expansionism. The never ending change with the economy, agriculture and the industrial growth. Democratic National Platform, 1900 states “We assert that no nation can long endure half republic and half empire…” With this new sense of power, expanding for the Americans was inevitable. The spreading of the “good” word of God with the mindset of the “superior” race with the fact that America had to compete economically with other foreign countries had made imperialism not an option but necessary to America’s empire. Also with the other European countries also competing…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    American imperialism in the late 1800's was a break in American foreign policy. America has always wanted to expand the country. In the 1880's, many people thought that America should join countries such as England and set up colonies overseas. Imperialism is when a bigger, stronger country wants to control other smaller and weaker territories.At that time, imperialism was a trend around the world. America became an imperialist nation because of economic reasons, militery interests,and cultural superiority.…

    • 941 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 19th century, the United States was in the middle of conquering territory and. During the late 19th century, the United States began to become an imperialist power. It extended its power through diplomacy and military force. Many people have said imperialism is wrong, unjust, hostile and so on. Even though people oppose it, imperialism was a legitimate policy for the United States to follow in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is proven by our growing production at that time, Cuba allowing the United States to intervene them, and by helping countries become free…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Expansionism in America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century shared many similarities and differences to that of previous American expansionist ideals. In both cases of American expansionism, the Americans believed that we must expand our borders in order to keep the country running upright. Also, the Americans believed that the United States was the strongest of nations, and that they could take any land they pleased. This is shown in the "manifest destiny" of the 1840's and the "Darwinism" of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Apart from the similarities, there were also several differences that included the American attempt to stretch their empire across the seas and into other parts of the world.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imperialism is, by definition, the extension of rule or influence by one government, nation or society over another; manifest destiny is the belief held by many Americans in the 1840s that the United States was "destined" to expand across the continent. This belief of "destined expansion" was nothing new to America's leaders for their vision of the United States when they first established it was that of a nation that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The American people themselves had underlying reasons for their imperialistic actions as well, mostly economic and political. During the conquest of manifest destiny the US acquired Texas, Oregon and California. Americans tooled over the West like an aggressive imperialistic empire reaching…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imperialism Dbq

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Before the late 19th century the United States had not expanded outside of the Americas this changed when wealth, population and industrial production increased.The demand for resources led to an era of imperialism. During this era expansionism in the United States kept the same principle but, it departed from previous expansions regarding to geography, politics and the economy.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the late 1800s and early 1900s the majority of American people supported a policy of imperialism. Imperialism is the practice of one country extending its control over the territory, political system, or economic life of another country. Political opposition to this foreign domination is called "anti-imperialism."…

    • 829 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In 2009, at a press conference in northern France, President Barrack Obama responded to a question concerning American exceptionalism replying, “I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism”, neglecting to mention the historical aspect of this question. He later elaborated in his response, which eliminated the majority of the criticism surrounding his statement; however some continued to persist with their criticism, objecting to his comparison between America’s exceptionalism and others countries. Among the members of the public who disapproved of the former president’s statement was Charles Murray, author of American Exceptionalism.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The decade of the 1890s marks a diplomatic watershed in American history. During that period the United States embarked upon a very assertive expansionist policy that led to the nation becoming an imperialist power by 1900. The reasons for this change from an essentially low-key, isolationist foreign policy stance to an aggressive involvement in world affairs involved fundamental changes in the American economy and the attitudes of the American people.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imperialism

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Linking economic and spiritual expansion strong advocated an "imperialism of righteousness" by white americans who were best suited for "christianizing" and civilizing others with their "genius for colonizing."…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics