American Imperialism In The Early Twentieth Century

The US was never completely isolated from the rest of the world, therefore engaging in imperialism in the early twentieth century had some justifications. The trade made the US an active member of world affairs. It was during the period of the 1890s that the US foreign policy became influenced by imperialism. During that decade, the US became the most important industrial power in the world. The US military, especially the Navy, was growing and expanding in other areas of the world where we had not had the ability to go in force before. The war with Spain and the presidency of T. Roosevelt also made the US a major economic, military, and imperialistic power.
The United States became a colonial power at the end of the 19th century, after having spent the century moving across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean. The defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War led to the establishment of American colonies in the Caribbean and in the Philippines. Japan was the first Asiatic nation to become a colonial power. Long isolated and refusing to trade with Europeans, except for a limited, controlled trade with
Because of the Zimmerman note and submarine warfare, President Wilson asked congress for permission to go to war and on April 6, 1917, congress officially declared it. During WWI, several acts were passed to increase the president's war power. Two acts that concerned freedom of was; The Espionage Act of 1917 and The Sedition Law of 1918. The Espionage Act made it a felony to promote insubordination within the military or to obstruct the armed forces. The Deduction Law specifically targeted pacifists union leaders and a host of radicals such as the Socialists whose criticism of the war effort was designed to hinder. The law made it a felony to “incite mutiny or insubordination’ within the