William Walker: How To Take Over A Country In The 1800s
William Walker: How to Take Over a Country in the 1800s
“A great idea springs up in a man’s soul; it agitates his whole being, transports him from the ignorant present and makes him feel the future in a moment...Why should such a revelation be made to him...if not that he should carry it into practice?” -William Walker (Carr 1)
William Walker, an American imperialist, was recruited by the Nicaraguan liberals to come to Nicaragua to assist them in their ongoing civil war against the conservatives. He seized power and made himself president with a goal to “liberate” the country (Staten 24). After initial acceptance, he was later perceived as a threat by the Nicaraguan people and other Central American countries who united to drive him out of Latin America. …show more content…
They had conflicting opinions on maritime trade and the location of ports and canals. Nicaragua’s new independence led to divisions among it’s people about the direction the nation should head. The people forming this new government had capitalist and enlightenment values from the revolutions in America and France. They wanted to become part of world trade, but couldn’t agree on their foundations. The liberal party wanted political freedom and to modernize the country. The conservatives preferred a nation focused on traditional values. From this disagreement, a civil war erupted and fighting continued between Nicaragua and other Central American countries in various wars for the next few decades (Haverstock 21). This constant conflict made the country weak and an easy target for an imperialist like Walker. It was a country full of people he could easily win over with his American ideas and leadership. They needed someone to bring stability, which at this point would only come from a foreign power. The Nicaraguans looked up to the Americans and Walker was what they were looking
“A great idea springs up in a man’s soul; it agitates his whole being, transports him from the ignorant present and makes him feel the future in a moment...Why should such a revelation be made to him...if not that he should carry it into practice?” -William Walker (Carr 1)
William Walker, an American imperialist, was recruited by the Nicaraguan liberals to come to Nicaragua to assist them in their ongoing civil war against the conservatives. He seized power and made himself president with a goal to “liberate” the country (Staten 24). After initial acceptance, he was later perceived as a threat by the Nicaraguan people and other Central American countries who united to drive him out of Latin America. …show more content…
They had conflicting opinions on maritime trade and the location of ports and canals. Nicaragua’s new independence led to divisions among it’s people about the direction the nation should head. The people forming this new government had capitalist and enlightenment values from the revolutions in America and France. They wanted to become part of world trade, but couldn’t agree on their foundations. The liberal party wanted political freedom and to modernize the country. The conservatives preferred a nation focused on traditional values. From this disagreement, a civil war erupted and fighting continued between Nicaragua and other Central American countries in various wars for the next few decades (Haverstock 21). This constant conflict made the country weak and an easy target for an imperialist like Walker. It was a country full of people he could easily win over with his American ideas and leadership. They needed someone to bring stability, which at this point would only come from a foreign power. The Nicaraguans looked up to the Americans and Walker was what they were looking