Chapter summary

Running Head : THE EMPIRE

The Empire and the People

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The Empire and the People

The expansion of America was a realization within the political and financial elite that there is a need for America to create markets in foreign countries for the country 's goods . By the turn of the 1890s there was a lot of surplus in goods that we have to penetrate overseas markets to address under consumption and economic crises . The United Sates was under the premise

that the countries with the largest navies and military force would eventually inherit the earth . To make that possible , the Nicaragua canal was built under the interest of commerce

Before the election of President William McKinley he said that the American people needs overseas market for the surplus products since the American soil and factories are producing more than what the American people needed . This surplus should be of the advantage of the country since it will bring commercial supremacy . this supremacy led to the expansionist view in politics and even in the naval forces . President Roosevelt created propaganda for expansion in the 1890s together with other political elites who share his expansionist standpoint . Roosevelt was perhaps the greatest expansionist of his time . He was up to penetrate Hawaii , Philippines and China telling the armies to employ all possible means for the extension to china to serve the interest of the United States

In 1898 , 10 of American goods were sold in the foreign markets which amounted to billions of dollars . These goods were tobacco , cotton , wheat and etcetera which is said to have exceeded the imports of other countries except that of England . By the year 1895 , the foreign investment of American Capitalists have reached billions of dollars specially in the steel industry . The US was also a leading exporter of oil especially kerosene . This further fanned the need for the American capitalists to create overseas markets and this made engaging in war an option . As in the case of Cuba , the conflict between the Spanish conquerors and the Cuban rebels paved way for the intervention of America in the guise of generosity

The United States sent armies to Cuba instead of just offering other means of help for simple reason that they feared that if the rebels will win the war they will not open their market to the United States . Though the Spanish colony was defeated in Cuba , America did not acknowledge the presence of the rebels and took the recognition for the event . After much turmoil between the United States and the Cuban rebels , the US declared that the US troops will not leave Cuba unless the Platt amendment will be added to the constitution giving the US rights to intervene with the Cuban government . Some US bases where also retained and the Cuban market was remained opened to American exports

In the Case of the Philippines which was also made an American colony the Filipinos did not...