History, United States Since 1865

THE EFFECTS OF MANIFEST DESTINY

The idea of Manifest Destiny , which claimed the United States was meant to expand to the Pacific coast , was transformed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries into imperialism . After the Civil War American expansion meant warfare against Native Americans in the West culminating in 1890 with the massacre at Wounded Knee . At the same time , the European powers (mainly Britain , France , Germany , and Belgium were rapidly building empires in Africa and Asia , and some Americans believed that the United States would lose international standing if

it did not follow suit . Manifest Destiny 's drive for expansion combined with a desire to compete with these new empires , along with racist notions that twisted Darwin 's ideas and claimed that people of color were inferior and needed white rule

Initially , the United States took a more active role in Latin American affairs , adding a new twist to the Monroe Doctrine by barring European interference there while coming to dominate the region 's politics and economics . In addition , it increased its influence over Hawaii , as American merchants overthrew the native ruler and created a republic in 1893 the United States annexed the islands in 1898 , thus starting the transition from Manifest Destiny to outright imperialism

The turning point was the Spanish-American War , a short conflict in which the United States won the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico Guam , and the Philippines , where American forces put down the Filipino independence movement , relying on imperialism 's racist ideas to justify taking over the islands to establish a foothold in Asia . By 1915 Manifest Destiny had long since been completed and had become imperialism the United States was an imperial power , illustrating how its desire for expansion had turned into overseas conquest and competition with Europe 's empires...