A BRIEF SUMMARY OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA'S IMPERIALISM.
INSIDE NORTH AMERICA
The imperialistic influence of North America upon the “free” nations of the rest of the American continent, and all over the world, have some historical roots that we can trace back to the XVII, XVIII, and XIX centuries, there we can find the building of states, the growth of some nations and decadence of some others. the geography of the whole globe, and particularly of America, change significantly while some countries were born and some others were absorbed, in each way, European influence transformed the meaning of so many concepts as peace, nation, justice, protection, help, diplomacy and others while its real power decreased in some parts of the world, leading to the emergence of new world powers, taking some breaths after each war they caused, they raised and fall so many times that distant and new nations, as Russia or the United States of America could build themselves as countries and strengthen their positions in front of the world as two of the largest extensions of land made a single nation, that change in their historical process, thanks to their imperialistic ideals, is the cause of the glorious develop that those nations had, to the point of becoming two of the most powerful nations today.
Regardless of its decreased power, the influence of Europe in some nations was so big that they grew up as imperialistic countries and fought for the same ideals that their fathers did, the United States of America is one of the best examples for the case, it was, from the beginning, one of the most violent and ruthless colonization processes, some Dutch, British, Irish, French, German, and Spanish families, adventurers and refugees crossed the Atlantic ocean and stole and killed almost 80% of the tribes that inhabited those areas, some of them were brutally erased and replaced for a bright new European city that claimed to be as natives as the original owners of those lands, some others were made slaves or “allies” and mixed with European ways and blood and lost their identity and culture. Thirteen colonies were the first step to become the second largest country in America, with gunpowder and blood the thirteen colonies conquered the territories of so many natives, as an example through the mid-17th century the Beaver Wars were fought over the fur trade between the Iroquois and the Hurons, Neutral, Erie, Susquehannock, Shawnee, and the northern Algonquians tribes, the growing nation of united states was involved as well, as they fought against the French influence on its territories they gained lands, some trade routes and important spots form their enemies.
Map of tribes and native North American nations, original inhabitants of the nowadays United States of North America.
Another cause of huge population decreasing were diseases and epidemics that Europeans brought with them, smallpox epidemics often immediately followed European exploration and sometimes destroyed entire village populations. While precise figures are difficult to determine, some historians estimate that at least 30% (and sometimes 50% to 70%) of some Native populations died after the first contact due to Eurasian smallpox. One element of the Columbian exchange suggests explorers from the Christopher Columbus expedition contracted syphilis from indigenous peoples and carried it back to Europe, where it spread widely. Other researchers believe that the disease existed in Europe and Asia before Columbus and his men returned from exposure to indigenous peoples of the Americas, but that they brought back a more virulent form, killing another huge number of natives.
King Philip's War, also called Metacom's War or Metacom's Rebellion was the last major armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Native American allies from 1675 to 1676. It continued in northern New England (primarily on the Maine frontier) until a treaty was signed at Casco Bay in April 1678. As the conquest of North America continued and the first shine of nation and stability shone in their horizon, the revolution knocked at the door and the growing nation suffered a big shake, during that process, the newly proclaimed United States competed with the British for the allegiance of Native American nations east of the Mississippi River. Most Native Americans who joined the struggle sided with the British, based both on their trading relationships and hopes that colonial defeat would result in a halt to further colonial expansion and imperialistic process onto Native American land. The first native community to sign a treaty with the new United States Government was the Lenape tribe as an example of fear and trade willing.
Native California Population, according to Cook 1978. The 2010 U.S. Census reported 723,225 Native Americans in California.
In 1779 the Sullivan Expedition was carried out during the American Revolutionary War against the British and the four allied Iroquois nations. George Washington as the supreme captain and leader of the United States forces gave orders that made clear his desires for a Iroquois threat to be eliminated, in his own words compiled in a letter to commander Sullivan “The Expedition you are appointed to command is to be directed against the hostile tribes of the Six Nations of Indians, with their associates and adherents. The immediate objects are the total destruction and devastation of their settlements, and the capture of as many prisoners of every age and sex as possible. It will be essential to ruin their crops now in the ground and prevent their planting more” showing a huge presence of imperialistic views.
ALL OVERTHE WORLD
The next step, after a long way to become a nation, was the Mexican American War, Democrats looked to the west for new lands, an idea called the "Manifest Destiny." this was a widely held belief in the 19th century the United States that its settlers were destined to expand across North America, through the three basic themes of it are the special virtues of the American people and their institutions, the mission of the United States to redeem and remake the west in the image of agrarian America and the an irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty, the imperialistic ideals took place again in the minds of Americans in the Texas Revolution (1835–1836), the settlers declared independence and defeated the Mexican army lead by the President/General Antonio López de Santa Anna, but Mexico was determined to reconquer the lost province and threatened war with the U.S. if it annexed Texas. The U.S., much larger and more powerful, did annex Texas in 1845 and war broke out in 1846 over boundary issues.
In the Mexican–American War 1846–48, the U.S. Army under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott and others, invaded and after a series of victorious battles (and no major defeats) seized New Mexico and California, and also blockaded the coast, invaded northern Mexico, and invaded central Mexico, capturing the national capital. The peace terms involved American purchase of the area from California to New Mexico for $10 million, after several strange warfare strategies from Mexicans this nation lost almost a half of its territory under the North American Congress and the president James K. Polk.
Disputed Territories Among the United States Forces and The Mexican Army
United States territory, 1848
Mexican territory, 1848
After the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Another important process in the imperialistic history of North America, after the great civil war that faced the southern states and the northern ones, were the Anglo-Spanish wars, in those sporadic conflicts the United States of North America obtained the Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico and Guam, also occupied Cuba and conquered the Philippines, in 1898 began the first hostilities in the aftermath of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana harbor in Cuba, leading to U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence president William McKinley signed a joint Congressional resolution demanding Spanish withdrawal and authorizing the president to use military force to help Cuba gained independence on April 20, 1898. The ten-week war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific, this is one of the shortest conflicts in history. U.S. naval power would prove decisive against one of the most powerful armies in history, allowing expeditionary forces to disembark in Cuba against a Spanish garrison already facing nationwide Cuban insurgent attacks and further wasted by yellow fever. The invaders obtained the surrender of Santiago de Cuba and Manila despite the good performance of some Spanish infantry, who were mostly veteran units from American conquest process, the strength and fierce that they fight with for positions such as San Juan Hill in 1898, was not enough to defend their positions. Madrid sued for peace after two Spanish squadrons were sunk in Santiago de Cuba and Manila Bay and a third, more modern, fleet was recalled home to protect the Spanish coasts.
While some Cubans saw the United States intervention as a helpful hand from a neighbor the Filipino nationalists viewed the conflict as a continuation of the struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution, the U.S. government regarded it as an insurrection, the conflict arose when the First Philippine Republic objected to the terms of the Treaty of Paris under which the United States took possession of the Philippines and other territories of the crown from Spain, ending the short Spanish–American War, from 1899 the fighting erupted between forces of the United States and those of the Philippine Republic in what became known as the 1899 Battle of Manila the First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States. The war officially ended on July 2, 1902, with a victory for the United States. However, some Philippine groups—led by veterans of the Katipunan, a Philippine revolutionary society—continued to battle the American forces for several more years. Among those leaders was General Macario Sakay, a veteran Katipunan member who assumed the presidency of the proclaimed "Tagalog Republic", formed in 1902 after the capture of President Emilio Aguinaldo. Other groups, including the Moro and Pulahan peoples, continued hostilities in remote areas and islands, until their final defeat at the Battle of Bud Bagsak on June 15, 1913.
Some other nations suffered the imperialistic ways of the United States of North America, several conflicts all over the world prove the imperialistic will of that nation, among the most important conflicts that we can mention the whole process that involves the Banana Wars between 1898 and 1935, the war in La Hispaniola, the Boxer rebellion, The Moro Insurgency and the several interventions in Mexico since the addition of Texas and other territories.
As we saw and according to the definition of imperialism, we can categorize the United States of America as one of the most influential nations in the world , either claiming some colonies from other empires or conquering some others this country has been positioned in the top of the economic system thanks to its influential trades and menaces, proposals and treaties, its clever and malicious way of seeing the world assures the supremacy of imperialistic behaviors inside not only the congress or the white house but also in the inner self of the population who in the majority of the cases supports the imperialistic choices of those who ruled them.
OPINIONS AND QUOTES
WHAT IS IMPERIALISM?
We can think about imperialism, basically as an animalistic behavior that involves the action of conquering and subjugating the population and the land they inhabit, large communities or groups constantly look forward to taking control over certain places because its resources and food, it is much more evident in felines and canines as lions, tigers or wolves, but also in other mammals, fishes and birds, but, neither with the magnitude nor the extension that presents the imperialistic (conquering) practices of humans, those practices are mostly carried out by the means of economic power, military strength or territorial control, and with other characteristics between other social animals, it can be defined as an instinctive action that assures the future of communities (as it destroys others), and in other cases lead by greed and superiority ideals.
According to the Cambridge dictionary, imperialism is defined as a “situation in which one country has a lot of power or influence over others, especially in political and economic matters”, the relationship between countries, generally in the form of an empire, that is based on ideas of superiority and applying domination practices which imply the extension of authority and control of one State or people over another, that is why we can link the history of human race with that desire of domination and control over others who are (based on ignorance) redefined as different and bad or bestialized kind of beings, to make the occupation and control of those lands easier and, because of that, the morality of the facts would be always in question.
IMPERIALISTIC PRACTICES, A HERITAGE FROM COLONIAL NATIONS TO YOUNGER ONES.
The XVIII and XIX centuries were one of the most active periods when the imperialistic ways took place, the world was a whole new world, new nations were raising as colonial powers transfer its influence over other places or fought against each other for the complete control of the world, the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars lead into both an imperialistic thirst in Europe, and an independentist fervor in America, Asia, some parts of Africa and the Pacific, the biggest empires as the Spanish crown and the British companies lost power and influence over their colonies and war was the only solution to regain control or to free themselves from colonial power, as the newest nations of that period grew the old nations of Europe infected the spirit of freedom, protection, security, state, etc. The equilibrium willing new nations, learned from their European tutors some concepts as those related to politics, religion, education, war, diplomacy and foreign politics, those who were corrupted and deformed by the experienced and old nations of Europe, with a dark intention of either destroy the youngest nations or change them into a avatar of themselves, escaping from death the European nations wished to gain some new harbors to exploit.
The United States of North America grew was a fine student of those corrupted ideas that Europe wished to spread, in that way it built its identity; all over its constitution it has shown imperialistic behaviors, against the native people, the Spanish colonies (nations like Mexico, Cuba, Panama) and other American and Pacific points like Canada, the Philippines or Guam. Some of the most interiorized ideals of “The American way of life” were a clear heritage of the old and obscure ways of European colonialism, the desire of cover the whole globe with their beliefs, ideas, and sense of state and justice, those ideas of a better world under the protection of goodness whose earthly representation is themselves, even more the sense of peace and justice that is only fair when they impart it and the state that needs the influence of them to be a good one, were part of the education that receive the United States of North America to the point they decided to take the name of a whole continent just for them.
NORTH AMERICA AGAINST THE WORLD IN A SUPPOSED PURSUIT OF JUSTICE.
Either escaping from religious issues, war, and famine or seeking for new lands and power some British, Dutch, French, German and Irish families, refugees, adventurers or conquerors traveled from old Europe to the bright new world that promises richness, land and wealth. In a quest for territory, they displaced and annihilated many (almost all) of the native tribes that inhabited those exotic lands. That one was, and in some cases still be, to many a holy crusade against “ignorance and savagery” and continued all over the constitution of the 50 states that involve this country; in a progressive action against everyone who was a hostile (only according to North Americans) they raised a nation which is able to impose several and strong demands over other nations even in our days (and again only according to its own prototype of justice).
Following the lead of European empires, that small union of states or communities called the United States of America, thought about their own sake and began to theft the sacred lands of tribes like in Maryland where a “new Europeans” settlement was founded "to extend civilization and instruction to his ignorant race and show them the way to heaven “according to Fr. Andrew's diaries, leading to the appropriation of those lands by the pilgrims, another example is the Beaver wars fought over the fur trade control between the Iroquois and the Hurons, the northern Algonquians, and their French allies, Neutral, Erie, Susquehannock, and Shawnee tribes.
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