In the 1890s and early 1900s, America, which had previously kept to itself, began expanding and attempting to take over smaller nations such as Hawaii, Panama, Cuba, and the Philippines. Many people supported this practice of imperialism, however, many also disagreed with it. The United States should have remained isolationist because it had internal issues to fix and imperializing contradicted democratic values. The first reason that America should not have sought to gain control of colonies is that it had its own problems to worry about. For example, at the time, African-Americans were struggling for equality without much success. Likewise, women were not given the same rights, such as the ability to vote, as men. The United States should
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This was exemplified when Queen Liliuokalani tried to return voting ability to the poorer class of Hawaiians, but was overthrown in favor of wealthy, white plantation owners, who supported the United States. Shortly after, the Foraker Act was passed, which allowed the American president, instead of the Puerto Ricans, to select the governor and legislative upper house of the territory. Democracies, which are supposed to be governments of the people, should allow the people to vote for their own leaders and policies. Instead, nations under the control of the United States did not have that ability. Also, after the Spanish-American War, the new “independent” nation of Cuba was forced, under the Platt Amendment, to change its constitution and give more power to the American government. When Hawaii was annexed to the United States, it was done so by William McKinley without allowing the Hawaiians to decide for themselves whether they were in favor of this. A true democracy would give complete control to a country’s own government, but none of America’s acquisitions were given this right. The United States hypocritically advocated equality and people’s governing of themselves, while withholding these things from their colonies. The United States was not justified in its imperialism in the beginning
This was exemplified when Queen Liliuokalani tried to return voting ability to the poorer class of Hawaiians, but was overthrown in favor of wealthy, white plantation owners, who supported the United States. Shortly after, the Foraker Act was passed, which allowed the American president, instead of the Puerto Ricans, to select the governor and legislative upper house of the territory. Democracies, which are supposed to be governments of the people, should allow the people to vote for their own leaders and policies. Instead, nations under the control of the United States did not have that ability. Also, after the Spanish-American War, the new “independent” nation of Cuba was forced, under the Platt Amendment, to change its constitution and give more power to the American government. When Hawaii was annexed to the United States, it was done so by William McKinley without allowing the Hawaiians to decide for themselves whether they were in favor of this. A true democracy would give complete control to a country’s own government, but none of America’s acquisitions were given this right. The United States hypocritically advocated equality and people’s governing of themselves, while withholding these things from their colonies. The United States was not justified in its imperialism in the beginning