How far was the American empire similar to the British one?
The United States of America in many ways aimed to distance themselves from their former colonial masters. The American Enlightenment had set forth the notion that the American colonists should form an entirely new nation built on the ideals of liberty, the rights of man, republicanism, and so forth. But America exhibited symptoms of imperialism - both hard imperialism and soft imperialism - in their growth and expansion west. Whilst before about 1840 and the rise of Manifest Destiny America could claim to be to some extent separate from the European empires, it maintained fundamental similarities to British imperialism both before and especially after this date.
Some historians have …show more content…
After failing to convince Canada to join them during the War of Independence, the US remained fearful of the Canadian provinces as a potential British base of invasion. The British continuously acted antagonistically towards the Americans, in particular refusing to withdraw settlers from strategic territories in the north. These tensions would eventually lead to the War of 1812, in which Andrew Jackson claimed he wanted ‘…some security against future aggressions by the conquest of all the British dominions upon the continent of North America.’ This sentiment was echoed by many in Congress, especially Republicans. Later frustrations with Spain over Florida, especially East Florida, were largely over the issue of Native Americans (and escaped slaves) using the state as a refuge to continue to antagonise: John Adams considered the area ‘a derelict open to the occupancy of every enemy, civilized or savage, of the United States, and serving no other earthly purpose than as a post of annoyance to them.’ For this reason the area was eventually annexed. The Louisiana Purchase as well was a huge relief to many Americans: the French acquisition of the area had prompted great anxiety as to the nation’s security. President Jefferson had remarked that in the event of French acquisition of the territory ‘we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.’ This is remarkable not only for how fearful the Americans were of the French, …show more content…
It was driven by the desire for resources, eponymised in the gold rushes that emerged after about 1850. And, whilst endorsed and encouraged by the government, a lot of the expansion was the work of individuals trekking west of their own accord. Similarly, much of Britain’s expansion was largely independent of the government back in London – settlers, companies and British rulers of distant lands were often the ones who decided whether to invade a particular area, and would not wait for London’s approval to do so. This action has been described as ‘hollowing out’ an area until it was ‘ripe’ for the final conquest: much like the settlement and gradual integration that occurred in the west of America. The explorers and opportunists who spread into Africa such as David Livingstone bore a resemblance to the American explorers who had opened up the frontier to American expansion. This expansion in turn massively assisted the industrialisation of both nations: in America the sheer number of resources and huge wealth as a result led to massive economic expansion in the 19th century. For Britain, too, the empire was a major driver of the industrial revolution. It relied upon the resources that came out of Britain’s holdings across the world and would have been at an enormous disadvantage had these not been present. Britain’s soft imperialism, in order to dominate trade with these underdeveloped
The United States of America in many ways aimed to distance themselves from their former colonial masters. The American Enlightenment had set forth the notion that the American colonists should form an entirely new nation built on the ideals of liberty, the rights of man, republicanism, and so forth. But America exhibited symptoms of imperialism - both hard imperialism and soft imperialism - in their growth and expansion west. Whilst before about 1840 and the rise of Manifest Destiny America could claim to be to some extent separate from the European empires, it maintained fundamental similarities to British imperialism both before and especially after this date.
Some historians have …show more content…
After failing to convince Canada to join them during the War of Independence, the US remained fearful of the Canadian provinces as a potential British base of invasion. The British continuously acted antagonistically towards the Americans, in particular refusing to withdraw settlers from strategic territories in the north. These tensions would eventually lead to the War of 1812, in which Andrew Jackson claimed he wanted ‘…some security against future aggressions by the conquest of all the British dominions upon the continent of North America.’ This sentiment was echoed by many in Congress, especially Republicans. Later frustrations with Spain over Florida, especially East Florida, were largely over the issue of Native Americans (and escaped slaves) using the state as a refuge to continue to antagonise: John Adams considered the area ‘a derelict open to the occupancy of every enemy, civilized or savage, of the United States, and serving no other earthly purpose than as a post of annoyance to them.’ For this reason the area was eventually annexed. The Louisiana Purchase as well was a huge relief to many Americans: the French acquisition of the area had prompted great anxiety as to the nation’s security. President Jefferson had remarked that in the event of French acquisition of the territory ‘we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation.’ This is remarkable not only for how fearful the Americans were of the French, …show more content…
It was driven by the desire for resources, eponymised in the gold rushes that emerged after about 1850. And, whilst endorsed and encouraged by the government, a lot of the expansion was the work of individuals trekking west of their own accord. Similarly, much of Britain’s expansion was largely independent of the government back in London – settlers, companies and British rulers of distant lands were often the ones who decided whether to invade a particular area, and would not wait for London’s approval to do so. This action has been described as ‘hollowing out’ an area until it was ‘ripe’ for the final conquest: much like the settlement and gradual integration that occurred in the west of America. The explorers and opportunists who spread into Africa such as David Livingstone bore a resemblance to the American explorers who had opened up the frontier to American expansion. This expansion in turn massively assisted the industrialisation of both nations: in America the sheer number of resources and huge wealth as a result led to massive economic expansion in the 19th century. For Britain, too, the empire was a major driver of the industrial revolution. It relied upon the resources that came out of Britain’s holdings across the world and would have been at an enormous disadvantage had these not been present. Britain’s soft imperialism, in order to dominate trade with these underdeveloped