When Edward Said wrote an article on Imperialism in the LA Times, titled Blind Imperialism Arrogance, he opened his argument by saying that: “every empire, however, tells itself and the world that it is unlike all other empires, that its mission is not to plunder and control but to educate and liberate.” During the 19th and 20th centuries, countries began to seek colonies out of interest once again, in the New Imperialism era. The majority of Africa was carved up by the European powers at the Conference of Berlin in 1885, while America put its interests in a collapsing Latin America. Europe and America saw grand potential wealth from China, and along with Japan, began carving it up as well. Competition between European nations, America and
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With a depression hitting the American economy, Captain Alfred argued that for the United States to become a great power, they would have to expand in international trading by controlling the seas. This began their interest in Latin America, starting with Panama. The Panama Canal would create a way to trade between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, and allow trading to take place much quicker than before. However, as Panama became of more importance, America began looking hungrily at small countries surrounding Panama, as they required them to refuel their trading vessels. With the Cuban Civil war taking place in the late 1990s, America wanted to stabilize the region in order to stabilize trade. In his speech to Congress asking to declare war, President McKinley backed the helping of Cubans in the war, due to “the lives and liberty of our citizens [were] in constant danger” and when American “trading vessels [were] liable to seizure.” While that might have been America’s initial goal, the country came out of the war with multiple colonies, in both the Pacific and Caribbean. These colonies served to refuel and transport good further distances, while still being safe from harm, such the Philippians and Guam leading the way to China. In a further attempt to stabilize the Latin American region, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a corollary. Wanting to Latin countries to evert crisis he called America to become a reluctant “international police power” in the face of “flagrant cases of…wrongdoing or impotence.” As the Monroe Doctrine prevented any European intervention in the Western Hemisphere, America seized this opportunity. By placing United States troops, leaders and companies within countries such as Cuba, Panama and Venezuela, the U.S was able to gain money from these nations and secure a more balanced trading
With a depression hitting the American economy, Captain Alfred argued that for the United States to become a great power, they would have to expand in international trading by controlling the seas. This began their interest in Latin America, starting with Panama. The Panama Canal would create a way to trade between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, and allow trading to take place much quicker than before. However, as Panama became of more importance, America began looking hungrily at small countries surrounding Panama, as they required them to refuel their trading vessels. With the Cuban Civil war taking place in the late 1990s, America wanted to stabilize the region in order to stabilize trade. In his speech to Congress asking to declare war, President McKinley backed the helping of Cubans in the war, due to “the lives and liberty of our citizens [were] in constant danger” and when American “trading vessels [were] liable to seizure.” While that might have been America’s initial goal, the country came out of the war with multiple colonies, in both the Pacific and Caribbean. These colonies served to refuel and transport good further distances, while still being safe from harm, such the Philippians and Guam leading the way to China. In a further attempt to stabilize the Latin American region, President Theodore Roosevelt issued a corollary. Wanting to Latin countries to evert crisis he called America to become a reluctant “international police power” in the face of “flagrant cases of…wrongdoing or impotence.” As the Monroe Doctrine prevented any European intervention in the Western Hemisphere, America seized this opportunity. By placing United States troops, leaders and companies within countries such as Cuba, Panama and Venezuela, the U.S was able to gain money from these nations and secure a more balanced trading