Ms. Boone
History 10
13 October 2015
Causes of New Imperialism Imperialistic motivations have captivated the minds of all potent nations. After all, how would one gaining more power hurt the nation in anyway? Although there are many different motives involving why a country would want to practice imperialism, three of the major causes of imperialism are for a nation to gain more land, to sell more of a nation’s product, and to regulate a country whose seemed to have lost infrastructure (government and culturally).
First, one of the largest causes for new imperialism was for a nation to gain more land and authority. To begin with, nations were interested in the idea of claiming and taking over other nations so that their nation …show more content…
To start off with, large producers of products were one of the most influenced groups to want imperialism. When speaking of which groups of people would be most interested in imperialism, Parker T. Moon states, “The makers of cotton and iron goods…[and] the producers of telegraph and railway material… have been very much interested in imperialism” (Imperialism and World Politics). “Makers of cotton and iron goods” would be very much interested in imperialism because by their nation expanding their influence into another country, the producers would be able to expand their businesses also. Second, William L. Langer identifies that the economic side of imperialism should not be hindered. When speaking about imperialism, William L. Langer states, “But the economic side… must not be allowed to obscure the other factors [evolutionary teaching]” (The Diplomacy of Imperialism). By stating, “the economic side must not be allowed to obscure the other factors”, William Langer implies that the economic motivation of one of the prominent of the other causes of imperialism because it was so easily able to obscure the other motivations. Lastly, economics was one of the most important causes for imperialism since it was one part of the white man’s will. According to Rudyard Kipling, “[Other nations need to] Take up the white man’s burden...” and the nations conquered are “new …show more content…
First, Cecil Rhodes believed that imperialism would lead to an overall fitter world. When expressing his opinion on imperialism, Cecil Rhodes tells us, “It is our duty to seize every opportunity to [maintain the] most honorable race the world possesses” (Confession of Faith). By stating, “It is our duty… to [maintain the] most honorable race”, Rhodes clearly concludes that nations need to overtake other weaker nations to make sure there is a balance in which race is common to the face of nations (most of the time white races). Second, William McKinley believed the United States practiced imperialism as a way to regulate unfit governments. When speaking of the United States’ practice of imperialism, McKinley states, “[The Philippines] were unfit for self-government. There was nothing left for us to do but to take them over”. McKinley makes it clear that if a government seemed to be unfit to rule itself, it must be a strong nation’s job to imperialize them and strengthen them through previous ruling techniques. Finally, Mr. McKinley saw the civilization upgrade and conversion to Christianity as a reason to practice imperialism. When speaking about why the United States took over the Philippines, William McKinley says, “[The United States took over the Philippines to] uplift and civilize and Christianize them”. McKinley noted