Reconstruction Era Imperialism

Between 1865 and 1914 America experienced the end of the Civil War, the reconstruction period, the Gilded Age, and the start of a world war. Each period impacted America’s view on foreign policy. After the Civil War, in the Reconstruction period, American government focused on rebuilding the country both in its regulations and in its square footage. Following the reconstruction period, in the gilded age, business tycoons emerged who revolutionized new business practices that bolstered industrial and economic growth. As businesses grew rapidly, their domestic customer base could not expand quick enough to consume their products thus companies looked to broaden their markets to include other countries. The exception to this trend of imperialism came at the beginning of the First World War when the American public adopted an isolationist view in hopes it would keep them protected. Despite the short era of isolationistic foreign policy views, America was primarily expansionist between 1865 and 1914.
Beginning in 1865, secretary of state William Seward supported expansionist views. He began by buying Alaska from Russia in 1867 and had plans to buy all of Canada. At this time the American public had mixed emotions on foreign policy, but overall were blasé to the …show more content…
Hawaii and the Philippines were considered new territory candidates, but the annexation of both failed. The Philippines, in particular, caused some controversy between the isolationists and expansionists of America. The Americans dominated the Philippines but the locals fought back and American command deteriorated. Imperialists of the time supported the decision to invade the Philippines because of the then popular viewpoint that America should civilize other countries that were viewed as primitive. It was not generally seen as an invasion in the negative sense but more as assistance to the undeveloped