American Anti-Imperialism vs. Imperialism

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Anti-imperialism vs. Imperialism

American imperialism, beginning prominently in the 1890s, had a number of motives. The dominant directive motive was the demand for markets for profitable investment. There was also the element of inevitable expansion, the “frontier mentality” and the need to secure world standing in order to remain competitive. Finally, there was a religious motivation, the providential charge to bring Christian civilization to foreign cultures. Simultaneously, anti-imperialists argued on behalf of a variety of objections to the pursuit of colonialism categorized into broad categories as constitutional, economic, diplomatic, moral, racial, political, and historical. Quintessentially, the most influential arguments were the economic argument for imperialism and the moral argument for anti-imperialism.

One argument was imperialism. Albert Beveridge of Indiana was a leading advocate of American imperialism. In his 1898 March of the Flag speech he presents a case for overseas expansion. Americans were producing more than they could use and foreign markets would increase national prosperity. Acting on Alfred Thayer Mahan’s book, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, American imperialists felt the need to protect expanding mercantile trade through a strong two-ocean navy, coaling stations in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and a canal. Additionally, imperialists felt a moral and civil obligation to expand. As a “Christian” nation that saw itself as “God’s chosen,” many Americans viewed imperialism as a way of spreading the Christian Gospel to so-called “heathen nations.” This motive was a part of President William McKinley’s decision to keep the Philippines. The United States had a moral duty to uplift peoples in lands considered uncivilized. Rudyard Kipling, the literary apostle of imperialism, expressed similar views in his poem the White Man’s Burden in which he classifies colonial peoples as “half devil, half child.” The great missionary movement that saw the establishment of countless missionary boards and organizations coincided with national imperialistic movements, which may be why critics have difficulty separating the two movements.

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On the other hand, not all Americans supported imperialism. Even President Cleveland was opposed to the annexation of Hawaii in 1894. In fact, imperialism was so controversial that it became the key issue in the 1900 presidential campaign between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan. By then, an influential association opposed to expansionism had been organized, the Anti-Imperialist League. Its members included politicians, literary figures, economic leaders, and scholars. The Anti-Imperialist League which condemned American action in the Philippines and denounced “the slaughter of the Filipinos as a needless horror.” Imperialism was defined as the “pursuit of un-American ends.” Their ...

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