Phillip Tran

1/13/14
Mrs.D
Us History 2
The US and Imperialism
During the late 1800s and into the early 1900s, the US attempted to experiment with
colonising other countries. This was because all of the other worlds main powers were doing
this to expand their power. America notices countries that are successful such as England and
Germany are using imperialism to expand their power, so the US decided to follow suit. The
reason the United States decided to follow suit was because if they didnt, they felt like they
would be left behind in a race for power in the world. The US was unjustified when it came to
imperialism and its effects are very apparent in 3 countries such as Cuba, Philippines and
China.
To begin, Cuba was one of the first victims of Imperialism by America after the Spanish-
American War. Cuba is only 90 miles south of the United States off the coast of Florida. Before
US imperialism, in the Spanish-American war Spain was occupying Cuba. America helped to
gain Cuban independence from by fighting the Spanish forces on the island, forcing them to
retreat off Cuba. One of the policies that was passed while Cuba was under control by the US
was the Platt Amendment. It states The government of Cuba consents that the United States
may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation for the preservation of cuban
independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life( The
Platt Amendment 1903). What that quote illustrates is that the US can intervene with how the
Cuban government work anytime they want under a balloon term, of preservation of cuban
independence. This shows us how the US just merely replaced Spain as the country controlling
Cuba. Another piece of evidence that shows how the US took advantage of Cuba would be how
they were merely using them for resources. A speech from a US Senator Albert Beveridge who
supports Imperialism shows this, Think of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who will
build a soap-and water, common school civilization on energy and industry of Cuba(Beveridge
1898). This quote explains how the US only used Cuba for resources by showing how they
would promise all of those good things just to have a place for resources for the US. If anything,
the US should just be doing that just to help, not to benefit themselves. Now some may say that
the Cuban people were better off with having America watching over them, but if you think about
it, Cuba had no choice but to do what America wanted. America just replaced Spains spot in
ruling over Cuba. In conclusion, Cuba had no choice or even a say in the way in how their
country run due to US policies , something that 2 other nations also experience.
Another country that was also was a victim of imperialism by America would be the
Philippines. Before the US came in to help the Philippines, Spain actually owned the country.
The Philippines were under the assumption that the country gain independence from Spain by
helping the US fight in the Spanish-American war. What actually happened was President
Mckinley did not grant Philippines independence as he felt they were not ready to govern
themselves. The first piece of evidence that shows how America negatively the Philippines
would be the intentions of what Mckinley actually had for the Philippines. Now in his speech to
the Methodist Church Leaders, he clearly outlines this, That there was nothing left for us to do
but take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and to uplift and civilize and Christianize
them(Mckinley 1899). The quote illustrates that Mckinley thinks that the only viable option is
to colonize them, showing how he couldnt think of any other ways that would leave them
independent. Another piece of evidence that shows the US only hurt the Philippines would be a
political cartoon by (Life, 1899). It shows Uncle Sam, armed to the teeth with a cannon by his
side. Behind him are rows of dead bodies, so extensive that you can see bodies in the distance.
The cartoon shows how US imperialism only brings death to the citizens of the country that is
under imperialism by the US. Some may say that imperialism benefited the Philippines due to
them becoming more civilized. Now I do agree that the Philippines became more civilized in the
process, but according to (History Alive, 276) there were over 200,000 deaths that came from
the backlash when people in the Philippines were fighting for their independence; so you have
to ask yourself, is 200,000 people really worth just being more civilized? To conclude, the
Philippines suffered so much more under American influence rather than Spanish influence, yet
the Philippines was merely a stepping stone to go to China, our next country.
After the US goes over the stepping stone, or what we call the Philippines, we now are
at our final destination, China. During this time, China already was in a state of turmoil due to all
the European countries trying to trade with China with spheres of influence. The spheres of
influence were places where one exclusive country had economic dominance with Chinas trade
in that area. The only real reason the US wanted the Open Door Policy was so that the US
could get a chance to trade with China, even though most european countries already
dominated the market. One piece of evidence that shows what imperialism is that China did not
have a say in the vote for the open door policy. A quote from the textbook History Alive shows
how China had no power, Although some foreign powers gave vague replies, Hay boldly
announced that the open door policy was final and definitive(History Alive 278). When
Secretary of State John Hay says that is final and definitive, he is passively claiming that this is
going to happen, and that Chinas opinion does not matter. Another instance that shows how
American Imperialism hurt China was the Boxer Rebellion.The Boxer Rebellion was an event
that happened in China from a group call the Righteous and Harmonious Fist, commonly known
as Boxers. In 1900, the Boxers lead an uprising against the Foreign Devils trying to expel their
influence on China. In the process of this event, thousands of Chinese christians and Christian
missionaries. All the big colonising nations, including the United states who had colonised the
Philippines to get there teamed up to crush this rebellion. Now this shows that the Chinese did
not benefit from imperialism by the US because the other nations were like bullies, picking on a
only a couple of thousand men who were trying to retain their culture against militaries that were
much more powerful. This shows how China had no choice but to accept the Open door policy
because they were muscled out of their opinion in their own country. Now some may say that
the Boxer Rebellion was not right and that the other countries had to intervene, but these men
were only trying to stand up for what they stood for their own unique culture, and they were
punished for that. Overall, China did not benefit from US imperialism as they had no voice in
their own country and if they did, they would be punished for their own beliefs

The period for Americas imperialistic expansion made countries like Cuba, Philippines
and China suffer much more than if the US just didnt expand. In Cuba, imperialism from the US
caused them to lose power if their government in their own country, making them powerless to
the US using them for resources. For mere stepping stones to bigger things the Philippines, who
was forced to be taken under the oppressive force of the American wing, the fight for
independence from America meant there was blood to be shed for the Filipinos. For economic
expansion, the US forced China to agree to the Open Door Policy. This made Chinas free trade
a free for all for all the nations like European countries along with the US to take advantage of.
Even if you tried to stand up for your rights then you would be at risk to lose your life. In the end,
US imperialism was wrong because they hurt the countries they had imperial influence in,
instead of helping them. The US instead could have just tried trading more of their products
being that at the time, American made products were already considered quality.