American Imperialism in the United States

American imperialism was a introduced to the American people in 1899 when the leagues began to be formed. There were both imperialist and anti-imperialists. The American Imperialists wanted to have a supreme ruler and one government because they believed that it promoted peace. They also believed that it would help the world in any problems if everything was under one government. The anti-imperialists did not want a supreme ruler because they believed that they would have too much power. They did not believe in interfering with other countries affairs. They wanted the United States to worry about internal problems rather than external problems in other countries and across the globe.

Ever since the Soviet Union dissolved, there have been a lot of questions about dominant U.S. policy in other countries. The imperialists wanted to have one superpower so that there would be no more conflict among political states. They believed that if there was one superpower government that there would be no outbreaks of war anymore. They wanted their influence in every country. They believed that the American way was the best way and they wanted every other country to be the same exact way.

The anti-imperialists believed the exact opposite. They did not want internationalist words being used by the politicians. They criticized the government for involvement in foreign affairs. They did not believe that the American government could prevent all the wars in the world from happening. They wanted the government to stay out of foreign affairs because they did not believe that the American way was absolutely the best way.

William Bryan was a passionate pacifist that was appointed by Wilson as secretary of State. 31 countries agreed with Bryan once he was in office and proposed a full year of no political conflicts. Bryan made many strides to make peace throughout the world. He resigned in protest of how the government dealt with the Lusitania sinking. But, he was in full support of the United States entering World War 1. he wanted the American influence spread across the world.

The imperialists wanted to enter the war because they felt that they could control the countries that they helped after the war was over. They have a firm belief that they could aid these countries and that they should be involved with every aspect of them. The anti-imperialists did not want to enter the war. The war was in Europe and they felt that it was a European conflict and that the United States should have no part in it.

The Americans used imperialism in many places. They went into the World War 1 with hopes of conquering the enemy and being the superpower that won the war.

The European power balance was very week during World War 1. There were no major superpowers coming out of Europe. Russia was very strong, but they were not included in Europe. The United States felt that this was a great opportunity to spread democracy across Europe since it was in shambles due to the war already. By entering the war, they could spread their influence throughout Europe. World War 1 was a huge struggle for world supremacy. If the United States did not enter World War 1, they would have no longer been a superpower.

Wilson and Roosevelt dealt with European diplomacy differently. But, they both wanted to stay out of the war as long as possible. If Pearl Harbor would not have been attacked, Roosevelt would probably have never entered the war.

Imperialism and anti-imperialism will continue to be a subject that is debated for centuries to come. While one believes that world domination would be the best thing for third world countries and countries that cannot defend themselves, the other believes that problems within a country should be resolved by their own government.