Imperialism

Some say American Imperialism started when the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. Others say that it started during the Louisiana purchase. It’s hard to say exactly when and where it started, but it was the most prominent after the Spanish American War. The Spanish American War occurred because America intervened in the Cuban War for independence from Spain because Spain had gone against the Monroe Doctrine, the USS Maine sank in the Havana harbor, and American businessmen wanted to expand their commerce. Not only were there battles in Cuba, but in the Philippines as well. The US ended up gaining both territories and Puerto Rico as a result of the Treaty of Paris and began governing them almost exactly the same way that the British governed America before its independence. These actions by America led to the Philippine War of Independence. Because the Philippines was such a small country they ended up losing the battle, and the Catholic Church and English language was implemented on every Filipino. However, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines simply didn’t make enough money for America, so America Started looking into other territories.

The US military started stationing troops in other Caribbean regions such as Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic which was called the Banana Wars. These conflicts ended with the US only pulling out of Haiti but continued to profit off of the United Fruit Company in all other stationed regions.  The United Fruit Company held large stakes in the tobacco, banana, and sugarcane industries throughout the south western hemisphere. America was largely involved in Honduras’ banana exports which is where the name ”banana republic” originated from. The US also wanted control of the Panama Canal they had just built. They were able to build the canal swiftly because they gave Panama freedom from Colombia, so Panama owed them a great debt. In Mexico, border wars were conducted by America to keep immigrants and refugees out, and to keep Mexican raids in the US at a minimum. However, in 1914, the US occupied Veracruz because Germany was trying to send over war supplies to Mexican leader Victoriano Huerta.